Kooperativets medlemmar och dess ägarstyrning - En fallstudie på Lantmännens EF

Abstract

Introduction: In Sweden, many economic associations are conducted through the form of cooperatives, where it is primarily users or customers who make up the members and, consequently, the owners of the cooperative. Lantmännen, which has been analysed in this case study, is today one of the largest cooperatives in Sweden. With about 25,000 members, there are many different interests that management has to take into account. Difficulties in consolidating these interests may cause agent problems. The question is whether Lantmännen can overcome these problems through more active ownership management. Purpose: This study aims to investigate how Lantmännen's management can contribute to a more active ownership management of the members, and if so, can it minimize the risk of possible conflicts of interest between principals (members) and agents (management). Methodology: In order to investigate what the current situation of Lantmännen looks like, a qualitative method have been used. Interviews have been made with three people with insight to the ownership organization. This, together with a secondary data collection, is the foundation of our analysis. Conclusion: Through a clearer connection between the group of companies and the owner's own business and a clarification of the benefit that comes from being engage, more active ownership management can be achieved and, consequently, the risk of conflict in terms of goals can be reduced.