Performance of cooperatives and investor-owned firms: The case of the greek dairy industry

Abstract

This paper examines factors that might affect performance of cooperatives and investor-owned firms (IOFs). The empirical work tests whether significant profitability differences between the two groups exist, in the case of the Greek dairy industry, over the period 1990-2001. The relevant descriptive statistics show that IOFs are more profitable, while results suggest that profitability differences between cooperatives and IOFs can be attributed mainly to the greater effectiveness of IOFs' capital structure determinants and market share. © 2007 springer.