Master Thesis, MSc Business Administration Specialization: Change Management
Groningen, October 2012 Stefan Lampe Student number: 1535722 Operettelaan 81 3543 BN Utrecht +31 (0) 6 – 28 71 83 51 lampese@gmail.com University of Groningen Faculty of Economics and Business
Nettelbosje 2 9747 AE Groningen Supervisor University: drs. J.C.L. Paul Co-assessor University: dr. C. Reezigt
Supervisor Magnitude Consulting drs. W. Remmers
Acknowledgement:
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Preface
In front of you lies the master thesis with which I complete my Master Business Administration Change Management at the University of Groningen. It marks the end of a long and instructive period and hopefully the start of a new and challenging time.
I would not have been able to complete this period and this thesis without the support and help of several people. The University of Groningen provided me with support from Professor Louk Paul. By being critical and necessarily clear he guided me through the scientific and
methodological aspects of this research.
The colleagues at Magnitude Consulting who have given me the opportunity to follow a graduation internship and who were always available for constructive advice or just to have a small talk. Specifically I would like to thank Wannes who has tremendously helped me during the entire process of writing my thesis. Without his strong analytical thinking, enormous patience, brainstorming sessions and the heaps of time that he invested in providing me with feedback, this thesis would not have existed.
Elize, she was there for me when I experienced difficulties during the research process and never complained when I wasn’t in the most joyful moods. I promise that I will make it up to you! And finally the most important people during this period: my parents who have always supported me during my studies and all extracurricular activities that I have undertaken. Without their absolute support and confidence in my abilities I would not have been able to successfully finish my study at the University of Groningen.
I hope you will enjoy reading this thesis. Yours sincerely,
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Abstract
In this theory building study the grounded theory method was applied for exploration of the transformational change process in cooperative financial institutions. Based on preliminary theoretical knowledge, interviews with experts in the field of organizational change in
cooperative financial institutions and by validation based on rich documentation concerning two transformational change efforts several theories concerning organizational change in cooperative financial institutions emerged.
Cooperative financial institutions appeared to generate ideas for organizational change based on their cooperative foundations and in collaboration with the members of the organization.
Furthermore, the preparation for an organizational change emerged to be thorough as well as longitudinal and influenced by the specific governance structure of cooperative institutions. This extensive preparation of a change effort, in which a shared vision is created, has a positive influence on the start of the action phase of a change in which the change is implemented. A notion to be made is that cooperative financial institutions widely differ based on the history, governance and member involvement. The research is concluded with its limitations and recommendations for further research.
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Table of content
I Preface ... 1 II Abstract... 2 1. Introduction ... 5 1.1 Research background ... 5 1.2 Research goal ... 6 1.3 Research question ... 6 1.4 Scientific relevance ... 6 1.5 Research scope ... 7 1.6 Research method ... 7 1.7 Research outline ... 8
2. Preliminary literature study ... 9
2.1 Cooperative institutions ... 9
2.1.1 History of the cooperative institutional form ... 10
2.1.2 Cooperative financial institutions ... 12
2.1.3 Specific characteristics of cooperative institutions ... 12
2.2 Organizational change ... 14
2.2.1 Why organizational change? ... 14
2.2.2 Forms of organizational change ... 15
2.2.3 Transformational change ... 17
2.2.4 Phases of organizational change ... 18
2.3 Preliminary research framework ... 19
3. Methodology ... 20
3.1 The Research Framework ... 20
3.2 Grounded Theory Method ... 21
3.2.1 Diverse interpretations of Grounded Theory ... 21
3.2.2 The application of Grounded Theory to this study ... 22
3.3 Data collection procedure ... 23
3.3.1 Preliminary knowledge ... 23
3.3.2 The sampling approach ... 23
3.3.3 Interview approach ... 24
3.3.4 Documentation ... 26
3.4 Data analysis procedure ... 26
3.4.1 Coding processes ... 26
3.4.2 Theoretical memoing ... 29
3.5 Validity and reliability ... 29
4. Results ... 31
4.1 Formation of the core categories ... 31
4.2 Ideological ideation ... 32
4.2.1 Ideation based on the cooperative foundations ... 32
4.2.2 Member involvement in ideation ... 34
4.3 Extensive preparation ... 35
4.3.1 Elaborate change design ... 36
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4.4 Expeditious start of the changes ... 39
4.4.1 Shared vision created prior to implementation ... 39
4.4.2 Well prepared change ... 41
4.5 Ordinary implementation ... 41
4.5.1 No cooperative influence during implementation ... 42
4.6 Variety of cooperatives ... 43
4.6.1 Cooperative base ... 43
4.6.2 Structure of the organization ... 44
4.7 Validation of interview results with documentation ... 46
5 Conclusion ... 51
5.1 Summary of findings ... 51
5.2 Discussion and recommendations ... 53
5.3 Implications for practice ... 55
5.4 Limitations ... 56
5.5 Concluding remark ... 57
References ... 58
Appendix ... 63
Appendix 1: Persuasion script ... 63
Appendix 2: Interview protocol ... 64
Appendix 3: Codes supporting focused codes ... 65
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1.
Introduction
1.1 Research background
The developments in today’s business environment require organizations to face unprecedented levels of change. According to Reeves & Deimler (2011) globalization, new technologies and greater transparency have turned the business world around since the 1980s and increased the need for organizational change. Brown & Eisenhardt (1998) support this statement. In their book, ‘Competing on the Edge’, they state that technological developments, changing stakeholder needs and diverse economic pressures contribute to the need for organizations to continuously change the way they operate. The recent financial crisis even further stressed the level of uncertainty in today’s business. Managing these changes however appears to be more difficult than it seems. Organizational changes require large investments of resources, time and energy, but do not always succeed (Brown & Eisenhardt, 1998). Several authors state that almost four out of five organizational change efforts fail (Burnes, 2005; Higgs & Rowland, 2005; McBain, 2006).
