Dimensions of Member Heterogeneity in Cooperatives and Their Impact on Organization – A Literature Review

Member heterogeneity is often seen as a disadvantage of cooperatives. Though, a comprehensive understanding of member heterogeneity, its dimensions and impacts on member interests, organizations and their performance is still missing. The following literature review is intended to summarize the existing literature on member heterogeneity with a focus on agricultural cooperatives in order to provide further areas of research. Different dimensions of heterogeneity are identified and ways of measuring their impact on cooperative organization are proposed.