Abstract:
Agricultural cooperatives face numerous challenges and changes, their existence being influenced by their ability to
adapt to resource scarcity, market instability and the need for continuous development. Based on the review of the
specialized literature, the present paper aims to highlight the main driving forces behind the performance of
cooperatives in agriculture. The findings indicate that the success of the agricultural cooperative are dependent not only
on the economic environment, but also on the social context in which the cooperative operates. Two main categories of
success factors were identified: external factors, such as government policy, the marketing system, external assistance,
the legal framework; and internal factors, related to managerial skills, governance and the motivation for establishing
the cooperative. The degrees of importance of these critical succes factors are determined by the level of development
of the cooperative system.
