The co-operative model as a means of stakeholder management: an exploratory qualitative analysis

The South African economy remains characterised by high unemployment, income inequality, and a skills mismatch which has contributed to conflict between business, government and labour. The co-operative model of stakeholder management is examined as a possible mitigating organisational form in such high conflict environments. International experience indicates some success with co-operative models but they are not easy to implement effectively and face severe obstacles. Trust and knowledge sharing are critical for enabling a co-operative model of stakeholder management and this requires adherence to strict rules and strong governance. The model must balance the tension between optimisation of governance structures and responsiveness to members' needs. Furthermore, support from social and political institutions is necessary. We find barriers to scalability manifest in the lack of depth of business skills, negative perception of the co-operative model by external stakeholders, government ambivalence, and a lack of willingness of workers to co-operate for mutual benefit.