At the University of Trento, the second edition of the workshop “Cooperative enterprises facing the new socio-economic environment” also held at the University of Ferrara in June.

On September 12 and 13 2022, the second edition of the workshop on cooperatives was held at the University of Trento in cooperation with the University of Ferrara that hosted the same on June 23, 2022.

The recent economic and financial crisis, along with climate change and the pandemic, has drastically altered the socio-economic context, requiring proactive responses from various organizational types and economic actors. Cooperative enterprises face the crisis in the context of increased competition and stricter regulation. The new context calls for new analyses and new tools that go beyond what has traditionally been used in the study of nonconventional enterprises.

Among the main challenges on the table are the preservation of jobs in struggling businesses in many activities that are under pressure, the need to employ new production processes to address climate change, and the use of new technologies among which digitization plays a central role in the transition to a green economy. Cooperatives have demonstrated flexibility and resilience in their organizational model during the crisis through the involvement of diverse stakeholders and proactive adaptation to new conditions. However, challenges still loom, and proactive measures and appropriate organizational responses are needed. Moreover, the evolution of the organizational model itself (its governance and management) cannot be left out of the picture. Young researchers and doctoral students studying cooperative enterprises are at the forefront of this difficult scientific and policy task. This workshop aims to involve them first in a new scientific endeavor.