Beginning to Inform the Theory of the Cooperative Firm: Emergence of the New Generation Cooperative

Abstract

The objective of this paper is threefold: 1) to introduce the recent emergence of a nontraditional form of collective action in rural United States, 2) to explore the path-dependent institutional environment from which this nontraditional-new generation of agricultural cooperative surfaced, and 3) to examine the unique organizational attributes - especially the property rights characteristics - of this form of cooperative by describing the case of Dakota Growers Pasta, a new generation cooperative from Carrington, North Dakota, U.S.A.