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Dutch government in order to survive the negative effects of the financial crisis. Before this, in the year 2008, the Dutch government bought the ABN AMRO divisions of the commercial Fortis bank in order to stabilize the Dutch banking sector. At the same time the Dutch cooperative institution Rabobank appeared to be able to cope with the financial crisis relatively well
(Rabobank KEO, 2011). Several credit rating agencies still rated the Rabobank with a double A rating. The cooperative aspect of the Rabobank could well be the base for this high rating. Cooperative institutions are business organizations that operate in constantly evolving and changing, local as well as international, markets. This raises the awareness of the necessity for organizational change within cooperatives. Just like other organizational forms, cooperative institutions need to adapt continuously to an ever changing environment in order to operate efficiently in today’s business world. The influence of the specific cooperative foundations on the process of organizational change within cooperative institutions is an area that is still open for research. This research will specifically focus on cooperative financial institutions, due to the recent developments in the financial sector combined with the relative large amount of cooperative institutions in this sector. The scope of this research will be elaborated upon in section 1.5 of this research.
1.2 Research goal
The goal of this research is to provide an initiating view on the organizational change process within cooperative institutions. The aim is to identify if and how the specific cooperative institutional foundations influence the process of organizational change.
1.3 Research question
The goal of this research leads to the following main research question around which this research will be conducted:
1.4 Scientific relevance
The scientific research around organizational change provides an abundance of insights into the importance and application of organizational change projects. Numerous authors have identified and researched the influence of a variety of factors on the success of organizational changes and provided change management models and approaches (Kanter, Stein & Jick, 1992; Kotter, 1996; Nadler, 1998). The research hitherto however has been mainly conducted in publicly as well as
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privately held organizations. Hill (2000) found that the cooperative institution often is neglected in scientific research. This observation is also noticeable in the literature around change
management in which no research has been found that provides insights into the influence of the distinctive aspects of cooperative institutions on the organizational change process. Kalmi (2007) underlines this argument and noticed a decline in the amount of research conducted on
cooperative institutions but places emphasis on the specific organizational form of the
cooperative institution. This research gap provides room for a research concerning the potential influence of the specific cooperative organizational form on the organizational change process. The outcomes of the research can provide rich insight for scientist as well as practitioners into the dynamics during the organizational change process within cooperative institutions.
1.5 Research scope
By narrowing the scope of this research the aim is to create a more in depth investigation of the influence of the cooperative institutions on the organizational change process. The scope will be narrowed around the Dutch financial sector. The following organizational forms are meant with the selection of the financial sector: pension funds, banks and insurance agencies. The reason for choosing the financial sector as the scope is its relevance due to the recent financial instability created by the worldwide financial crisis. This crisis triggered the need for financial institutions to re-evaluate their current business processes and change their organizations in order to cope with the shifts in their environment. A second reason for choosing the financial sector is the relative large number of Dutch cooperative institutions in this industry.
The research furthermore will be focussed on transformational changes. Transformational changes were chosen because of their magnitude and involvement of all key stakeholders of the cooperative institution in the process of transformational changes. Chapter two will provide additional information on cooperative financial organizations and transformational change. 1.6 Research method
8 1.7 Research outline
The research outline for this research is presented in figure 1. Figure 1: Research outline
Part 4
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
2. Literature
study 3. Methodology 5. Discussion
1. Introduction 4. Results
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2.
Preliminary literature study
2.1 Cooperative institutions
A brief literature analysis concerning the definition of the term cooperative institution results in numerous and very diverse definitions. Cooperative institutions were defined by O’Sullivan & Sheffrin (2003) as: “A business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit.” This definition describes the core of the cooperative institution but seems to neglect the voluntary aspect of cooperatives which was named by van Dijk & Klep (2005). Van Dijk & Klep (2005) defined cooperative institutions slightly different, but seemingly more complete. They state that: “A cooperative is established with the aim to provide certain needs for their voluntary members, instead of generating a maximum return on investments. A cooperation is from, for and because of its members.” This definition covers all aspects of the cooperation but does not provide the types of needs of the members. The most used and praised definition of cooperative institutions is provided by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) which is the apex organization that represents cooperatives worldwide. The ICA defined
cooperatives as: “Autonomous associations of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.” Cooperatives are based on the ‘user-owner principle’ which implies that the persons who are member of the cooperative also finance the cooperative and thus own the cooperative (Zeulli & Cropp, 2004). Membership is voluntary which means that members are free to join and leave the cooperative at any time. The cooperative furthermore is based on a
democratic principle in which each member has voting rights assigned by person rather than share size. Zeulli & Cropp (2004) named this the ‘user-control principle’. Finally, the cooperative is a true enterprise and thus no governmental department, NGO or charity foundation (Birchall, 2003). The ICA not only provided a proper definition of cooperative institutions but also
reproduced the seven Roachdale cooperative principles. These principles are general established guidelines, which were first set out by the cooperative Roachdale pioneers in 1844, and form the base for the way in which cooperatives put their values into practice. The seven cooperative principles, as updated by the ICA in 2011, are:
o Voluntary and open membership – membership is open to everyone
o Democratic member control – all members have an equal voice in making policies and electing representatives
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o Autonomy and independence – cooperatives are always independent, even when they enter into agreements with the government and other organizations
o Education, training and information – cooperatives educate and develop their members as well as their staff
o Co-operation amongst cooperatives – cooperatives work together with other cooperatives to strengthen the cooperative movement as a whole
o Concern for community – cooperatives improve and develop the community
The seven principles are formed around the cooperative values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. The principles of the cooperative have been formed in a longitudinal process of continuous iteration which yet has no end in sight since the cooperative organizational form is still evolving (Birchall, 2003). Beyond the economic goals of improving the financial position and capabilities of their members, cooperatives also have a social significance (Kalmi, 2007). This social significance is also present in the seven principles by the concern for the community. Through mutual aid and private initiative cooperative institutions promote the social stability of their communities and decrease the level of poverty within these communities (Birchall, 1997; Michie & Blay, 2004).
2.1.1 History of the cooperative institutional form
According to Kalmi (2007) cooperatives have been important in the industrial landscape for the past 150 years and will stay important in the future. The most important reason for joining cooperatives were listed by Schaars (1980), he stated that most people who organize or join a cooperative do so for a variety of economic, social or political reasons. Cooperating with others was a way of achieving one’s own objectives while at the same time helping other in achieving theirs. The National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) (2005) argues that cooperatives are: “Formed by their members when the marketplace fails to provide the needed goods and services at affordable prices and acceptable quality. Cooperatives empower people to improve their quality of life and enhance their economic opportunities through self-help.” According to Hargreaves (1999), cooperative institutions are important not just for the values they embody but also to give customers choice, and preserve a diversity of organizational forms that can respond to diverse needs.
