Cooperative society as a business formula is present in all economic sectors, from the agri -food world to personal care services, professional or business consulting services, through the industrial sectors of all areas of production and marketing. In Spain, … The cooperative sector is made up of 23,383 companies that integrate almost half a million working members and more than 8 and a half million members. These cooperatives represent 5.5% of GDP. “They have continued to grow for 150 years and expand throughout the world, all cultures and all political and economic systems,” says José Vidal García Alonso, director-manager of Fecoma, the Federation of Cooperatives and the Social Economy of the Social Economy of the social economy of the Community of Madrid. He assures that Spain has positioned itself in the world as a leading country in cooperative development and social economy «contributing experiences of multinational companies while companies with high resilience to crises that solve people’s problems also in marginal neighborhoods and in the small municipalities of rural Spain ».
Face change
In such a broad context in which cooperatives arise and develop, it is worth asking how they face innovation and if it helps them to be more competitive. From Fecoma, they highlight the existence of different levels of their application, but in general they see more and more startup that are constituted with cooperative or labor societies, which is another type of company participated mostly by workers and purely Spanish. «Thus we find R&D centers such as Ikerlan (Mondragón Group), technology-based companies, companies that incorporate distribution automation systems (UNICE has CDTI financing), work cooperatives that are Spin-Off of university projects ( Polytechnic University, Complutense, Carlos III) », puts as an example the managing director. In the agricultural sector «investments in technology in cooperatives are countless that are increasing and improving production with innovative production control techniques (Cajamar innovation centers in agriculture and water management, digital shepherds), reaching great notoriety in sectors such as wine and olive oil, ”he adds. Without forgetting that cooperatives “are being protagonists of the change in the energy model so important that we are living in Spain towards renewable energies (consumer cooperatives, energy communities),” he says.
However, he explains that the innovation that has always been the strong of social economy and cooperativism is «social innovation, the generation of social impacts through entrepreneurial initiatives that generate unconventional solutions to social, educational, social integration problems, of social integration of social integration , of attention to isolated or low population nuclei, with telecare systems, coworking spaces, ‘cohousing’ services or home care services, among others ». “Cooperative formulas adapt very well to innovation and cooking processes,” he clarifies.
María Ángeles Ruiz Ezpeleta, EAE teacher, speaks of a favorable evolution of the cooperative sector, increasing the number of cooperatives constituted every year. However, he believes that small size can happen. “The same thing happens as with other types of societies, large or multinational mondragón, or credit agricole, increase their operations, but small do not evolve favorably in many cases, since they suffer more in periods of crisis or uncertainty” , highlights. He puts large multinational cooperatives in the financial sector as Credit Agricole in France; of the industrial sector, such as Mondragón, in Spain, or agrifood such as the Euralis Group in France, “but especially in the agri -food sector, more than 95 % of cooperatives are small and medium -sized societies,” he says.
It also points out a different rhythm regarding innovation according to the size of the cooperative as well as in the adaptation and integration of digitalization in its processes and productions. “In that sense, the same handicaps have small cooperatives as small businesses, it is difficult for them to adapt and use new technologies in all their breadth,” he clarifies. To all this we must add less agility in decision making compared to companies. “Even large cooperatives, when making decisions together by all cooperatives, regardless of capital, there is no agility because decisions are to be taken in the assembly system,” says the teacher. “If the cooperative is great, it can be more prone to evolution, but still the changes are slower than in another type of society,” he adds.
In addition, María Ángeles Ruiz Ezpeleta speaks of the need for changes, such as establishing aid for small business volume cooperatives, especially agricultural ones. “The same thing happens with SMEs, politicians favor great structures to the detriment of SMEs that are the ones that generate the most employment,” he says. As for legal changes, “perhaps the capital of each cooperative should be taken into account when voting since, according to Spanish law, each cooperative has a vote of equal value,” he says. However, “if that point varies the essence of the ideology of a cooperative and would approach a capitalist, non -cooperative company.”
The pharmaceutical sector is closely linked to innovation something that also shows in the cooperative world of that sector. “It is an absolutely strategic commitment, because we understand that it is necessary to improve the service to the pharmacy and move towards excellence,” recalls Enrique Ayuso, president of the Mediterranean Pharmaceutical Brotherhood (Hefame). Their commitment to digitalization has led them to develop very interesting projects to help pharmacies in their digital transformation, so that they can be better managed, customize the treatment they give to their patients and offer them more advanced services adapted to current consumption trends . «And of course, it allows us to optimize our internal processes, customize our relationship with the partners and anticipate their needs and those of the market. We believe in the possibilities of digital tools and artificial intelligence to continue advancing towards excellence in service to our pharmacies and rely on them to continue growing, ”explains Ayuso.
Choose the word solidarity to define the cooperativism of the pharmaceutical sector and have no doubt that “the cooperative model is the key to maintaining the pharmacy model in our country. Something essential because it is the only one that guarantees that all medications reach the entire population, however remote that is the place where it is resided, ”he says. Remember that a good part of the activity carried out by cooperatives in the pharmaceutical sector is very little or nothing profitable because it means moving to remote places to carry orders that do not compensate for transportation. «Pharmaceutical distribution cooperatives prevail health over economic criteria and that makes us an essentially supportive model».
Cooperative Banking
Currently, cooperative banks is in a moment of consolidation and growth in Europe, already representing 23% of the European market, with more than 2,500 entities and 210 million customers. Countries like France (63%) or Germany (23%) have outstanding quotas. His approach to sustainability, the proximity to the partner and financial stability has made it an increasingly valued alternative.
From Caja de Engineers, the fact that in the banking sector «cooperativism is mainly defined by a business model based on the participation of the partners and the commitment to sustainable development. Unlike traditional banking, cooperative entities go beyond economic benefit, our priority is our members and partners, to whom we offer added value taking care of their financial health, ”says sources and engineers. In its case, this model translates “in a responsible, transparent bank and with a long -term approach that prioritizes financial, social and environmental sustainability. In addition, we promote financial education, support for SMEs and social economy, thus reinforcing our purpose of generating positive impact on the community, ”they add.
They believe it is necessary to boost some changes to guarantee a more equitable and competitive environment of their business model. Specifically, they refer to “an adapted regulatory framework that can recognize the particularities of cooperatives against other models, facilitating access to financing, simplifying procedures or promoting incentives.” They also see important “establish policies that promote training or access to collaboration networks, as well as promote their recognition in economic and business forums.” After all, cooperativism is a sustainable and inclusive development lever. “Strengthening its ecosystem not only benefits cooperatives, but also contributes to a more resilient and fair economy,” recalls this cooperative.
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