Echoes of Co-operatives from the North — the Breakthrough of the Finnish Cooperative Movement

Abstract

This article describes the breakthrough of the Finnish cooperative movement as part of the broader social upheaval of the early twentieth century. While the breakthrough of the movement may have come late in Finland, it has left an indelible mark on Finnish society. The DNA of the Finnish cooperative movement has a strong dose of international genes, particularly from the UK, Germany, Ireland and Denmark, which were adapted to the Finnish reality. This article analyses what led to international business model innovation taking hold in a remote and sparsely populated northern country predominantly dependent on agricultural production, and what the ramifications of this development were. In this theoretical article we have used an explanatory historical research method to understand what happened, why it happened and what came of it. From the European perspective, Finland was a remote, cold and forested land, slow to embrace agricultural and industrial progress. Furthermore, delayed land reforms increased social pressures. While the basic motives behind the cooperative movement were economic and social, the actualization of the movement was triggered by the fact that Finland’s relationship with the Russian central power reached a critical point. The expansion of the cooperative movement cannot be explained solely by the factor of social and political attraction. It also required a strong figure and a group of committed people who would take an active initiative and act as a catalyst to lead the change. The past decades have demonstrated the practical power of ideology, as Finnish cooperative enterprises have managed to create a credible alternative to other types of business, create healthy competition, and provide benefits and services to their members. Cooperatives have been characterized by a dual nature, meaning that while cooperatives have competitive and profitable business operations, they simultaneously have social goals and have also achieved broader social change. The cooperative movement, which was born over a century ago in Finland, has had a significant impact on the development of Finnish society by pioneering equality and democracy, two values ​​that have since been universally adopted. Today, in relative terms, Finland is probably the most cooperative country in the world.