Exploring Asian-Pacific Co-operatives in Theory and Practice

Exploring Asian-Pacific Co-operatives in Theory and Practice: Resilience and Thriving between the State and the Market investigates Asian Pacific co-op models mainly through the analytical lenses of Asian Pacific researchers. It consists of theoretical analysis on transversal themes from interdisciplinary studies and national case studies covering new sectors and new countries. It focuses on a variety of challenging issues using different analytical approaches to co-operative challenges in the Asian Pacific and examines the traditional dichotomy between the State and the Market.

This book gives voice to co-operative scholars in the Asian Pacific to investigate and interrogate the co-operative business model and co-operatives in the Asian Pacific context where the history and evolution of co-operatives often differs from their ‘Western’ counterparts. The demise of state socialism has led to a wide range of deregulation and globalization while market fundamentalism has been questioned by widening socio-economic gap among people and nations, financial crises, COVID-19, and the climate challenge. Co-operatives represent a fourth sector related to and intersecting with the State, Market, and Community. This book examines the extent to which co-operatives represent a vibrant and sustainable component of the broader economy. In spite of the challenges faced by co-operatives in the Asian-Pacific region, some co-op models have demonstrated resilience and sustainability while maintaining their Co-operative Identity, remaining operationally consistent with co-operative principles. The authors also examine why some co-operatives are transforming into public or conventional companies through public polices and/or market competition. Overall, this volume explores how co-operatives emerged and evolved between the State and Market in light of the Co-operative Identity and Principles.

Exploring Asian-Pacific Co-operatives in Theory and Practice broadens our understanding of co-operatives by placing our narrative in the Asian Pacific context using multiple case studies, addressing an array of socio-economic challenges, and engaging in different modeling approaches.