Worker co-operatives and concern for community

2025 Special issue: Worker co-operatives and concern for community

Call for papers

Guest editors: François Deblangy, Ph.D. student at the University of Rouen-Normandie, Dr Ellie Perrin, Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Luxembourg, and Dr Malu Villela, Lecturer at the University of Essex Business School. 

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The climate emergency, cost of living crisis, and Covid-19 pandemic have highlighted the social and environmental impact of continuous orthodox economic growth. As a result, more attention has been paid to the ways in which communities attempt to build more sustainable and fair economies. Inspired by Principle 7, concern for community, this special issue investigates the role played by worker co-operatives in their local communities by exploring their core mission of putting both the direct membership and local communities before profit. 

The editors welcome submissions ranging from full academic articles/research papers (7,000 words), as well as short articles (4,000 words), and short think pieces (approx. 1,000 words) from practitioners ­­— please see the Journal’s guidelines for submission for information on Journal style and formatting.

Key dates

Email to: [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]  with ‘Submission for special issue’ in the subject line, and detail in your email the type of submission being made (research article, short paper/practitioner paper, think piece).

Potential topics for contributions to a special issue of the Journal of Co-operative Studies might include (but are not limited to):

• Worker co-operatives’ interactions with the broader community, redistributive practices and/or challenges to the concept of self-interest in worker co-operatives.
• Worker co-operatives and community economies perspectives (Community Economies Network - Gibson-Graham, Feminist economics, post-colonial research).
• Worker co-operatives and post-growth/de-growth strategies.
• Worker co-operatives’ engagement (or not) with sustainability practices, and the inscription of social and/or environmental goals within their economic activities.
• Worker co-operatives and community wealth building, supportive ecosystems such as co-operative support organisations, local economic development. 
• Cross-sector work and/or collaboration to address local challenges around inequalities, climate change, well-being or other areas of relevance for inclusive and sustainable growth. 
• Issues of inclusion and exclusion in worker co-operatives.
• Worker co-operatives, community, and social policy.
• Social care worker co-operatives, concepts of care, worker co-operatives and community interest.
• Newly established worker co-operatives: ethos, ambitions, and values.
• Worker co-operatives’ principles and values: the gap between theory and practice

See full call for papers below.