An appraisal of the impact of membership characteristics on the pursuit of cooperative governance : a case study of wine cooperatives in the Western Cape

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African wine industry has gone through a difficult period of having to undergo majorchanges, most markedly in respect of its economic structure and institutional framework over the lasttwelve years. The reintroduction of the wine industry to the world markets has brought wide-rangingopportunities, as reflected by the increase in the number of exports. However, such a reintroduction hasalso brought pressure to bear in terms of both local and international competitiveness. The increasedpressure on the industry has resulted in serious effects on the wine producers concerned, both in termsof meeting the international standards and in terms of having to cope with sophisticated consumerneeds. The current study assesses to what degree, if any, membership characteristics impact on winecooperatives in South Africa. The central question to be addressed is whether the characteristics ofmembers who are involved in the governance structures of wine cooperatives impact on the manner inwhich cooperative governance is pursued.To address the research question stated above, the study used a list of wine cooperatives obtained fromWines Cellars South Africa (WCSA), which captured the relevant data relating to all the existing winecooperatives in 2006. From the list, 46 wine cooperatives were randomly selected. Representatives ofsome of the cooperatives were sent questionnaires by email, with the representatives of othercooperative being personally interviewed. A qualitative analysis, making use of the Likert Scalemethod, was performed. The analysis made use of 16 belief statements to determine the degree ofbelief held in such statements, in order to ascertain the general degree of understanding regarding thosemembership characteristics that could potentially influence wine cooperative governance. Aquantitative analysis was performed, using Statistica Version 8 to ascertain the possible relationsbetween certain factors (variables). Of the 16 variables which were selected for the analysis, only 8variables showed positive and significant relations.The results obtained in the study showed a high degree of investment-related incentive problems(caused by conflicts of interest, due to the different returns acquired by the members and their diverserisk profiles), as well as a high degree of decision-related incentive problems (caused by the influenceof education, occupation and experience on the decision-making process). The study also attempted toascertain the general perception of collective action approach in the wine industry. The assessmentrevealed that sentiments relating to the collective action approach in the wine industry still exist. The results of the quantitative analysis showed the relations existing between eight different variables to beinfluential factors in relation to the decision-making process. Furthermore, the study used NewInstitutional Economics of property rights and agency theories to confirm the agency dilemmas existingwithin the wine cooperatives. Such theories, together with their possible effects on the pursuit ofcooperative governance, are addressed towards the end of the study. Generally, the study shows thatdifferences in membership characteristics can lead to different levels of member expectations, resultingin steering the organisation in different directions during the decision-making process.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University