Conventional vs Modern: Which Approach is Better for the Success of Agricultural Cooperatives?

Purpose. This paper describes the relationship between organizational management, network usage, quality of services and products, and HR productivity of members regarding the success of East Kalimantan agricultural cooperatives in a conventional versus modern perspective. A goal is based on improving landscape in conventional agricultural cooperatives, which is analogous to the lag of the four factors above. Methodology / approach. Comparative-descriptive analysis is used to dissect the main objectives. Enumerators collect data via interviews with owners or managers who oversee 2,748 active cooperatives. Specifically, the sample focuses on active cooperatives from ten branches in East Kalimantan which are divided into two types: 1,860 modern agricultural cooperatives and 888 conventional agricultural cooperatives. Results. The empirical results present the following four outputs: (1) in terms of success, there is no significant difference between conventional agricultural cooperatives and modern agricultural cooperatives even though the operating techniques are also different; (2) network usage, quality of services and products, and HR productivity of members play a superior role in the sustainability of conventional agricultural cooperatives or modern agricultural cooperatives; (3) on the other hand, i.e organizational management is proven to be able to fight for conventional agricultural cooperatives in a positive way; (4) in the case of modern agricultural cooperatives, organizational management does not support success. Originality / scientific novelty. This paper proposes a thematic study in a new direction that compares the performance of modern agricultural cooperatives with conventional agricultural cooperatives based on a measure that represents the level of success. Practical value / implications. Today, the presence of technology is a practical solution that controls the majority of jobs, such as operating cooperatives. Recognizing crucial changes, one that must be addressed by agricultural cooperatives is the latest adjustments. However, it is not enough to focus only on the innovation aspect, but also to improve the internal organization of the cooperative, which will enable cooperation between generations of members to foster ethics, awareness and commitment. These findings offer valuable education to supervisory commissions, especially modern agricultural cooperatives, to modify organizational management mechanisms according to the capacity of members.