Toward an Updated Typology of US Farmer Cooperatives: Survey Evidence of Recent Hybrid Ownership Restructuring

Abstract

Primary survey data on 371 US farmer cooperatives is used to study the diffusion of traditional and novel ownership structures. We conclude the existing typology of claim right configurations is an imperfect representation of the current population of US farmer cooperatives, which is interpreted as strong evidence of much ownership structure adaptation in the last decade. Using 12 ownership structure characteristics, an updated typology is proposed with classic structure variations in which equity redeemability is allowed, as well as new hybrid discoveries which combine different characteristics. Introduced are the classical investor cooperative, a structure common to small local multipurpose cooperatives; the proportional trader cooperative, which is adopted by several large dairy and supply cooperatives; and the proportional investor cooperative. The multiple pairwise comparison method is used to reveal significant differences in the competitive scope, the organizational size and type, as well as the capital structure of classic and hybrid ownership structures. Future research is recommended to further investigate claim right characteristics to inform complementarity between ownership and investment, which is necessary to ensure the long-term economic viability of each farmer cooperative.