Abstract:In the United States, nearly any business organization can be legally structured as a cooperative, whereby individuals cooperatively work together to achieve common goals. The past decade has seen a growing interest in cooperative wood products organizations in response to the rise in market uncertainties in many timber-based communities. Information concerning cooperative business organizations in the wood products industry, however, is scant. This paper provides an overview of the general classification of cooperative businesses, as well as a brief review of forestry and wood products cooperatives in the United States. Survey results collected from consumers, cooperative members, and cooperative consignees of a single wood products cooperative located in Idaho are also reported in this paper. Results from the survey suggest that although consumers of cooperative products believe that product quality between conventional and cooperative retail outlets is perceived as being similar, the consumers are more likely to purchase cooperative products at slightly higher prices in order to assist in building their community. Consumers indicated that they were satisfied with nearly all of the cooperative's products and services. Despite the nature of the differences in their participation in the cooperative, cooperative members and cooperative consignees were found to have somewhat similar perceptions of the cooperative's functions and policies. Future research on wood product cooperatives is suggested to examine whether structural differences influence consumer, cooperative member, and cooperative consignee perceptions.

　　Subjects:Cooperative societies; Wood products

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