Fatores que influenciam a associação em cooperativas de crédito

Abstract

Externally, credit cooperatives have many similarities with banks. However, a series of characteristics of its own organizational nature, distinguish them from banking financial institutions. Among them is the figure of the member, a distinguished "consumer" who simultaneously assumes the role of owner and user of the services provided by the cooperative. The uniqueness of the model of a cooperative organization, and the hybrid nature of the role assumed by the members, awakens the interest in understanding the behavioural dimensions of this "consumer-associate". In this sense, the general objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence the association in credit cooperatives. The theoretical reference of this research approaches two fields of knowledge: the aspects related to credit cooperativism and studies on the factors that influence the choice for financial institutions. To reach the specific objectives, two methodological phases were developed. A qualitative phase, of which purpose was to reach specific objective 1 (identify, from the perspective of members and managers of singular, central and confederation cooperatives, the variables that influence the association in credit cooperatives). To this end, a literature review was conducted in addition to 14 semi-structured interviews with key actors, among them: members, business managers, product supervisor and the director responsible for the marketing of a singular cooperative, and marketing manager of a central cooperative and confederation of cooperatives. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The second phase had quantitative nature, with the purpose of reaching specific objective 2 (identify and measure the factors that influence the association in credit cooperatives). To this end, 415 questionnaires were applied to members of three cooperatives. The methods used for data analysis are the exploratory factorial analysis and the Cronbach's Alpha. The research identified seven factors that explain 66.68% of the total data variation. The factors and their respective alphas are: Attendance and Reliability (0.943), Price (0.841), Cooperativism Differentials (0.846), Convenience (0.856), Relative Advantages (0.862), Social Influences (0.700), Products (0.488). The relevance of factor "Cooperativism Differentials" was prominent, demonstrating that the characteristics considered as intrinsic to cooperatives are motivating for the association process. The "products" factor did not obtain a satisfactory alpha. It is assumed that one of the hindering effects is related to the communication policy of this attribute, given that, during the interviews, the cooperative members demonstrated uncertainty regarding the knowledge of the products offered by the cooperative. This study provides an incremental contribution to the literature on consumer behaviour, especially in the

area of financial cooperativism. Regarding practical implications, the results obtained can be incorporated into the marketing strategy of cooperatives, especially in the context of commercial and institutional marketing. About the study limitations, the sample did not include municipalities of distinct sizes and cooperatives of distinct systems. As a suggestion for future research, comparative studies can be conducted between credit cooperatives and banks, as well as distinct cooperative profiles; validation of the data collection instrument (scale); among others.