Trade · 6 pages · 12 min
How a cooperative differs from a corporation
A cooperative is owned by the people who use it, and a corporation is owned by shareholders.
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From the opening
A cooperative is an enterprise owned by its members, usually the customers, producers, or workers who use it, and its surplus is allocated back to those members on the basis of use. A business corporation is owned by shareholders, and its residual profit belongs to them in proportion to their shares. The opening covers members own by use, shareholders own by equity, and patronage is not a dividend.
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Inside
- Members own by use
- Shareholders own by equity
- Patronage is not a dividend
- One member often one vote
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Rochdale cooperative principles
- Patronage refund versus shareholder dividend