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Abstract
Internationalisation of agricultural co-operatives is a worldwide trend and has been identified by several
studies as one of the key challenges co-operatives are currently facing.
This paper provides a comprehensive literature review of the internationalisation of agricultural co-operatives
globally, including the identification of the critical factors in their development.
Starting with a review of the traditional definition of co-operatives and their unique characteristics, the paper
explores the emergence of new co-operative models, reasons for internationalisation as well as the barriers
to it, forms of internationalisation adopted by co-operatives, and potential conflicts that can arise. The paper
goes on with a new descriptive model for determining internationalisation of co-operatives.
Finally, using the mentioned model, the paper includes case studies of two New Zealand co-operatives:
Fonterra, a pure co-operative in the dairy industry and Zespri, a co-operative hybrid in the kiwifruit industry,
and their internationalisation situation.