Ekonomski principi upravljanja zajedničkim dobrima: Slučaj srpskih zadruga
Economic Principles of Governing the Commons: The Case of Serbian Cooperatives

Summary/Abstract: Purpose – This study explains the concept, function and the importance of the common good from the standpoint of institutional economics. The research part of the article analyzes the business indicators of Serbian cooperatives, placement of goods, the issue of profit distribution and the importance of member ideas for the improvement of cooperative. In the text are measured the degree of severity of cooperative’s principles, desirable personality traits that should have any cooperative member as well as mutual trust. Besides, it is examined the impact of the aforementioned variables on cooperative business indicators. The final part of the research analyzes issues related to potential conflicts in a cooperative and transaction costs they cause. It analyzes the mechanisms to overcome them, the issue of mutual resources sharing, control and surveillance. Design/methodology/approach – Data was collected using an online questionnaire with closed answers, together with Likert scales. The sample included farming, cattle-breeding, vegetable-growing, fruit-growing, beekeeping, fishing, construction, crafts and mixed cooperatives in more than 15 cities in Serbia. 85 questionnaires were distributed to managers of cooperatives in two waves in the space of 15 days. Besides standard descriptive statistics, in the survey were applied factor, regression and correlation analyses. Main findings – The study demonstrated that the regression factor scores 1-3, obtained through factor analysis, influence on the change of dependent variable ‘cooperative turnover in 2015’. It is also confirmed that the trustworthiness index is in positive correlation with annual turnover of the cooperative and also with variable ‘cooperative`s size of profit’.

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