The cooperative movement started mainly in Britain and France in the early 19th century during
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& Klep, 2005). These self-helping communities operated in the industrial and agricultural
industries and were aimed at being self-supportive. The pillars of Owens system ware based on: not aiming of generating profit, central leadership and governance, tuning the production to the needs and using the surplus for raising the wellbeing of the community. Around the same time in France Charles Fourier (1772-1837) designed his ideas based on the same principles as Owen. These ideas inspired people to experiment with businesses based on the early cooperative principles. Most however failed due to the lack of discipline, the missing connection to the local markets or the inability to measure the individual efforts of the participants (Axelrod, 1984). The Rochdale pioneers are perceived as the first effective cooperative organization. These English pioneers opened up a cooperative store in 1844 which turned into a business with 10.000 members in 1864. The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers designed a list of ten principles, called the Rochdale principles which addressed the essence, goal and rules of the organization. The ten Rochdale principles were revised numerous times and still form the basis of the seven cooperative principles of the ICA. Around the same time as the startup of the Rochdale pioneers, the German mayor Raiffeisen established the first credit cooperative. He recognized the need of the civilians to become self-sufficient and earn more money. By establishing the first cooperative loan society he made credit available for the civilians and rural farmers. The Raiffeisen
cooperative loan society expanded into the cooperative Raiffeisen bank in the 19th and 20the century. The success story of the Rochdale pioneers and the Raiffeisen cooperative loan society resulted in an explosive growth of cooperative organizations worldwide (Schaars, 1980).
Adjacently the number of cooperative members grew alongside the growth of cooperative institutions. Table 1 presents member statistics for a number of selected countries based on numbers from Gidde (1922), the ICA (1998) and Kalmi (2007).
Table 1: Development of cooperative membership in selected countries
Country Number of members in 1922 % of population in 1922 Number of members in 1998 % of population in 1998 UK 4,559,000 10.8% 9,038,018 15,3% Germany 2,382,000 4.6% 21,640,000 26,4% France 2,300,000 5.9% 17,845,573 30,3% Switzerland 369,000 9.5% 1,513,327 21,3% Finland 375,000 11.9% 1,066,744 20,7% Denmark 376,000 12.3% 1,392,244 26,3%
USA n.a. n.a. 156,192,982 57,8%
Canada n.a. n.a. 14,518,682 47,9%
India n.a. n.a. 182,921,000 18,7%
Japan n.a. n.a. 42,842,643 33,9%
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The expansion of the cooperative movement in the 20th century seems to continue in the 21st
century. From data of the Dutch National Cooperative Council for agriculture (NCR) in 2012 it appeared that in the past decade 1135 new cooperative institutions were established. Today cooperative institutions can be found in highly divergent industries in nearly every country and can be roughly divided in three type of cooperatives, namely: consumer cooperatives, worker cooperatives and producer cooperatives.
2.1.2 Cooperative financial institutions
Cooperative organizations can be found in a broad range of industries. This research will specifically focus on Dutch cooperative financial institutions (CFIs). Cuevas & Fischer (2006) named cooperative banks, cooperative insurance agencies and cooperative pension funds as the diverse forms of CFIs. CFIs are most often established as consumer cooperatives and are highly diverse in their organizational size and governance structures. In the Netherlands, CFIs are mostly found in the insurance branch. This is due to the fact that cooperative insurances were among the first cooperatives in the Netherlands in which people cooperated to share risk. Table 2 lists the top ten Dutch CFIs based on their turnover in 2010.
Table 2: Top 10 Dutch Cooperative Financial Institutions (2010)
Name Financial Sector Turnover (in mil €) FTEs Number of members 1 Achmea Insurance 19.650 19.302 6.900.000 2 Rabobank Bank 13.378 59.670 1.862.000 3 VGZ Insurance 10.555 10.555 3.405.618 4 CZ Group Insurance 7.065 7.065 2.696.720 5 Menzis Insurance 4.998 4.998 1.687.510 6 ONVZ Insurance 853 350 320.000 7 Univé Insurance 426 1.000 905.720 8 DELA Insurance 383 1.293 3.204.571 9 TVM Insurance 280 401 5.200 10 PGGM Pensions 240 1.066 553.000 Source: NCR, 2012
2.1.3 Specific characteristics of cooperative institutions
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Figure 2: Model of interrelatedness of specific cooperative characteristics
Goal Governance Values Specific organizational characteristics of a cooperative institution
A brief discussion of these three distinctive aspects of a cooperative institution will now be provided.
The goal. The goal of a cooperative institution is the reason for the existence of a cooperative.
Member owners start and invest money with the goal of improving their wealth. According to several authors the goal of the cooperative was therefore formulated as: maximization of the wealth of its members (van Dijk & Klep, 2005; Hansmann, 1996; O’Sullivan & Sheffrin, 2003). The wealth of the members of a cooperative can arise from delivering certain goods or providing certain security or services for the members. The exact goal (whether it is monetary or in the form of goods) of the cooperative depends on the form of the cooperative. Le Vay (1983) demonstrated with a marginal analysis treatment that cooperative goals, and thus the wealth maximization, have several objectives to choose from (e.g. a marketing cooperative can aim at maximum returns per unit, profit maximization or output maximization). Cooperatives can adopt different strategies in order to achieve a number of diverse goals but all have: the maximization of the wealth of the members as their target.
The governance. Organizational governance is a second aspect in which cooperatives
distinctively differ from most organizational business forms. All cooperative ownership structures are essentially based on control by the members, since they are also the owners of the
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the core decisions in order to be enforceable. The usual choices for lower level decision-making are managerial fiat, majority-rule decision-making or median-voter decision-making.
The cultural values. The third and final specific difference is the organizational cultural values in a
cooperative organization. Van Dijk & Klep (2005) stated that a cooperative is: “From, for and because of its members”. A cooperative has a number of values around which the cooperative culture is build. According to Hoyt (1996), a cooperative is built around the values of: self-help, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. Nilsson (2001) stated that the specific cooperative organizational values create a culture around personal and ethical behavior with the focus on the wellbeing of all members of the organization. Zeulli & Cropp (2004) named the cooperative values as an important asset for the results of the cooperative institutions. They found that the cultural values are not only experienced by members of the cooperative but also by the
employees of cooperative organizations. Employees are generally proud at the cooperative due to the social responsible way of operating. This corporate social responsibility of cooperatives can be found in the value of solidarity and the principles of the ICA.
