ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses how non-financial consortia help cooperatives compete in the market. It provides an overview of consortia in Italy, the regulatory environment, typology of consortia, their functions, how they have evolved and the impact they have on the cooperative sector. The chapter highlights the experiences of Coop Italia, the Trento Winegrowers Cooperative (CAVIT), the National Services Consortium (CNS) and Consortium for Construction Cooperatives (CCC) to assess how their approaches have improved cooperative competitiveness and encouraged inter-sectoral trade. It explores how consortia help cooperatives compete in the market and the extent to which they can meet the needs of the small, medium-sized and large cooperatives competing in world markets. A consortium is a business association of cooperatives established to improve their market position. Cooperatives have broadly established three types of consortia: horizontal sectoral consortia, vertical sectoral consortia, and multi-sector consortia. Consortia have made an important contribution to cooperative growth, innovation and resilience.
