{"id":{"repo_id":"salford","oai_identifier":"oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1407248"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/salford/oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1407248","repository":{"repo_id":"salford","name":"U. of Salford","base_url":"https://salford-repository.worktribe.com/oaiprovider"},"display":{"title":"Change in co-operative organisations : the case of Greek pharmaceutical co-operatives","abstract":"This thesis investigates how change unfolds in a certain type of retailer-owned co-operatives; the pharmaceutical co-operatives in Greece. Previous works have identified the type of changes (‘what’) that occurred in (mostly, agricultural) co-operatives and explained them through the “structural inefficiencies” of the organizational form (‘why’). Within this framework, change will inevitably lead from a member-patron co-operative model to a member-investor model. That dominant theoretical trend seems ill-suited to explaining change in complex organizations of hybrid nature like co-operatives (i.e. a business firm and a civil association). Therefore, the aim of this study is to re-examine the prevailing patterns of change in the co-operative organizations by observing the change process in a fundamental different way. For this reason, it employs a constructivist conceptual framework that it is based on the insights of the theory of autopoietic, self-referential social systems (Social Systems Theory). Following a qualitative research design and using empirical data derived from the study of three cases in Greek pharmaceutical wholesale sector, which have experienced radical changes in their traditional co-operative form, and the contribution of a key-informant, the research reveals an ambiguous situation: although changes have brought the co-operatives closer to the demands of the current business environment and to the operation of an investor-owned firm, the organizations perceive those changes as if they have left their co-operative nature unaltered.The outcome of thesis departs significantly from the conventional thinking about change in co-operatives. Change is not an inevitable route to the gradual demutualization of the co-operative. Instead, it is a part of the autopoietic process in which the communicative construct of ‘member-patron’ guides and orients relevant decisions and processes meaning necessary for the reproduction of the organization. Hence, decisions about change must primarily take into account the particularity of the co-operative organization (i.e. user-owned, user-controlled and user-benefited organization). Keywords: Co-operatives, Change, Social Systems Theory, Pharmaceutical Sector, Greece","abstract_html":"This thesis investigates how change unfolds in a certain type of retailer-owned co-operatives; the pharmaceutical co-operatives in Greece. Previous works have identified the type of changes (‘what’) that occurred in (mostly, agricultural) co-operatives and explained them through the “structural inefficiencies” of the organizational form (‘why’). Within this framework, change will inevitably lead from a member-patron co-operative model to a member-investor model. That dominant theoretical trend seems ill-suited to explaining change in complex organizations of hybrid nature like co-operatives (i.e. a business firm and a civil association). Therefore, the aim of this study is to re-examine the prevailing patterns of change in the co-operative organizations by observing the change process in a fundamental different way. For this reason, it employs a constructivist conceptual framework that it is based on the insights of the theory of autopoietic, self-referential social systems (Social Systems Theory). Following a qualitative research design and using empirical data derived from the study of three cases in Greek pharmaceutical wholesale sector, which have experienced radical changes in their traditional co-operative form, and the contribution of a key-informant, the research reveals an ambiguous situation: although changes have brought the co-operatives closer to the demands of the current business environment and to the operation of an investor-owned firm, the organizations perceive those changes as if they have left their co-operative nature unaltered.The outcome of thesis departs significantly from the conventional thinking about change in co-operatives. Change is not an inevitable route to the gradual demutualization of the co-operative. Instead, it is a part of the autopoietic process in which the communicative construct of ‘member-patron’ guides and orients relevant decisions and processes meaning necessary for the reproduction of the organization. Hence, decisions about change must primarily take into account the particularity of the co-operative organization (i.e. user-owned, user-controlled and user-benefited organization). Keywords: Co-operatives, Change, Social Systems Theory, Pharmaceutical Sector, Greece","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ntrinias, T"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":"Doctoral (Level 8)","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026","date_published":"2026","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:26:44Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1407248"],"render_values":[{"text":"oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1407248","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["University of Salford"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ntrinias, T"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2026-07-24"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://salford-repository.worktribe.com/output/1407248"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral (Level 8)"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1407248"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://salford-repository.worktribe.com/file/1407248/1/Change%20in%20coop_thesis_Ntrinias.