Triggers and creation processes of national governance codes for cooperative enterprises

Abstract

During the last couple of decades, codes of governance have mushroomed in response to corporate scandals, the transformation of ownership and globalization. While most of these codes have been developed with the conventional firm as reference, some countries have recently witnessed the development of specific codes for cooperatives. Acknowledging the differences between conventional and cooperative governance, this paper explores how codes of governance found their way into the cooperative sector. With the help of qualitative semistructured interviews, we highlight the distinct challenges triggering code creation in a cooperative context namely, creating a shared purpose and managing member participation. Additionally we uncover two mechanisms of cooperative code creation within the sector: one that revolves around adoption, and another that originates from co-creation. We contribute to the literature by not solely focusing on the diffusion of codes, but especially in uncovering how alternative organizational forms such as cooperatives go through a phase of adaption in order to establish a code that meets their distinct governance nature.