Enhancing Business and Democratic Performance within the British Co-operative Group
Submitting Institution
Liverpool John Moores UniversityUnit of Assessment
HistorySummary Impact Type
SocietalResearch Subject Area(s)
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies
Summary of the impact
The research addresses the need of the British Co-operative Group and its
members across the UK for a stronger understanding of the development of
the business model of co-operation in Britain, the importance of democracy
in the governance and direction of the organisation and in adapting the
model to future challenges. The project's findings are being used in the
education of elected member officials who form the democratic bodies which
govern the Co-operative Group, and employees who work for the
organisation. Learning has focussed on the heritage of the co-operative
movement and the development of the Co-operative Group's business model.
It enhances the effectiveness of member democracy by increasing knowledge
of the organization's development and democratic traditions.
Underpinning research
The research comprises the first business history of the Co-operative
Group and the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) for over fifty years,
explaining the growth of the movement until the 1950s, its decline up to
the 1990s, and then its renaissance in the first decades of the 21st
century. The Co-operative Group has, since the late 1990s, been engaged in
a process of business renewal and redefinition of its democratic practices
and structures. This process has involved an on-going debate among the
Group and the wider movement's membership, as well as its managers and
employees. As the Group approached the UN Year of co-operatives in 2012,
and its 150th anniversary in 2013, this debate has become more
important. As such, the research explores recent important developments in
the co-operative movement which have not been previously addressed. To
facilitate it, full and unprecedented access was allowed to the records of
the CWS and Co-operative Group, and the extensive collections of
co-operative records held in the National Co-operative Archive at the
Co-operative College in Manchester. It also involved interviewing a number
of senior figures within the Co-operative movement, including several
former Chief Executive Officers. Major international conferences on the
history of co-operation were held in July 2009 and July 2012 at the Head
Office of the Co-operative Group in Manchester to help facilitate access
to the breadth of research being undertaken globally on co-operatives and
particularly on co-operative business models. This has helped the team to
draw important international comparisons between the development of the
British business model and those of other countries. Archival research and
interviews were undertaken by all three partners on the project.
The research was initiated and jointly led by Dr Anthony Webster,
(Reader, left LJMU September 2013), Professor John Wilson, Director at the
Business School at the University of Newcastle. Ms Rachael Vorberg-Rugh,
Research Assistant employed by the Co-operative College. The project was
funded (£135,000 from 2009 to 2013) by the Co-operative Group to help
raise public and internal awareness and knowledge of the development of
the co-operative business model, and to commemorate both the 150th
anniversary of the formation of CWS, and the United Nations Year of
Co-operatives in 2012. Research on the project began in early 2009, and
the major output from the research, a book was published in October 2013.
The main insights of the research focus upon how the democratic and
federal nature of the co-operative movement helped it and the CWS to
become national business leaders in retailing and a major player up till
the middle of the twentieth century, but then proved to be a major factor
which precipitated a long period of decline. It goes on to examine the
strategies which were adopted from the 1990s which have enabled the
Co-operative Group and the movement generally to reverse its decline and
re-establish itself as a major commercial and social player.
References to the research
1) A. Webster, L. Shaw, A. Brown, J.K. Walton and D. Stewart (eds)
(2011). The Hidden Alternative:Co-operative Values, Past, Present and
Future (Manchester; Manchester University and United Nations
University Press).
This book can be supplied by LJMU on request.
2) K. Friberg, R.Vorberg-Rugh, A. Webster and J. Wilson (2012). "The
Politics of Commercial Dynamics: Co-operative Adaptations to Postwar
consumerism in the United Kingdom and Sweden, 1950-2010" in P. Battilani
and H. Schröter (eds), The Co-operative Business Movement, 1950 to the
Present (Cambridge; Cambridge University Press) pp243-262.
The book was subject to Cambridge University Press' rigorous peer review
processes and can be supplied by LJMU on request.
3) A. Webster (2012). "Building the Wholesale: The Development of the
English CWS and British Co-operative Business 1863-1890" in Business
History 54:6, 883-904. DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2012.706902.
The research contribution is also apparent in the jointly authored
Introduction to this special issue in which A. Webster and J.K. Walton
were joint editors (p825-832). Business History is the leading journal in
the UK for the discipline, and all articles published are subject to the
most rigorous peer review process.
4) J. Wilson, A. Webster and R. Vorberg-Rugh (2013). Building
Co-operation: A Business History of The Co-operative Group 1863 -2013
(Oxford; Oxford University Press 2013).
This book was subject to Oxford University Press' rigorous peer review
processes and can be supplied by LJMU on request.
5) J. Wilson, A. Webster and R. Vorberg-Rugh (2013) "The Co-operative
Movement in Britain: From Crisis to 'Renaissance', 1950-2010." Enterprise
and Society: The International Journal of Business History DOI:
10.1093/es/khs076
Enterprise & Society is a leading global journal for the discipline,
and all articles published are subject to the most rigorous peer review
process.
