Governance and performance model for agricultural cooperatives

The main goal of this article is to offer a performance model based on the principles and practices of corporate governance applied to agricultural cooperatives. The research uses a quantitative approach based on a survey of agricultural cooperatives established in Brazil. The procedures focused on the descriptive analysis of empirical results, the use factor, and discriminant analysis. Factor analysis reported two dimensions of governance (reliability and transparency) and three of performance (financial control, profitability, and sustainability). The discriminant analysis allowed us to distinguish cooperatives with the best governance practices and those with the best performance. This study presents a performance model based on structured governance principles and practices.