A cooperative as a local social capital agent: a study on the perception from management, cooperative affiliates and community - Cooperativa Agroindustrial Copagril, from Marechal Cândido Rondon, PR

Abstract

This article examines social capital characterizations in cooperatives. Initially, it looks for evidence of social capital, investigating three important streams of cooperative: the cooperative thought, from the so-called “utopian thinkers”; the cooperative principles designed by ACI; and the concept analysis from important scholars familiar with the cooperative field. Subsequently, it analyzes Copagril - an agribusiness cooperative located in the city of Marechal Cândido Rondon, at the State of Paraná, in Brazil - as an agent of local social capital. As a result, finds evidence of weak correlation between the social capital characterization in the analysis of cooperative streams, and small participation of Copagril’s social capital in the city.