Hidden Giants – ‘a study of the world’s largest co-operative and mutual businesses’

Abstract

This doctoral research aims to examine and better understand what lies behind the success, sustainability, and sometimes failure of the largest co-operative and mutual businesses in the world. Additionally, and importantly, it also tries to explore more fully, the role they play in the wider international and national movement(s) of which they are a part.

The research employs a comparative historical approach, within an institutional framework, following a mixed (quantitative and qualitative) methodology. The approach adopted builds on and extends a longitudinal (ten year – 2010-2020) dataset of the existing largest (Top 300) co-operative and mutual businesses and compliments this with a range of selected countries’ national level listings of their respective largest co-operative and mutual businesses. This empirical data along and additional secondary data allows various suggested theoretical explanations and analysis, including the co-operative lifecycle framework, to be tested against the assembled evidence.

It is anticipated that this research will help, generally, demonstrate the benefit of adopting the analytical lens of size to the study of co-operatives and mutuals. Such an analytical focus is felt to be particularly useful when combined with a comparative institutional approach.

Finally, it is hoped this study will contribute to the knowledge and theory building about the largest, and arguably the most successful examples of a form of democratically owned and controlled people’s businesses.