The commitment of cooperators and their integration into networks, levers for innovation within agricultural cooperatives.

Summary In this paper we explore the following question: "To what extent does the size of a cooperative influence the commitment of its members and how does this commitment impact the cooperative's capacity for innovation? The literature on cooperatives highlights a commitment of cooperators based on an attachment to a territory and to values that they perceive as unique. On the other hand, the literature establishes a positive link between this commitment and factors known to promote innovation: adherence to a strategic project, identification with an organization, internal sharing of information, development of networks. We report the results of an empirical study conducted in France, on thirty cooperatives. Our results suggest that agricultural cooperatives, whatever their size, are attentive to the generation of innovations, even if the function is not always formalized, and that cooperatives emphasize the importance of the link developed with their members in the deployment of their innovations. They seek to maintain this link by offering services, and even by getting involved in strategic decision-making. However, the data collected also show a development that could jeopardize this functioning: a development of opportunistic behavior, a relativization of commitment in the face of competitive pressures and a fluctuating economic context.