The collaborative project was funded by the Co-operative Group, who
provided £135,000 to the PI (J. Wilson) over three years from January 2010
to January 2013.
Details of the impact
The launch of the project was a direct result of two major developments
in British and global economic affairs. Firstly, the spectacular and
unexpected revival of the fortunes of the British Co-operative Group after
2000, after half a century of decline. Secondly a pan-European revival of
interest in mutuals and co-operatives in the wake of the global crisis of
2008, which resulted in states being compelled to withdraw from the
provision of a vast range of services, precisely at a time when confidence
in the ability of investor led commercial organisations to fill the gap
had been shaken to its roots. The result was a European-wide interest in
the revival of `Third Sector/Civil Society' solutions to existing
problems, as exemplified in the `Social Innovation' agenda prioritised in
European Research Funding plans in `Horizon 2020'. In Britain, this was
famously encapsulated in the Coalition Government's commitment to `Big
Society' and the promotion of new mutuals to meet the challenge of a
contracting state. The creation of 500 Co-operative Trust Schools in the
last few years, as an alternative to academies and LEA control, is an
example of this revival in action. These developments have lent the
project — the first major investigation into the development of Britain's
leading co-operative business since the 1940s - additional importance in
terms of informing future strategies within the Group and other
initiatives seeking the revival of co-operation as an alternative to
traditional forms of business organisation and delivery.
As the research project has revealed new information and insights, these
have been shared with approximately 350 members, senior managers and
employees through a planned programme of events specifically designed to
enable members and employees to incorporate this knowledge into their work
and activities. In most cases, the influence of the research findings
presented was assessed by questionnaire. Between October 2011 and June
2013, ten speaking events were held across the UK and delivered by Dr
Webster at: Beamish (NE England); London (twice); Manchester (AGM of the
Co-operative Group with representatives from all regions in the UK); the
Isle of Man; Belfast; Newport (Wales); Taunton; Bath; and Cardiff
(Co-operative Congress 2013).
Two hundred and twenty-six responses have been gathered from events, and
the responses show:
a) That 222 members (98%) feel that they learned more about the history
of the co-operative movement than they knew before — at least to some
extent
b) That 208 members (92%) feel that what they learned will help them at
least to some extent in their work as co-operators
c) That 191 members (85%) believe that the session made a difference to
them as a co-operator
In addition, there were five educational events involving the delivery of
a module entitled `Celebrating our Co-operative Heritage'; the content of
the module was based on the findings of the Business History project
including the significance of its business model, the challenges it has
faced, the strategies it has followed; the module was designed by the
project team. The learning outcomes of the module are provided below:
- To appreciate the significance of the Rochdale business model and
founding principles
- To understand how the Co-operative Group has evolved to where it is
today
- Through review of the recent history of the Group from the early
1980s, to understand the difficulties/challenges faced and the actions
taken in the twenty-first century to get our business back on track
- Through review the role of co-operatives, including the Co-operative
Group, to understand the role they have in campaigning for change
The inaugural delivery of module took place at the Co-operative Winter
School, Liverpool on 1 February 2012, other events took place in
Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and South Lanarkshire between February and
August 2012. The first three of the events were delivered by the research
team and the remainder were delivered by the Co-operative's own trainers
using the materials developed by the research group. The Co-operative
Group elected members and employees who attended these events were
assessed on work which involved plans to disseminate what they learned
from the module to the wider membership; and successful attendees received
an accredited "Certificate in Co-operation". Seventy-two elected members
and employees attended these events, and 92% agreed that their performance
as elected members or employees would be improved by taking the module.
These results indicate that members and employees feel that the research
has enhanced their understanding of the movement and that this helps them
to communicate the principles and practice of co-operation more
effectively to fellow members and/or employees. The elected members and
employees who attended the educational events are tasked with deepening
the understanding of co-operative principles and history within the wider
membership as part of their roles, and as such there is a `cascade' effect
which facilitates even wider reach to the membership than is captured in
the figures above.
Sources to corroborate the impact
- The Chief Executive & Principal of The Co-operative College can
corroborate that the research findings have informed the learning
resources of the Co-operative College.
- The Head of Membership of The Co-operative Group can verify that the
member events took place throughout the UK and the content of these was
informed by the research findings of the Business History Project.
- The Member & Director Learning Manager of The Co-operative Group
can corroborate that the research findings are a key part of the
Certificate in Co-operation module `Celebrating our Co-operative
Heritage' delivered to co-operative members and managers.
- The Regional Secretary of the Co-operative Group South & West
Region has provided a statement to confirm the influence of Dr Webster's
talk on the Co-operative Group Business History Project on members (in
terms of feedback).