2.2 Organizational change
2.2.1 Why organizational change?
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conditions. Moran & Brightman (2000) and Luecke (2003) believe that mastering the strategies to guide organizational change is important nowadays since the rate of organizational change is higher than it has ever been in history due to instable markets. This is confirmed by Lewis (2011), she found that organizations appear to create change in order to change continuously instead of just creating organizational change for pending issues. She furthermore stresses the influence of the recent financial crisis on the amount of organizational change initiated in organizations. Greiner & Cummings (2004) as well as Peters (2006) do recognize the level of organizational change to be unprecedented but do not address this specifically to the instability of the market but to a constant growth in the rate of change. These authors however cannot deny the fact that organizations are now changing more often, at a faster pace and in a more fundamental way than ever before (Burnes, 2009). Organizational change appears to be of the essence in nowadays organization whether this is based on the statements that the rate of organizational change is defined by the (in)stability of the market or by the observations that the rate of change has been continuously growing over the past 200 years
2.2.2 Forms of organizational change
According to Todnem (2005) there has been a wide debate concerning organizational change. Consensus however seems to be reached that change, being triggered by internal as well as external factors, comes in all shapes, forms and sizes (Kotter, 1996; Luecke, 2003; Burnes, 2009). Senior (2002) believes that change can be characterized in three categories, namely the reason for change, the rate of occurrence of change and the scale of the change.
Reasons for organizations to change can be very diverse. As described in the previous section the reason for, and level of, organizational change seems to be affected by the stability of the environment and can be triggered by external as well as internal factors. Burnes (2009),
acknowledges the importance of the environment in organizational change. He sees the stability of the environment as the deciding line between a planned and an emergent change approach. Todnem (2005) found that the literature around the reason for organizational change is
dominated by planned and emergent change. Planned change is the type of change that is consciously embarked upon and was planned by the organization. Emergent change on the other hand is based on the assumption that change is continuous, open-ended and a highly
unpredictable process of aligning and realigning the organization to the continuous change environment. The planned approach to change is long established and analysed to be highly effective (Todnem, 2005). According to Bamford & Foster (2003) and Burnes (2009) the planned approach has often become criticised the past decades due to its emphasis on small and
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identify, plan and implement. Change management has therefore become a highly required management skill (Senior, 2002).
The debate concerning the rate of occurrence of change focusses on discontinuous change versus incremental change. This is supported by Dunphy & Stace (1993) as well as Weick & Quin (1999) who looked at the underlying reasons of organizational change from the same perspective. According to them organizational change can roughly be divided in two forms, namely:
Change that is episodic, discontinuous and intermittent. Episodic, discontinuous and intermittent
change is seen as transformational and radical. It is aimed at a fundamental change in the core values, the strategy or the identity of the organization.
Change that is continuous, evolving and incremental. Continuous, evolving and incremental
change lies at the other end of the spectrum and involves relative small adjustments in systems processes or structures.
Discontinuous change is a change which is marked by rapid shifts in either strategy, structure or culture, or in all of the three (Todnem, 2005), and is triggered by major internal problems or external shocks (Senior, 2002). Continuous change is the ability of organizations to change continuously in a fundamental manner to keep up with the fast-moving pace of change (Burnes, 2009).
Palmer, Dunford & Akin (2006), took a slightly different perspective for change and focused on dividing organizational based on the impact of the change. They looked at the impact of the change on the organization. They believed that change could either have an impact on the organization as a whole, or change could only have an impact on a smaller part of the
organization. Continuous and evolving change is named as ‘first order, incremental change’ by Palmer, Dunford & Akin (2006). First order change maintains and develops the organization and help to support the organizational continuity. ‘Second order, discontinuous change’ on the other hand has as its goal not developing, but transforming the nature of an organization. The
difference between first and second order change is clear to distinguish. Where first order change is relatively small and incorporates changes in systems or structures of the organization, second order change incorporates the entire organization and fundamentally alters the nature of the organization (Reger, Mullance, Gustafson & DeMarie, 1994).
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the sheer size of the organizational change all influence the nature of the organizational change. Change however is an ever present factor that affects all organisations in one way or another (Todnem, 2005). This research will specifically look at transformational change processes and the phases during such an organizational change.
2.2.3 Transformational change
Transformational changes are changes that radically change the organizational business by changing its structure, culture and (often) management. According to Dunphy & Stace (1993) examples of transformational change are reorganisation, revision of interaction patterns,
reformed organisational mission and core values, and changed power and status. The reason for specifically focussing on transformational change is the expected involvement of the cooperative members concerning large scale changes. As described in paragraph 2.1.3 member owners have a vote in the governance of the cooperative. Managers however are responsible for the day to day operations of cooperative organizations. Managers generally have the power to deal with decisions concerning small scale changes without having to consult the members. For
transformational changes, member owners need to be involved in the decision-making process which represents the influence of the cooperative aspects on the organizational change processes. The goal of a cooperative organization supports the focus on transformational changes since these changes explicitly should be aimed on serving the interest of the member owners of the organization, which generally is not the maximization of profit. Transformational changes however are difficult to determine since there is no clear division between small and large scale changes. The following definition for transformational change will be used in this research:
This definition contains several elements that shall be elaborated upon in the following section.
Organizational wide. Transformational change is a change that influences the entire (or at least a
very large part) of the organization. Cummings & Worley (2005) named organizational change transformational when a majority of the personnel of an organization experiences a necessary change in their behavior or work pattern.
Strategic. A transformational change leads to a new strategic positioning of the firm. Cummings
& Worley (2005) stated that a transformational change goes beyond changing the strategy of an organization, it also involves aligning the organization with its environment and organizational design in order to generate improved results (Cummings and Worley, 2005).
Processes. Daft (2001) noted that transformational strategic change alters organizational
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changes in the processes of an organization. A new way of working is needed which fits within the proposed changes. A transformational change thus alters the former processes within an organization and requires new processes. Chapman (2002) named the change in process a result of the reframing of organizations after a transformational change effort.
Performance. The performance characteristic of transformational change is rather
straightforward. Schaffer & Thompson (1992) stated that the performance of successful change projects are measured by results. Organizations only initiate transformational change efforts with the goal of improving the performance of the organization. The trigger for the organizational change, internal or external, does not alter the goal which is improved performance.
