IRU – International Raiffeisen Union congratulates long-term board member Hans Groeneveld, Professor for ‚Cooperative Financial Services’ at Tilburg School of Economics and Management, Tilburg University and Director for International Cooperative Affairs at Rabobank, on the publication of his latest article: Reconciling different truths about isomorphic pressure and distinctive behaviour at European cooperative banks: Back to the future with Raiffeisen’s principles
In his article, published by Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Prof. Groeneveld addresses key questions on European cooperative banks and asks whether they are still distinctive and sources of social innovation or whether they suffered from organisational resemblance throughout their history. In doing so, Prof. Groeneveld goes back to F. W. Raiffeisen and his famous cooperatives principles which build the roots of most contemporary cooperative banks. It is analysed whether these principles are still intact today or have been adapted over the decades. Based on the results, recommendations to stay on or return to the cooperative track are formulated. By using up-to-date figures, a balanced perspective on the current peculiarity of cooperative banks in Europe is presented. It is further finally illustrated, that in face of the economic upheaval caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperative banks are now more than ever demonstrating their solidarity, long-term orientation and local anchoring and thus bringing Raiffeisen’s principles back to the future!
The article can be accessed through the IRU website or here.
Correspondence
Prof. Hans Groeneveld, Tilburg University,
PO Box 90153 – 5000 LE Tilburg – The Netherlands
Email: j.m.groeneveld@uvt.nl
How to cite this article: Groeneveld H. Reconciling different truths about isomorphic pressure and distinctive behavior at European cooperative banks: Back to the future with Raiffeisen’s principles. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics. 2020;1–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12280
