Pathology of Rural Production Cooperatives – Evidence from Iran

Cooperative rural production companies are one of the most important types of cooperative system in Iran. Its activities have been started since 1963. It seems that this farming system hasn’t been able to become a source of positive developments to date. The present study seeks to assess the pathology of rural production cooperatives. The statistical population of this research is 55 rural cooperatives of Isfahan province with 21213 members that 41 cooperatives are active, with 16,870 members. The data collection method was documentary and survey. The required information for this research was collected by using a library method as well as interviewing method and completing the questionnaire. The sampling method was randomly classified according to the number of members of each cooperative based on sample size. According to the Cochran formula, 217 samples were determined and questionnaires were completed by the members. Also, 98 questionnaires were completed by the managers and board of cooperative production companies. The results showed that at least seven categories of damaged can be listed for these cooperatives, which are: adverse characteristics in cooperative members, adverse characteristics in cooperatives management, lack of communication, trust and participation of members with the management of cooperatives, low social activity of members in cooperatives, lack of effectiveness training for cooperative members, dissatisfaction with cooperative performance and lack of social capital. 
Received: 22 December 2021Accepted: 28 October 2022