The Modalities of Territorial Embeddedness of French Cooperative Groups

Abstract

The article aims to analyse the modalities followed by French cooperative groups seeking to implement a territorial embeddedness process. It attempts to clarify issues relating to the significance of this territorial dimension along with cooperative groups’ strategies and behaviour. The text starts with a brief literature review elucidating the notion of territorial embeddedness and distinguishing it from the territorial circumscription, while presenting the specificities of this concept for cooperatives. It then processes national statistics databases and comes up with a spatial topology of French cooperative groups. The second section offers a set of indicators that can be used to measure and test territorial embeddedness, validated by a survey of 15 of France’s leading agricultural cooperative groups. We demonstrate that, along with geographic location and statutory perimeter of action, territorial embeddedness also reflects three other main criteria, to wit: where the agricultural cooperative runs its operations; where its members are located; and where they receive the outputs and services that they are offered. There is no doubt that cooperative groups construct territorial embeddedness on the basis of a joint activation of relationships with their members – but it is just as clear that this construction varies depending on the extent of a group’s integration into particular branches and markets.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Simplified Table of Embeddedness Indicators

Cooperative’s valuation of members’ output		Cooperative’s integration into local environment		Cooperative’s sustainability actions
Localised productive investment indicators	Product or service indicators	Local partnership indicators	Tourist project indicators	Environmental policy indicators
Construction/extension of factories in the region	Production under AOC/IGP certification system	Joint-venture located in a geographically proximate perimeter	Tourist route	Brought up to production tool standards
Takeover of factories or subsidiaries abandoned by private companies	Organic production	Minority stakes in regional companies	Bed and breakfast	Biomass investment
Renovation of local productive tools	Innovation packaging	Relations with external supplies/industrial customers from the same region	Visits to farms or group’s productive tools	Investment in renewable energy (biomass, solar, cogeneration plants)
Young farmer start-up grants	Specific production or local products	Participation in competitiveness/rural excellence alliances		Quality approach with an environmental vocation (Agriconfiance, ISO 14000)
		Joint projects with other regional actors (laboratories, universities)

Appendix 2: List of Cooperative Groups Surveyed

2007 Corporate name	Ranking among French agricultural coops	Group sales (€mio)	Group sales (€mio)	HQ county	Number of members	Number of employees	Main activities
INVIVO	1	3,636	2,800	75	283 Coops.	1,794	Grains, supplies
TERRENA	2	3,311	3,100	44	25,000	10,610	Polyvalent
TEREOS	3	2,378	2,277	59	12,000	16,006	Sugar
SODIAAL	4	2,200	1,955	75	9,727	3,637	Dairy
SOCOPA SA	5	2,000	1,940	75	Nine shareholder coops	7,100	Meat
AGRIAL	6	1,724	1,520	14	10,000	6,715	Polyvalent
COOPAGRI BRETAGNE	7	1,567	1,453	29	16,000	4,300	Polyvalent
CECAB	9	1,440	1,313	56	8,000	6,680	Polyvalent
CHAMPAGNE CEREALES	10	1,172	1,103	51	8,800	2,750	Grain, supplies, flour, malt-house
LIMAGRAIN	12	1,137	1,093	63	600	5,976	Organic health, flour, seeds
COOPERL HUNAUDAYE	13	1,051	1,008	22	2,500	2,600	Meat (pork)
EPIS CENTRE	14	1,092	964	18	8,400	1,681	Cereals, supplies, flour, malt-house
EURALIS UNION	16	1,026	829	64	15,000	3,133	Polyvalent
MAISADOUR	17	709	617	40	8,000	2,650	Polyvalent
CV-C NICOLAS FEUILLATTE	50	185	169	51	5,000	213	Wine