Conclusion: Co-operative Innovations in China and in the West: Recent Trends and Challenges

Abstract

Co-operatives come in various forms and practices in the West as well as in the East. In their respective contributions, the authors in this book provided valuable insights with respect to those realities in China, in Western European countries and in North America, both in agriculture and in other economic sectors. In this concluding chapter we highlight some general trends identified by the chapter contributors and sketch future avenues. Conceptualizing co-operatives as dynamic constructs, influenced by internal and external factors, we describe common challenges for co-operatives around the world when they respond to societal and economic issues. We identify divergences and convergences in institutional contexts for co-operatives in China and in Western countries, highlighting path dependence for co-operative transformations under different policy regimes as well as cultural and economic systems. Transformations of co-operatives occur at the levels of membership, capital formation, internal governance and external relationships and co-operation. New co-operative forms emerge in both the traditional and in new fields of activities, as well as in varied socio-political contexts.