Co-operative Organizations and Canadian Society: Popular Institutions and the Dilemma of Change

Robert W. Sexty is a commerce professor at the Memorial University of
Newfoundland and author of Canadian Business: Issues and Stakeholders.

Many statistics indicate that the co-operative sector is an important
component of the Canadian economy. For example, about 40 percent of
adult Canadians (roughly 12 million people) belong to at least one
co-operative; the total assets of co-operatives exceed $47 billion;
credit unions/caisse populaires have 9 percent of the total assets of
Canada’s major financial institutions; and co-operatives employ 70,000
Canadians. It is important to note that most co-operatives are
market-oriented organizations; increasing competitiveness affects the
well-being of such organizations. The challenge for co-operatives is to
satisfy members’ economic requirements while at the same time
responding to their social and political objectives.

The purpose of this volume is to address the basic questions facing
co-operatives in an increasingly competitive Canadian economy. Seventeen
papers, organized into four parts, have been prepared by seven
contributors (with many papers jointly written by persons from different
disciplines). In Part 1, three papers provide general background by
presenting the dilemmas facing co-operatives in modern society. Five
papers discuss co-operatives in a changing social context in Part 2,
followed by five papers that review co-operatives in the political
environment. The final part, which comprises four papers, reviews
co-operatives in the economic sphere.

This is a timely discussion, given the competitive environment that
emerged in the late 1980s and the need for co-operatives to respond to
it. The book should be read by everyone involved in co-operatives,
whether participating as members and managers, or doing academic
teaching/research about such institutions. Unfortunately, as with many
books of readings, no index is included. Nevertheless, this is an
excellent reference source: each paper has extensive footnotes, and a
comprehensive bibliography is provided.