Wine cooperatives as a form of social entrepreneurship: empirical evidence about their impact on society

Cooperatives are considered potential organizational vehicles for society's development due to their multiple objectives and diverse roles. Therefore, this study aims to understand which factors associated with agricultural cooperatives can impact on society. The research adopted a quantitative methodology with the data-collecting instrument being a questionnaire applied to 194 cooperators belonging to wine cooperatives in the Dão region of Portugal. The results indicate that agricultural cooperatives have multiple impacts on their members and are considered an organizational format able to promote society's development. The empirical study also reveals two factors/dimensions that confirm the social importance of wine cooperatives in society: (1) reaction and (2) cooperation. Despite the difficulties in improving their competitiveness, cooperatives are seen as important vehicles for mobilization of local resources into a critical mass and their cooperators can achieve significant economic and social benefits from participation. In this sense, social entrepreneurship plays a vital role in the process of society/community development as well as making a significant contribution to cooperators. Implications for theory and practice are also suggested.