It was in the early 90s that I began developing the cooperative equilibrium model, as I was undertaking research into cooperative education. To do so, I chose to write up several case studies of cooperatives in different sectors on their cooperative education practices. On the basis of these cases, the key components of this cooperative equilibrium gradually emerged.

Included in this model are the distinct rules of cooperative organization, the one-member-one-vote democracy, the link of use, the sharing of surpluses in proportion to the member’s activities with the cooperative, and the collective reserve. These rules form the basis of the cooperative distinction when compared with private enterprise.

Also included is the duality of association and enterprise, central to the definition of what a cooperative is: an association of people who own an enterprise. This cooperative duality can be broken down into three levels of cohesion: between members, between the association of members and (their) enterprise, and between this enterprise and the market in which it operates (strategic fit). This is what I call horizontal alignment.

Cooperative equilibrium is also based on the alignment of values and purpose (the ideological core), the cooperative business model, and performance indicators seen in the context of a balanced scorecard.

Finally, as the cooperative evolves in a competitive environment, it is essential to take the latter into account. Two key aspects need to be taken into account. First, the cooperative environment, since cooperatives are (very often) stakeholders in a network of 1st and 2nd level cooperatives (federation). Second, the competitive environment in which the cooperative operates.

All these parameters have been integrated into my cooperative equilibrium model. While each of these components is essential, linking them together allows the cooperative to maintain its own  identity, while at the same time strengthening its competitive position.

The idea of an NCP came to me in the spring of ’96…when I was about to give a conference (in France). While browsing in the airport bookshop, I came across a book on loyalty management (Frederik Reichheld). The author, a consultant for a major American firm, described his conception of such a management approach, while presenting several examples of organizations offering mastery of customer loyalty management. Many of these examples were cooperative/mutual organizations. It was at this point that the idea of questioning the relevance of the cooperative mode of organization, in a context of market transformation, took hold.

Over the past 30 years, the strategies chosen to build this NCP have evolved. While the idea of loyalty asserted itself from the outset and to this day, the strategies of value congruence, psychological ownership, and co-creation of value, gradually imposed themselves as I undertook the writing of my book on cooperative management (published in 2018).

At the heart of this quest for NCP are three key questions. First, what are the emerging strategies for staying competitive in the face of market transformation? Second, what links can be established between the foundations of these strategies and the foundations of the cooperative mode of organization? Third, what competitive advantages do cooperatives hold that enable them to formulate/implement these strategies? The answers to these three questions help to recognize the relevance of the cooperative identity, strengthen its implementation, and consolidate the cooperative’s competitive position.

This 3rd idea came to me at the end of the 90s, when I was invited to give a course on cooperative management to the managers of a major Canadian cooperative. These experienced managers were expressing what they perceived as a growing difficulty in differentiating themselves from their competitors in private enterprise from a management point of view.

A similar observation emerged from research conducted under the aegis of CIRIEC International in the late 90s. Having been asked to coordinate this work, it brought together 19 researchers from 9 countries… and 11 case studies were written, on different sectors (banking, agri-food, social, labor).

It was to seek to understand and explain this major trend that I developed this 3rd model, based on the definition of what a cooperative is…an association of people who own a business. The key idea, very simply, is to identify the major trends that have impacted both the associative dynamic and the business dynamic over several decades.