Cooperatives' Internal and External Social Networks and Size

Abstract

Under the perspective of social capital and social networks, this work analyses agrifood cooperatives' internal and external social networks and if they are conditioned by their size. A questionnaire about internal and external social networks was answered by managers of agrifood cooperatives in the Canary Islands (Spain). The results show that there is an intense interaction both inside and outside the cooperatives, through very frequent contacts among members, managerial teams, customers and other external agents. Size only has an impact on the kinship or friendship ties. They differ depending on the number of employees of the cooperatives: there are more kinship and friendship ties in most of the smaller cooperatives. As implications from these results, cooperatives' managers should be aware that their social ties make them different from the rest of firms. Social capital facilitates innovation and the exchange of information. Managers must favour its development. They must also focus on managing the information that flows through the diverse interorganisational and interpersonal relations in the cooperatives in an integrated way with their strategy. This article contributes to the literature analysing organisational social capital of agrifood cooperatives, its elements, and its origin with respect to internal and external social networks. This paper also participates in the debate on the appropriateness of cooperatives' growth by linking their social networks to their size