Cooperatives and Social Capital: A Narrative Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

Saz Gil, Isabel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Bretos Fernández, Ignacio (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Díaz Foncea, Millán (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: How cooperatives generate and absorb social capital has attracted a great deal of attention due to the fact that they are collective organizations owned and democratically managed by their members, and, accordingly, are argued to be closely linked to the nature and dynamics of social capital. However, the extant literature and knowledge on the relationship between cooperatives and social capital remain unstructured and fragmented. This paper aims to provide a narrative literature review that integrates both sides of the relationship between cooperatives and social capital. On the one hand, one side involves how cooperatives create internal social capital and spread it in their immediate environment, and, on the other hand, it involves how the presence of social capital promotes the creation and development of cooperatives. In addition, our theoretical framework integrates the dark side of social capital, that is, how the lack of trust, reciprocal relationships, transparency, and other social capital components can lead to failure of the cooperative. On the basis of this review, we define a research agenda that synthesizes key trends and promising research avenues for further advancement of theoretical and empirical insights about the relationship between cooperatives and social capital, placing particular emphasis on rural and agricultural cooperatives.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/su13020534

Año: 2021

Publicado en: Sustainability (Switzerland) 13, 2 (2021), su13020534 [18 pp.]
ISSN: 2071-1050

Factor impacto JCR: 3.889 (2021)

Categ. JCR: ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES rank: 57 / 128 = 0.445 (2021) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES rank: 133 / 279 = 0.477 (2021) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: GREEN & SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY rank: 35 / 47 = 0.745 (2021) - Q3 - T3
Categ. JCR: GREEN & SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY rank: 7 / 9 = 0.778 (2021) - Q4 - T3

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 5.0 - Social Sciences (Q1) - Engineering (Q1) - Energy (Q2) - Environmental Science (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.664 - Energy Engineering and Power Technology (Q1) - Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment (Q1) - Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law (Q1) - Geography, Planning and Development (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/S28-17R-GESES
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PID2019-109252RB-I00

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)

Área (Departamento): Área Organización de Empresas (Dpto. Direcc.Organiza.Empresas)