2.2.4 Phases of organizational change
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Figure 3: Phases of organizational change
The four phases change process
Planning Phase Exploration
Phase
Action
Phase Integration Phase
Source: Bullock and Batten (1985)
2.3 Preliminary research framework
The literature study above results in a preliminary research framework which is presented in figure 4. The cooperative institution was analyzed to be specific based on the goal of the organizations, the governance structure in which the members also are the owners and often customers, and the cultural values of the organization. The transformational change process was found to be dividable into four broad phases as is displayed in figure 4. The research framework will serve as a starting point and guide during the initial data gathering.
Figure 4: Preliminary research framework
Transformational Change Process
C o o p er at iv e in st itu tio n The goal The governance The culture Influence
? Influence? Influence? Influence?
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3.
Methodology
In the previous chapter this research provided a broad overview of cooperative institutions and transformational change. This chapter describes the methodological approach of the study. It consists out of five sections, each focusing on a different methodological concern.
3.1 The Research Framework
When conducting a qualitative research, the researcher must have a rationale for the choice of a specific qualitative research framework (Creswell, 1998). For this research, the nature of the research question, the amount of research conducted in the specific field of research, and the goal of the research support the use of a qualitative research approach. In order to situate the following methodological discussion the research question will be repeated:
Below the three reasons for the choice of a qualitative research are explained:
The nature of the research question. The main question of this research has an exploratory and
open ended nature. Furthermore, it focusses on gaining insights in the process of organizational change in cooperative institutions. Questions that encompass these characteristics are named by Holliday (2002) as research questions that lend themselves for applying a qualitative research framework. Qualitative research is focused on discovering the why and how of factors and less on how much or whether, and is especially suitable for use in behavioral economics (Gordon, 2011). Quantification of the answers of this research does not provide additional insights and limits the outcome of the study. Strauss & Corbin (1998) state that the way in which the research question is asked determines the research methods that should be used to answer it. They believe that it is necessary that a research question is framed in a manner that will provide the flexibility and freedom to explore a phenomenon in depth.
The amount of research conducted in the field. Kane & O’Reily-De Brún (2001) believe that a
qualitative research technique is especially applicable for exploring fields of research about which little is known. Research concerning the process of organizational change in public as well as private organizations was found, while no research has been found that specifically looked at organizational change in cooperative institutions (Fernandez & Rainey, 2006; Rainey & Bozeman, 2000). Furthermore, the analysis was made that cooperative institutions are often neglected in scientific research (Hill, 2001; Kalmi, 2007). These observations validate the choice for a
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The goal of the research. The goal of this study is to gain an initial understanding of the process
of organizational change in cooperative institutions. Ridley (2004) viewed the qualitative research aims as elucidating the meaning of a situation, process or entity in the way that it is perceived by the individual person. These qualitative research aims match the goal of this research and validate the choice for a qualitative inquiry.
3.2 Grounded Theory Method
The lack of theoretical knowledge in the area of organizational change within cooperative organizations hinders the possibilities for generating valid hypothesis for research in this area. This research will therefore have an exploratory character and, as discussed in the previous section, will be built on a qualitative research approach. The study of the interaction between cooperative financial organization and its influence on the organizational change process will be guided by Glaser & Strauss’ (1967) notion of the grounded theory method. Grounded theory is specifically labeled as a method for developing theory from data (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The discovery of theory from data analysis is accomplished by systematically discovering, developing and preliminary verifying theory throughout the iterative process of data collection and analysis (MacFarlane & O’Reilly–De Brún, 2012). Theories emerge from analyzing the gathered data through an iterative process and provide a basis for further research. The exploratory character of this research emphasizes the importance of generating motives and thoughts behind the formation of the theory.
3.2.1 Diverse interpretations of Grounded Theory
After the development of grounded theory in the 1960s, discussions started concerning the interpretation and application of the method. In the 1990s a clear split between Glaser & Strauss (the inventors of the theory) was noticeable. Glaser argued that the mode of grounded theory as presented by Strauss & Corbin (1998) somehow forced data into categories instead of letting theories emerge from the data. Strauss and Corbin in their turn felt that their approach provided a useful structure for the data analysis procedure of the grounded theory method (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). A second broad discussion in the literature concerning grounded theory is the use of existing literature. Cutcliffe (2000) argued that there is consensus that a literature review needs to be conducted, but that the questions are if it should be conducted before or after the data analysis and how extensive this needs to be done. Strauss & Corbin (1998) suggested that a researcher should not start a grounded theory research with a preconceived theory in mind but enter the research field without an abundance of preliminary knowledge. Several authors
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theory approach and found that the research process should not start as a tabula rasa but the starting point should rather consist out of a pre-understanding of the subject or field under study. The grounded theory method is not a single unified methodology, but consists out of flexible guidelines for collecting and analyzing qualitative data to eventually generate theories that are grounded in the data (Chamaz, 2006; Dey, 2004). Researchers must critically select and describe their application and choices made when using a grounded theory method. “The guidelines offer a set of general principles and heuristic devices rather than formulaic rules” (Charmaz, 2006:2). Despite the different interpretations of a number of scholars there is consensus concerning the adoption of a constant comparative analysis in grounded theory research. Constant comparative analysis means a constant examination of all data for
agreements, contrasts and variations. During the research process data generation and analysis are overlapping. The data collection and data analysis processes support each other in a constant back and forth process until theoretical saturation is reached. The constant comparative analysis method is applied in this research and will be referred to in the following sections.
3.2.2 The application of Grounded Theory to this study
For this study, preliminary information based on existing literature concerning the subject area was presented in order to understand the potential social forces and processes that could become prevalent during the data gathering phases, and to contextualize this research. For the data analysis of this research the grounded theory method procedures as developed by Charmaz (2006) is applied. The motivation for this choice and the precise data analysis procedure will be elaborated upon in section 3.4. Urquhart, Lehman & Myers (2010) designed a grounded theory research model which incorporates preliminary knowledge. Figure 5 presents the grounded theory method as it is applied in this research and which build on the model of Urquhart, Lehman & Myers (2010).
Figure 5: Methodological model
Entering area of enquiry Formulating categories and their properties Grounded Theory Preliminary Knowledge Collecting additional slices of data Collecting first slices
of data
Analyze first slices of data and develop preliminary categories
Continuous proces of analyzing additional slices of data and using theoretical sampling for generating new data until the final categories are formed and theoretical saturation is reached
2 3 4
1
Formulation of emerging theories
Formulate theories that emerged out of the data.
