An empirical approach to analyse the reputation-performance linkage in agrifood cooperatives

The concept of corporate reputation is rarely applied to cooperative companies. This paper analyzes the implications of a good reputation in their performance. Specifically, it focuses on olive oil cooperatives in Spain, where the need for differentiation makes them key subjects of study. The structural equation method and the partial least square technique are used to empirically test a theoretical model linking cooperative reputation to performance in a twofold multidimensional way. On the one hand considering that the cooperative reputation is reflected on four variables: innovation, certification systems, social responsibility and awards. On the other hand the financial aspects of performance have been considered but also the non-financials, to take into account the specific nature of these companies. The outcomes obtained for the representative sample of the sectorof 76 cooperatives in Spain, demonstrates that reputation has been well approximated by the four variables included in the model and it is indeed directly and positively related to the cooperative performance. These findings serve for positioning reputation as a novel key performance indicator for Coopmanagers, indicator that also allows to be used at the same time in the imminent need for differentiation of this industry.