Contextualizing the Governance of Community Co-operatives: Evidence from Austria and Germany

The article inquires into the role of the institutional context in explaining the governance of community co-operatives. These
organizations do not solely focus on a member’s advantage but act on behalf of some collective identity. To enhance our understanding
of the nature of co-operative governance on the neighborhood level, we draw on theoretical concepts that are context-sensitive,
helping us to catch the institutional conditions in a specific place which are enabling individuals and groups to act and
organize collectively. Thus, we enrich the abstract concept of governance put forward by New Institutional Economics. Based
on a systematic analysis of case studies, the paper shows that the governance of community co-operatives is based on place-bound
values. However, the encounter of divergent imaginations of the neighborhood results in different co-operative practices:
e.g., either a government-directed practice to “discipline” the community or a community-initiated practice of self-organization.