Volume 67, Issue 1

Is borrowing from members for cooperatives (not part of a concern) within the scope of the interest barrier and can in this respect establish a harmful borrowing from shareholders within the meaning of § 8a subsection 2 KStG? This is a question of great scientific and practical relevance. This paper concludes that cooperatives (not part of a concern) are not within the scope of a harmful shareholder borrowing within the meaning of § 8a subsection 2 KStG.

The literature mostly considers the heterogeneity of cooperatives‘ member structure to be a drawback or risk of this organizational form. Structural change in agriculture, diversification and cooperatives‘ growth inevitably result in a more heterogeneous member structure of cooperatives in agribusiness. By the application of Lazear’s (1999) model to the heterogeneous composition of teams on cooperatives in agribusiness, this paper shows under which conditions a cooperative benefits from the heterogeneity of its members.

The cooperative energy transition does not only need energy cooperative start-ups, but also a profitable and dynamic development of the existing energy cooperatives. A balance sheet analysis of power generating energy cooperatives in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Lower Saxony demonstrates the declining profitability and the missing growth dynamics.