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis investigates how change unfolds in a certain type of retailer-owned co-operatives; the pharmaceutical co-operatives in Greece. Previous works have identified the type of changes (‘what’) that occurred in (mostly, agricultural) co-operatives and explained them through the “structural inefficiencies” of the organizational form (‘why’). Within this framework, change will inevitably lead from a member-patron co-operative model to a member-investor model. That dominant theoretical trend seems ill-suited to explaining change in complex organizations of hybrid nature like co-operatives (i.e. a business firm and a civil association). Therefore, the aim of this study is to re-examine the prevailing patterns of change in the co-operative organizations by observing the change process in a fundamental different way. For this reason, it employs a constructivist conceptual framework that it is based on the insights of the theory of autopoietic, self-referential social systems (Social Systems Theory). Following a qualitative research design and using empirical data derived from the study of three cases in Greek pharmaceutical wholesale sector, which have experienced radical changes in their traditional co-operative form, and the contribution of a key-informant, the research reveals an ambiguous situation: although changes have brought the co-operatives closer to the demands of the current business environment and to the operation of an investor-owned firm, the organizations perceive those changes as if they have left their co-operative nature unaltered.The outcome of thesis departs significantly from the conventional thinking about change in co-operatives. Change is not an inevitable route to the gradual demutualization of the co-operative. Instead, it is a part of the autopoietic process in which the communicative construct of ‘member-patron’ guides and orients relevant decisions and processes meaning necessary for the reproduction of the organization. Hence, decisions about change must primarily take into account the particularity of the co-operative organization (i.e. user-owned, user-controlled and user-benefited organization). Keywords: Co-operatives, Change, Social Systems Theory, Pharmaceutical Sector, Greece"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Change in co-operative organisations : the case of Greek pharmaceutical co-operatives"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.sponsor":["University of Salford"],"dc:creator":["Ntrinias, T"],"dc:date":["2026-07-24"],"dc:date.issued":["2026"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis investigates how change unfolds in a certain type of retailer-owned co-operatives; the pharmaceutical co-operatives in Greece. Previous works have identified the type of changes (‘what’) that occurred in (mostly, agricultural) co-operatives and explained them through the “structural inefficiencies” of the organizational form (‘why’). Within this framework, change will inevitably lead from a member-patron co-operative model to a member-investor model. That dominant theoretical trend seems ill-suited to explaining change in complex organizations of hybrid nature like co-operatives (i.e. a business firm and a civil association). Therefore, the aim of this study is to re-examine the prevailing patterns of change in the co-operative organizations by observing the change process in a fundamental different way. For this reason, it employs a constructivist conceptual framework that it is based on the insights of the theory of autopoietic, self-referential social systems (Social Systems Theory). Following a qualitative research design and using empirical data derived from the study of three cases in Greek pharmaceutical wholesale sector, which have experienced radical changes in their traditional co-operative form, and the contribution of a key-informant, the research reveals an ambiguous situation: although changes have brought the co-operatives closer to the demands of the current business environment and to the operation of an investor-owned firm, the organizations perceive those changes as if they have left their co-operative nature unaltered.The outcome of thesis departs significantly from the conventional thinking about change in co-operatives. Change is not an inevitable route to the gradual demutualization of the co-operative. Instead, it is a part of the autopoietic process in which the communicative construct of ‘member-patron’ guides and orients relevant decisions and processes meaning necessary for the reproduction of the organization. Hence, decisions about change must primarily take into account the particularity of the co-operative organization (i.e. user-owned, user-controlled and user-benefited organization). Keywords: Co-operatives, Change, Social Systems Theory, Pharmaceutical Sector, Greece"],"dc:identifier":["oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1407248"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://salford-repository.worktribe.com/file/1407248/1/Change%20in%20coop_thesis_Ntrinias.pdf"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://salford-repository.worktribe.com/output/1407248"],"dc:title":["Change in co-operative organisations : the case of Greek pharmaceutical co-operatives"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Doctoral (Level 8)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:26:44Z"}