ABSTRACT
The case of the Basque Mondragon Cooperatives in Spain is a practical illustration of the Northern Social Economy. This chapter shows how the organizations founding father Arizmendi provided Mondragon, from the outset, with a strong social philosophy. Furthermore, Mondragon is an organizational articulation of Open Economics, firstly, because of its inbuilt democratic principles and, secondly, by combining technological with social innovation. Such innovation is promoted through Mondragon's own university and research center. Thereby, the Mondragon Corporation today, whose original roots lay in education, has itself become an exemplar of learning and knowledge creation. In summary, combining good business with social justice, Mondragon is a visionary expression of a social, knowledge-based economy. To understand Mondragon, we need to understand its organizational culture, including the support system that maintains that culture and influences its ability to change in adaptive ways. The forces shaping organizational culture at Mondragon fall into three categories: major policies, structures and systems of governance and management.
