We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Les coopératives forestières dans le développement économique et social des régions périphériques du Québec.
- Authors
Gingras, Patrick; Carrier, Mario; Villeneuve, Paul Y.
- Abstract
Given that the economic and social spheres are increasingly being pitted against each other in modern societies, it has become imperative to evaluate the social impact of regional development strategies with the use of precise indicators. Forest co-operatives in Quebec represent a regional development strategy because they are considered a response of forest communities to economic insertion and to economic innovation. By using an novel approach centred on quantitative methods, this article measures social cohesion generated by Quebec forest co-operatives within their community, according to their level of economic innovation. This article is divided into four major parts. The first explores the relation between social cohesion and economic innovation. Our methodological approach enabled us to create an average index of social cohesion according to the economic level of innovation of our sample forest co-operatives. The average indices of social cohesion reveal that the more innovative forest co-operatives generate greater social cohesion than traditional co-operatives. This leads us to reassess the apparent contrast between the economic and social spheres within a regional development dynamic. The second part identifies the social cohesion dimensions commonly shared by Quebec forest co-operatives according to innovation level or category. The interest of our statistical approach comes from its capability to define the nature or aspects of social cohesion observed among Quebec forest co-operatives according to their innovation level. We identified seven social cohesion dimensions commonly shared by all different innovation categories: the legitimacy of co-operative governance authorities, the strategic participation of members within their co-operative, the usual participation of members within their co-operative, equity among members relating to economic insertion, the insertion of members within the co-operative, and the mutual involvement of the co-operative and the community in community development. The third part of our research shows which social cohesion dimensions characterize each innovation category. Finally, the fourth part measures the impact of each social cohesion dimension on the forest co-operatives' capacity to innovate. To this end, it appears that the members' capacity to be substantially involved, or to take an active role in the co-operative, particularly through committees and decisional and administrative authorities, constitutes a significant variable influencing forest co-operatives' capacity to innovate. The strategic participation of members within their co-operative shows greater involvement in key functions. Thus, with respect to the definition and direction of their common business organization, members in more innovative co-operatives play a more active role than members in traditional co-operatives. Concerning this last point, an ordinal regression analysis illustrates that the strategic participation of members within their co-operative has the greater impact on the capacity to innovate. This variable sets apart the more innovative forest co-operatives.
- Subjects
QUEBEC (Province); ECONOMICS; SOCIETIES; SOCIAL impact; COMMUNITY development; SOCIAL cohesion
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Regional Science / Revue Canadienne des Sciences Régionales, 2008, Vol 31, Issue 1, p55
- ISSN
0705-4580
- Publication type
Article