Establishing an area of enquiry
Conduct a prilimanary literature research to generate an understanding of the research area
23 3.3 Data collection procedure
This section describes the data selection procedures used in this research including the influence of the preliminary knowledge on the data collection procedures, the sampling approach, the interview method and finally the use of documentation concerning two transformational change cases for the validation of the interview outcomes.
3.3.1 Preliminary knowledge
As discussed in the previous section, preliminary research was conducted in chapter two to orient the researcher in the field of cooperative institutions and the process of organizational change. This was a necessary process in order for the researcher to be able to understand the specificities of cooperative institutions and to recognize the potential forces that can alter the course of an organizational change process. Cooperative institutions were identified as being specific organizations based on three cooperative characteristics, namely: the goal, the
governance and the culture of the organization. Organizational change was briefly discussed and found to be different for small versus large scale organizational changes which provided the scope on transformational changes. Furthermore, the organizational change process was analyzed and found to consist out of four phases according to Bullock & Batten (1985).
3.3.2 The sampling approach
For this study a purposive sampling strategy was used to select participants for the interviews. Creswell (1998) noted that in the specific case of grounded theory there is almost no difference between theoretical sampling and purposive sampling, since the sampling searches for
informants based on their knowledge and potential contribution to the generation of the emerging theory. Using purposive sampling in grounded theory research was found to be useful since participants need to have taken action or should be participating in the area of research (Creswell, 1998). Bong (2002) stated that the researcher must select participants that have a wealth of knowledge concerning the subject area. The sampling of the initial respondents was based on a number of rational criteria’s to assure the quality of the respondents, and thus the purposive sampling procedures, as was emphasized by Creswell (1998) and Gobo (2004). Three criteria were used for the selection of the initial respondents:
Diversity of organizations. Respondents were selected from different CFIs in order to assure that
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Position in the organization. Respondents were selected based on their position in the
organization. Respondents had to occupy a position in the top management of the organization or a position as leading change or program manager within CFIs.
Experience with transformational changes. All respondents had to have direct experience with
transformational changes in order for the interviews to be very useful for reviewing the research framework.
Besides the purposive sampling, theoretical sampling was used to select which data needed to be gathered during the interviews. As Glaser & Strauss (1967, p. 45) state: “Theoretical sampling is the process of data collection for generating theory whereby the analyst jointly collect, codes and analyses his data and decides what data to collect next in order to develop the theory as it emerges. This process of data collection is controlled by the emerging theory, whether
substantive or formal.” The simultaneously involvement in data-gathering and data-analysis is explicitly aimed towards theory development and is key to grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006). A total of 13 respondents were incorporated in this research divided over seven different CFIs. Respondents were contacted through the network of relations of consultants at Magnitude Consulting or by means of direct acquisition either by mail or by telephone. All interviewees received a letter and a persuasion script in which the research and its subject of study were briefly discussed. The persuasion script introduced the topic and goal of the research as well as the mode of interviewing used in the research. The persuasion script can be found in appendix 1. Confidentiality of the respondents was discussed in the persuasion script as well as at the start of each interview. Confidentiality appeared to be appreciated by a number of respondents. Therefore the anonymity of all respondents was maintained by assigning the respondents a number.
3.3.3 Interview approach
For this study, semi-structured in depth interviewing was chosen as a primary data source. According to Charmaz (2006), interviewing appears to be the most appropriate and most used approach for data gathering in grounded theory research. By means of semi-structured
interviews, participants were asked about their experiences and views on the organizational change process within CFIs. The reason for choosing in depth interviewing is to provide room for the respondents to display their expert opinions and thoughts concerning the subject of research (Darlington & Scott, 2002).
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always resemble the real life situation (Coffey & Atkinson, 1996; Darlington & Scott, 2002). This is an issue which the researcher should be mindful about but that cannot be fully eliminated. A second, more challenging, weakness is the problem of interviewer bias. Strauss & Corbin (1998) named this issue the balance between objectivity and sensitivity. Objectivity is necessary during the data collection in order to arrive at an impartial and accurate dataset, while sensitivity is needed to perceive the nuances and meanings in the data. Furthermore, preliminary knowledge of the researcher concerning the subject of research guides the thoughts of the researcher which can harm the emerging of theory from the data. The interview bias can influence the data during the data collection stage, by means of asking overly probing questions, or during the data
analysis phase when the researcher does not use the correct techniques of analyzing the data. In order to overcome this weakness, interview protocols were used during the interviews and a clear data analysis process was used in the data analysis phase as prescribed by Strauss & Corbin (1998). The analysis techniques used will be elaborated upon in section 3.4.
As stated above, interview protocols were used during each of the interviews. For the first four interviews, an initial interview protocol (appendix 2) was designed prior to conducting the interviews. This initial interview guide was built on the preliminary theoretical knowledge (figure 4) and was used based on the theory of Yin (2003), as a guiding tool to ensure that all
preliminary codes were discussed during the interviews. The usage of an interview guide is often recommended to assure a certain level of structure and direction during the interviews (Creswell, 1998). After the first set of four interviews the initial interview protocol was reviewed and changed based on the data gathered from these interviews. During the remainder of the interviews a number of changes was made to the interview protocol in order to incorporate emerging concepts and theories.
All interviews were conducted at the offices of the respondents in order to assure that the respondents felt at ease during the interviewing (Rapley, 2004). The interview guides consisted out of an introduction part in which the researcher introduced himself, the respondent was thanked for its participation, the confidentiality was discussed, permission was asked to record the interview, the purpose of the research was explained and, finally the respondent was asked if there were any remaining questions before the start of the interview. All interviews were
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Charmaz (2006) named memo writing the intermediary step between coding and the first draft of the completed analysis. By theoretical memoing patterns, processes and thoughts that emerged during the data processing were noted by the researcher and incorporated into the research. This process was named part of the constant comparative method by Glaser & Strauss (1967).
3.3.4 Documentation
Besides interviewing, the research also relies on written documentation as data. The usage of multiple data collection methods provides stronger substantiation of constructs and hypothesis (Eisenhardt, 1989). The documentation analyzed consisted out of internal planning
documentation, general assembly minutes and evaluation documentation as well a public documentation in the form of annual reports and relevant news publications concerning two transformational change cases in CFIs (case A and case B). The interview outcomes were, when possible, validated by the documentation analysis. Validation of the interview outcomes by means of a documentation analysis serves as replication logic for the research results.
