The Appeal and Correspondence of Co-Operative Values and Personal Values of the Youth

Anu Puusa*, Kirsi Hokkila, Simo Leppänen

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference article in proceedingsScientificpeer-review

    Abstract

    The motivation of this study is the ongoing attitudinal change towards more sustainable values and the notion of young people's frustration towards the "cold and hard values" gaining more foothold in our society. We used a mixed methods approach. At first we introduce findings of a quantitative survey collected from 3680 Finnish students identifying their personal values and attitudes towards different business forms. Benevolence, security and self-direction were the most appreciated values among the sample. In general it was perceived that hard values direct business life as a whole whereas attitudes towards co-operatives appeared positive. Next by using qualitative textual data gathered from 36 students we aimed at increasing understanding of why co-ops are perceived positively and how the established idea of co-operatives was interpreted. We identified four levels of discourses from the data, each describing co-operative ideas from different viewpoints: ideological, national, organizational and personal. Based on the findings, we conclude that co-operative ideology is regarded as appealing due to its emphasis on social responsibility. At the national level the data permits the conclusion that the attraction to co-operative values may partly be a culture-bound matter. At the organizational level responsibility and security were emphasized. Co-ops were perceived to stabilize the economy, contribute to local areas and provide individuals with secure employment. At the personal level these aspects were associated with security and continuity in the fast changing societies. We conclude that the co-op values seem to correspond well with the personal values of the youth and that the appeal of co-ops is based especially on the security that arises from co-op values and principles.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationPROCEEDINGS OF THE 11TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
    Editors Aaltio, MT Eskelinen
    PublisherAcademic Conferences and Publishing International
    Pages586-592
    Number of pages7
    ISBN (Electronic)9781911218081
    ISBN (Print)9781911218074
    Publication statusPublished - 2016
    MoE publication typeA4 Conference publication
    EventEuropean Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Jyvaskylä, Finland
    Duration: 15 Sept 201616 Sept 2016
    Conference number: 11

    Publication series

    NameProceedings of the European Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation
    PublisherACAD CONFERENCES LTD
    ISSN (Print)2049-1050

    Conference

    ConferenceEuropean Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
    Abbreviated titleECIE
    Country/TerritoryFinland
    CityJyvaskylä
    Period15/09/201616/09/2016

    Keywords

    • youth values
    • co-operative organization
    • co-operative ideology
    • co-operative values
    • security

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