International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 1989
ALAN THOMAS AND CHRIS Cornforth are with the Co-operatives Research Unit at the Open University, ... more ALAN THOMAS AND CHRIS Cornforth are with the Co-operatives Research Unit at the Open University, England. There has been a good deal of theoretical debate and general speculation about the performance of worker co-operatives. However, there has been a shortage of good empirical work has been restricted to case studies or surveys of producer co-operatives formed during the early years of the century in Britain. This paper helps to rectify that situation. It draws upon a complete database of all worker co-operatives formed between 1946-86 in the UK to detail their spread and distribution, and goes on to analyse the survival rates of worker co-operatives, and briefly, their growth rates. Contrary to much of the speculation it concludes that co-operatives have similar survival rates and patterns of growth to those of other small businesses. However, co-operatives tend to be concentrated in certain sub-sectors and their survival rates also vary between sectors, tending to confirm those w...
By early 1992 it was unclear whether the new wave' of worker co- operatives in the UK was ess... more By early 1992 it was unclear whether the new wave' of worker co- operatives in the UK was essentially over or whether there was continued, though less spectacular, growth. Certainly, the more general interest in worker ownership indicated some potential as well as the need for new thinking in terms of financial and other support offered within the UK co-operative movement. This paper gives up-to- date estimates of the size and characteristics of the UK worker co- operative movement, concentrating especially on the changing capital structure of new worker co-operatives. It then gives extracts from a report (Thomas et al., 1992) on consultations undertaken within the movement on possibilities, problems and ideas for the financial support of worker co-operatives, concluding with a discussion of alternative future strategies.
International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 1989
ALAN THOMAS AND CHRIS Cornforth are with the Co-operatives Research Unit at the Open University, ... more ALAN THOMAS AND CHRIS Cornforth are with the Co-operatives Research Unit at the Open University, England. There has been a good deal of theoretical debate and general speculation about the performance of worker co-operatives. However, there has been a shortage of good empirical work has been restricted to case studies or surveys of producer co-operatives formed during the early years of the century in Britain. This paper helps to rectify that situation. It draws upon a complete database of all worker co-operatives formed between 1946-86 in the UK to detail their spread and distribution, and goes on to analyse the survival rates of worker co-operatives, and briefly, their growth rates. Contrary to much of the speculation it concludes that co-operatives have similar survival rates and patterns of growth to those of other small businesses. However, co-operatives tend to be concentrated in certain sub-sectors and their survival rates also vary between sectors, tending to confirm those w...
By early 1992 it was unclear whether the new wave' of worker co- operatives in the UK was ess... more By early 1992 it was unclear whether the new wave' of worker co- operatives in the UK was essentially over or whether there was continued, though less spectacular, growth. Certainly, the more general interest in worker ownership indicated some potential as well as the need for new thinking in terms of financial and other support offered within the UK co-operative movement. This paper gives up-to- date estimates of the size and characteristics of the UK worker co- operative movement, concentrating especially on the changing capital structure of new worker co-operatives. It then gives extracts from a report (Thomas et al., 1992) on consultations undertaken within the movement on possibilities, problems and ideas for the financial support of worker co-operatives, concluding with a discussion of alternative future strategies.
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Papers by Alan Thomas