Cooperative Governance: What Impact on the Marketing of Saffron? Case of Saffron’s Cooperatives in the Area of Taliouine in Morocco

Abstract

Cooperatives are major players in the rural areas as they generate income for members and contribute to sustainable socio-economic development of their territory. Good governance is now recognized as a major factor in organizational effectiveness. The peculiarities of cooperative organizations induce a specific mode of governance to reconcile cooperative principles and the economic logic of the market especially in the international context. This paper aims to present the results of a research whose objective is to show the impact of the governance structure of cooperatives on the marketing of the saffron product of Taliouine region (also known as the country of saffron: a local product with high added value) in Morocco. Our research focuses on the analysis of the nature and components of the structure of governance in saffron cooperatives and the evaluation of their implications on their marketing practices of saffron. This research is conducted by means of semi-structured interviews with presidents and members of the cooperatives of this area.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n10p681