Replication logic was named by Eisenhardt (1989), Yin (2003) and Eisenhardt & Graebner (2007) as being central to building theory in qualitative research. Yin (1994) stated that replication logic in the form of multiple cases serves to replicate, contrast and extend the emerging theory. 3.4 Data analysis procedure
This section will describe the data analysis procedures that have been applied in this research. As stated before, this research uses the grounded theory analysis procedure developed by Charmaz (2006). This procedure consists out of three coding phases, namely initial coding, focused coding and theoretical coding. Furthermore, theoretical memoing was applied throughout the research as a method of data analysis. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed before the next bit of data was collected. In order to control the large amount of data, data reduction techniques as prescribed by Miles & Huberman (1994) were applied in the transcribing process. Analyzing the data before collecting the next piece of data is part of the constant comparative analysis procedure from Glaser & Strauss (1967). All interviews were conducted and transcribed in Dutch. Parts of the interview transcripts, and documents, that are presented in this study as well as the codes and categories have been translated into English by the researcher.
3.4.1 Coding processes
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Initial coding. After the completion of the transcription of an interview each transcript was coded
by the process of line by line coding. This initial coding process allows theories to emerge from scratch without taking off on theoretical flights of fancy (Charmaz, 1990). Line by line coding furthermore assisted the researcher to refrain from imputing his personal preliminary knowledge and improved the reliability of the study. The initial coding procedure followed the guidelines set by Charmaz (2006). Codes were made specific and written in an active form. The more often a code was named among the transcripts, the larger the density of that code appeared to be. The density of a code does not always prescribe its importance of the emerging theory, codes with a large density do indicate processes, areas or actions that appeared to be named often during the data collection and thus could be relevant for the emerging theory. Line by line coding assisted the researcher to make decisions about what data to collect next, especially after the initial interviews. Table 3 gives an example of a part of the transcript from interview one and the initial codes attached to the transcript.
Table 3: Initial coding example
Excerpt of interview transcript (respondent 1) Initial codes
During an organizational change process within a cooperative organization, whether it is about innovation or the adaptability of the enterprise, I believe that the take-off phase is relatively easy. After all it is easy to get access and feedback from our customer since they are directly involved in the organization. Following, when want to indicate the change and make a decision about implementing the change, there is a large number of stakeholders involved in a cooperative who have something to say about it, and rightly. A cooperative is actually the most democratic form of an institution besides the government, if you look at this analogy than a ‘normal’ organization is organizational form based on hierarchy. A CEO and its management team devise a course they want to follow. They have to explain their plans to a relative small number of shareholders. In a cooperative organization there are usually a very large number of stakeholders who all need to be fully informed before the decision about whether or not to implement a change is made. Therefore, the decision making process in cooperatives takes relatively long, which hinders the time to market of the cooperative organization. The positive outcome of this long procedure is that the products and services are often better tailored to the specific needs of the customers and members.
Relative easy take-of phase; Easy access to
members/customers;
Large number of stakeholders involved in decision making; Democratic organizational form;
Normal organization is form of hierarchy;
Stakeholders need to be fully informed;
Decision making in
cooperative takes relatively long;
Slow time to market; Tailored products and services;
Focused coding. In the focused coding process the long list of initial codes were classified and
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theory and were therefore not used in the evolving research. The focused coding process is not a linear process but was used in a constant comparative approach. Codes that appeared during latter interviews were compared to the transcripts of the earlier interviews to check for glossed over events. The process of focused coding resulted in a reduction of the total amount of codes and more selective and conceptual codes. Table 4 presents the same excerpt as table 3 but is this time analyzed based on focused coding.
Table 4: Focused coding example
Excerpt of interview transcript (respondent 1) Focused codes
During an organizational change process within a cooperative organization, whether it is about innovation or the adaptability of the enterprise, I believe that the take-off phase is relatively easy. After all it is easy to get access and feedback from our members since they are directly involved in the organization. Following, when want to indicate the change and make a decision about implementing the change, there is a large number of stakeholders involved in a cooperative who have something to say about it, and rightly. A cooperative is actually the most democratic form of an institution besides the government, if you look at this analogy than a ‘normal’ organization is organizational form based on hierarchy. A CEO and its management team devise a course they want to follow. They have to explain their plans to a relative small number of shareholders. In a cooperative organization there are usually a very large number of stakeholders who all need to be fully informed before the decision about whether or not to implement a change is made. Therefore, the decision making process in cooperatives takes relatively long, which hinders the time to market of the cooperative organization. The positive outcome of this long procedure is that the products and services are often better tailored to the specific needs of the customers and members.
Easy access to members;
Democratic decision making;
Slow decision making due to many stakeholders;
Theoretical coding. Theoretical coding is a process in which the analyses evolves into a more
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3.4.2 Theoretical memoing
Charmaz (2006) describes memo-writing as informal analytical notes that are written down during the research process. Memos concern the researchers thoughts, feelings and insights. Memos assist the researcher in raising the data to an analytical level, develop categories and explain linkages between concepts and categories. Strauss & Corbin (1998) describe several methods of memo-writing. For this research memo-writing was used in three diverse forms. Firstly, memos were written for each interview. In these memos thoughts and impressions of the researcher about potential emerging theories and the interview in general were written down. The second form of memo-writing occurred during the focused coding stage. A category by category coding strategy listed relations between codes in a category, placed the category into the perspective of the overall theory and helped in identifying gaps in the data. A final memoing technique was the use of an evolving diagram. The preliminary research framework (figure 4) was used as a starting point for the research and served as a constant evolving memo technique. The framework was changed and filled out as the research progressed and was of great help in identifying core categories.
3.5 Validity and reliability
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Table 5: Quality tests
Test Tactic Research phase Action taken in this research
Construct validity
Use multiple sources of data
Data collection
Interviews were conducted with diverse experts and at diverse organizations, furthermore documentation was used Establish chain of
events
Data collection
The interview data was taped and described for each interview Have key informants
check interview transcripts
Composition Transcripts checked by respondents before analysis was conducted
Internal validity
Do pattern matching Data analysis Patterns were identified across interviews Do explanation
building Data analysis
Emerging theories were checked and build during final interviews
Do time series
analysis Data analysis Not incorporated in the research
Do logic models Data analysis Not performed due to lack of time series External
validity
Use rival theories Research design Not performed due to exploratory nature of research design Use replication logic Research design
Multiple interviews conducted using replication logic, validation by documentation analysis Reliability
Use case study protocol
Data collection
Interview protocol was used during all interviews
Develop case study database
Data collection
Transcripts and interview recordings are used and saved for all interviews
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4.
