A research on the people’s perception and expectations and the behaviours of the cooperative partners in Balıkesir

Abstract

The study attempts to learn the perceptions of people living in Balıkesir about cooperatives and their expectations from cooperatives. It also aims to learn the thoughts of cooperative members about cooperative activities and the behavior of each member. Within the scope of the research, 724 people from Balıkesir were interviewed. Meetings were held for discussions. The public’s perception of cooperatives in Balıkesir is generally positive. However, unsuccessful attempts and the difficulty of establishing a joint business also cause negative criticism. The public expects supervision and educational assistance from the government and financial support from the municipality. There are many reasons to become a member of cooperatives. However, the first thing to do is to facilitate the work related to the activity. Acting in solidarity with other people is also an important motivation for becoming a member. In Balıkesir, it is not regular for cooperative members to attend cooperative general assembly meetings. At the same time, their desire to take part in cooperative management and control bodies is low. The success level of cooperatives varies according to the expectations of the members. In Balıkesir, 36.7% of the members find the technical information provision activity of the cooperative sufficient, while 32.7% find the product marketing activity sufficient. The majority of cooperative members in Balıkesir find the financial aid activities of cooperatives incomplete. At the same time, they generally find the product purchase price of cooperatives inadequate.