New generation cooperatives: what we know and need to learn

The objective is to describe the differences between traditional and new generation cooperatives, summarize the literature on the latter, and identify potential avenues for future research. As adaptations of the traditional cooperative form, new generation cooperatives feature defined and tradable membership and large upfront capital requirements primarily to overcome capital constraints faced by traditional cooperatives and facilitate capital intensive commodity processing ventures. While largely successful, limited empirical literature and case research on new generation cooperatives points to lingering capital constraint challenges that pose questions for future research.