Off-campus UNL users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your NU ID and password. When you are done browsing please remember to return to this page and log out.
Non-UNL users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.
A qualitative study of farmer-owned grain cooperatives in Nebraska and Iowa: Barriers to change
Abstract
Many structural changes have been taking place in agriculture during the past several decades. Farmers, agribusiness firms, and rural communities have experienced difficulty adapting to rapid change. Numerous areas of excess capacity have been identified within farmer owned grain cooperatives but economic adjustments have been slow to happen. This research was conducted to determine if barriers to change existed within the rural cooperative community that hinders implementation of change. Several research questions were proposed to guide the direction of the study. Qualitative approaches were undertaken to collect and analyze data. The research questions proposed were as follows: (1) What are the barriers or resistances to change which can be identified that affect farmer owned grain cooperatives in selected Nebraska and Iowa cooperatives? (2) Who are the individuals, groups, or change agents who exert the most influence on the change process? (3) How do the change agent individuals or groups express their influence on cooperatives? (4) Can grounded theory be developed to address the change process in farmer owned cooperatives? (5) Can the grounded theory outline areas of possible solutions to barriers or resistance to change? Observations of the twelve participating cooperatives in Nebraska and Iowa along with personal interviews with 150 stakeholders (persons who are impacted by or have an impact on the cooperative) were the primary source of data. The interviews were coded and sorted with the aid of a computerized data base program. Nine barriers to change were identified by the participants. They were: (1) Loss of identity of the cooperative. (2) Resistance by elderly individuals. (3) Traditional approaches to the change process. (4) Low economic base in the community. (5) Conservatism in adopting changes. (6) Fear of change and the possible losses. (7) Pride/attitude of individuals and community. (8) Board of directors resistance to change. (9) Lack of young people staying in the area. Elderly individuals in the community were described as a group who exert influence hindering the change process. This group exerted their influence by two general methods; control of finances, and membership on boards of directors of the cooperatives. Grounded theory developed as a part of this study implies that all of the barriers or resistance to change were people oriented. Implementation of change can be improved by developing procedures that direct communication toward answering questions that individuals possess. The mere identification of excess capacity or other business conditions do not in themselves motivate individuals to change. Understanding the value systems and preferences of stakeholders is essential to the dynamics of change.
Subject Area
Agricultural education|Agricultural economics|Adult education|Continuing education
Recommended Citation
Swain, Larry Burton, "A qualitative study of farmer-owned grain cooperatives in Nebraska and Iowa: Barriers to change" (1990). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9034292.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9034292