Barriers to the Development Model of Consumer Cooperatives in Iran: A Thematic Analysis Approach
Keywords:
Consumer Cooperatives, Development Barriers, Thematic Analysis, Cooperative Governance, Member Participation, Organizational InnovationAbstract
This study aims to identify and explain the barriers shaping the development model of consumer cooperatives in Iran using a qualitative thematic analysis approach. This applied qualitative study adopted a phenomenological perspective. Data were collected through reviewing 56 scientific articles, 13 international reports, 21 domestic policy documents, and semi-structured interviews with nine managers, members, and experts of consumer cooperatives, selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were systematically analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis with MAXQDA 20 software. The findings revealed six core themes including weak governance, managerial inefficiency, financial challenges, low member participation, technological and innovation weaknesses, and market limitations, which collectively form four overarching dimensions: institutional-structural, managerial-organizational, economic-financial, and socio-cultural barriers that interactively constrain cooperative development. Sustainable development of consumer cooperatives in Iran requires simultaneous reform of governance structures, managerial capacity building, financial system redesign, and reconstruction of members’ social capital within a comprehensive systemic framework.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammad Hadi Safarnejad Noukashti (Author); Morad Rezaei Dizgah; Mehrdad GoudarzvandChegini (Author)
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