Democratic ownership as a competitive advantage

When, in 1866, dean Hans Christian Sonne founded Thisted Arbejderforening, Denmark’s first consumer association, he also laid the foun dation for one of the most important currents of thought in Danish working history: the cooperative movement. This democratically constructed business culture can, today, boast of having played a crucial role in the development of the current welfare economy – and fostered globally competitive business such as Arla and Danish Crown.

A cooperative resembles any other company in most areas. The major difference is the democratic element, which ensures the owners’ direct influence on the business’ decisions. In the cases of both Arla and Danish Crown its members – mostly milk and meat producers – select a share holders’ committee which, among other things, selects the company’s board. In FDB, which among other things runs the retail chain COOP, its 1.6 million members are the owners. This special ownership model gives cooperatives a number of advantages over their competitors: