An Analysis of the Coverage of Cooperatives in U.S. Introductory Business Textbooks

Abstract

In the United States, cooperatives are an important form of business with an estimated 30,000 cooperatives operating and annual sales in excess of $654 billion. In spite of cooperatives importance to the U.S. economy, little is known about the coverage of cooperatives in textbooks used in introductory-level business classes. The purpose of this study is to provide the first comprehensive analysis of the coverage of cooperatives in introductory-level business textbooks used in principles-level business courses by discipline (e.g., accounting & management) at U.S. colleges and universities, and; critically analyze authors’ examples used to illustrate the cooperative form of business. Findings suggest a very small percentage of introductory-level business textbooks include a discussion about cooperatives along with other forms of business. Furthermore, where cooperatives are discussed, the coverage is limited and cooperative examples are not representative of the majority of cooperatives.