Journal of Co-operative Studies, 58(2), 47-54

Abstract

The strategic renewal that consumer co-operatives worldwide were forced into during the 1970s and 1980s proved to be a significant challenge. Many have ceased to exist, most have struggled, and only a few have succeeded. Clinging to old paths – known in strategy literature as path dependence – is detrimental in this battle for survival. The Swedish consumer co-operative movement, which stood as a model in the co-operative world for decades, exemplifies this struggle. This article is a comment on Sara Kristoffersson’s (2024) book from a strategic renewal perspective and places KF-Konsum’s trajectory in comparative context with co-operatives in Finland and elsewhere. It concludes that KF-Konsum’s decline illustrates the risks of ideal-driven path dependency, especially when contrasted with the S Group’s consistent, customer-owner-based renewal strategy.

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