ABSTRACT
The co-operative is a Member Owned Business (MOB) as opposed to an Investor Owned Business (IOB). Members either work for the co-operative, as in the case of a worker co-operative, or consume goods and services such as groceries, as in the case of a consumer co-operative, or grain storage facilities, as in the case of an agricultural co-operative. While there are a variety of different types of co-operatives, including worker, agricultural and financial co-operatives, the retail consumer co-operative was the focus of the early co-operative movement. Consumers purchase shares in the co-operative and elect a board of management to govern the co-operative. The traditional way through which consumer co-operatives are formed is by individuals voluntarily getting together and forming a co-operative. They generally must raise their own capital and initially provide their own labor on a voluntary basis to get the co-operative started. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