Results
The fourth chapter of this research concerns the results of the data analysis. Furthermore, the interview outcomes will be compared with the case documentation in order to validate the interview outcomes.
4.1 Formation of the core categories
In paragraph 2.3 the preliminary research framework was presented. This framework was based on the preliminary knowledge of the research field and assisted in the construction of the initial interview protocol. The preliminary research framework and its adjacent interview protocol were sharpened several times during the research procedure in order to add emerging concepts or to delete inconsistent or unsupported items. The following five core categories emerged from the interview data and create the structure for the following paragraphs:
Ideological ideation – generation of ideas for change is influenced by the cooperative foundations.
Extensive preparation – the cooperative foundations require an extensive planning of the change effort. This is especially so due to the specific decision making in cooperatives. Expeditious start of the changes – the phases preceding the start of the change assure an expeditious start of the changes.
Ordinary change implementation – no specific influence of the cooperative foundations is noticeable during the implementation of the changes.
Variety of cooperatives - cooperative institutions widely differ and experience different levels of cooperative influence during a change effort.
In order to present the grounded theory that lead to these core categories the following
32 4.2 Ideological ideation
The construction of ideas for organizational change appeared to take a specific form in CFIs. Respondent 10 named the generation of ideas for change in cooperative institutions as a particular process:
“I think that a research around change management in cooperative institutions should not forget to focus on the ideation for changes within cooperatives. In our organization there are relative short and direct connections from the bottom up, there is local autonomy for the affiliated banks, this results in a close connection with the market, our members and leads to interaction and collaboration between the different organizational levels. This creates an environment which leaves room for ideation.” (Respondent 10)
Table 6 presents the grounded theory model for this core category. The emerged core category will be explained based on this model.
Table 6: Ideological ideation
Core category Concepts Focused codes
Ideological ideation
Ideation based on cooperative foundations
Ideation based on member interest (10) Acting based on an ideology (7)
Member involvement in ideation
Ideation from members wishes (8) Highly accessible members (5) Actively approaching members (4)
The core category ‘ideological ideation‘ encompasses categories that refer to the manner in which ideas for organizational change are formed during the exploration phase of an
organizational change process. All interviewees were asked if they saw specific influence of the cooperative financial organization on the way the ideas for organizational change where formed. From analyzing the interview transcripts, two concepts emerged which each contributed
information considering the process of generation of ideas for organizational change and how this is special for cooperative institution. Both categories will now be elaborated upon.
4.2.1 Ideation based on the cooperative foundations
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‘Ideation based on member interest’ provides strong support for the specific form of idea generation in cooperative organizations due to its density in the data. The data indicated that CFIs generate ideas for change by critically focusing on the interests of the members. Examples of respondents that highlighted this link between the process of ideation and members interests include the following:
“The process of organizational change is relatively easy in the phase in which
organizational changes are devised, this due to the obvious goal of the organization to operate in the best way for the members.” (Respondent 1)
“The most striking fact that makes our organization different during organizational changes is that in identifying organizational changes the objective is to serve the members interest.” (Respondent 3)
The fact that many of the respondents named member interest as an important starting point for identifying what and where to change might not be surprising since cooperative institutions are basically owned by their members as was specifically named by respondent 8:
“Well, I can imagine that within cooperatives managers should consider the added value of a change for the members. If you look at the governance, members do have the final vote and are essentially owners of the organization.” (Respondent 8)
Organizational changes within cooperative institutions thus seem to be based on the needs of the members and the additional value that the change brings along for the members. Cooperative institutions therefore have to be conscious of the members of the organization and their interests when forming ideas for organizational change.
A number of respondents linked ideation to the ideology of the organization. The code ´acting based on an ideology´ focusses on generating ideas for organizational change in a cooperative institution based on the ideology of the institution. The ideology of cooperative institutions, which consist out of benefitting from cooperation and acting in the best way for the largest group is, imbedded in the culture of cooperatives. Respondent 7 named ideation from the cooperative believes as a being a special focus for cooperative institutions:
“As a cooperative institution you have certain beliefs on which you act. These cooperative foundations influence the how and why changes occur but do not directly influence the pace of change.” (Respondent 7)
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“The reason for this change was an ideology. It was purely based on the fact that a cooperative organization is an organizational form that guarantees that we act in the interests of the members, who are indirectly also our customers.” (Respondent 1)
Cooperative ideology also incorporates the continuity of the organization. Cooperatives have the ideology and goal of being an organization that provides certainty and continuity to its members. Continuity of cooperative institutions was discussed as being risk averse and adapting a long term focus for the organization. From the data emerged that several respondents saw the continuity of the cooperative as an important base for the formation of ideas for organizational change. Examples of respondents who named the continuity of the organization as specifically important include the following:
“Organizational changes only occur when the continuity of the organization for the
members is guaranteed. Organizational changes have to link to supporting this continuity.” (Respondent 9)
“What we recently have seen is that financial cooperatives were not really in danger during the financial crisis because they were acting with the interests of the customers in mind, and not in the interest of shareholders. This resembles a form of risk averse management. Operating based on the importance to the customer and avoiding financial risks is in my opinion distinctive to cooperative organizations.” (Respondent 6)
Providing certainty to the members by assuring the continuity of the institution is incorporated into the ideology of a cooperative institution and apparently influences the ideation process for organizational change in cooperatives based on the cooperative foundations.
4.2.2 Member involvement in ideation
‘Member involvement in ideation’ is a concept that emerged early on in the data analysis process. In determining organizational changes it appeared that cooperative institutions often directly, and indirectly, involve their members. Based on the data analysis this involvement of the members can either be based on identifying wishes and needs from the members by the
organization, or by involving the members directly in the ideation process by means of testing and refining ideas for organizational changes.
The code ‘ideation from member wishes’ resembles a relatively high density in the data. The code was named a total of eight times in the data set which provides solid grounds for this code. With ideation based on the wishes of the members, is meant that cooperative institutions
