Paper #1289

Title:

High-growth cooperatives: Financial profile and key factors for competitiveness

Authors:

Oriol Amat and Jordi Perramon

Date:

October 2011

Abstract:

Given the current economic environment, high-growth companies are particularly relevant for their contribution to employment generation and wealth. This paper discusses the results of a survey that was conducted in order to gain a deeper understanding of high-growth cooperatives through analyzing their financial profiles and then identifying key contributing factors to their growth. To do this, we compared this particular sample with other cooperatives and other high-growth mercantile companies. The results show the main drivers related to high-growth companies success. They are the competitive advantages based on the surveyed group, modern management techniques, quality and productivity, innovation and internationalization. Additionally, we have observed some financial strengths and weaknesses. In this sense, they are under capitalized companies with an unbalanced growth.

Keywords:

Worker cooperatives, service cooperatives, high-growth cooperatives, competitiveness factors, financial information, management tools.

JEL codes:

ECONLIT Subject Descriptors: M100, M140, M400, P13

Area of Research:

Finance and Accounting

Published in:

CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, ISSN: 0213-8093, 2011, Núm. 73, Special Issue, pp. 81-98.

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