Work

Cooperatives and business schools: Why the disconnect?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Business schools are not neutral purveyors of teaching and research about how to organise. More often than not, they sell a very particular form of knowledge and act as outlets for a form of life in which a cooperative economy is ignored. Using international evidence, our article shows that cooperatives lack adequate intellectual presence in academia in research or education. We explore the disconnect between academia and the cooperative economy in a search for explanations and justifications. Our analysis suggests that this state of affairs denies the cooperative sector an opportunity to both address its skill shortages and acquire the organisational capabilities needed to boost the impact of cooperative enterprises. Equally important, this normalises the situation where business schools can continue to ignore alternative business models. We conclude by suggesting that there would be societal and scholarly gains from accepting the cooperative sector as a legitimate and valuable constituent of any modern economy, and that this should be reflected in the teaching and research of business schools.

Source: Management Learning

DOI: 10.1177/13505076251320889

Authors: Olga Kuznetsova, Martin Parker, Andrei Kuznetsov

Institutions: Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Bristol, University of Lancashire

Language: English

Topic: Cooperative Studies and Economics

Subfield: Strategy and Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900