Transition to Cooperative Entrepreneurship: Case studies from Armenia, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Poland, Russia, Uganda and Vietnam

Abstract

This volume documents current entrepreneurial and management practices in cooperatives in selected transition and developing economies and identifies the key factors determining the success of cooperative entrepreneurship in the transition from central planning to a market-driven economy. In broad terms, cooperatives in centrally-planned economies were subjected to considerable State interference at all levels of their operations. In many cases there was little difference between State-owned enterprises and so-called cooperatives and the ensuing distortions not only made it impossible for cooperatives to function as member-owned and member-run business enterprises but also tarnished the reputation of cooperatives among the general population. With the collapse of the Soviet system in Eastern and Central Europe cooperatives were, for the first time, exposed to the challenges posed by the market economy. Similar challenges have been faced by many cooperatives in African and Asian centrally-planned economies under the pressure of adjustment policies.