Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives

Colombo, Laura A., Bailey, Adrian R. and Gomes, Marcus V. P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5488-249X 2023. Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives. Organization 10.1177/13505084221147480

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (266kB) | Preview

Abstract

It has become normative in organization and management studies literature to consider scaling as a synonym for organizational growth. Scaling is typically understood as scaling-up. This article demonstrates that, in the context of post-growth organizations, scaling involves a more complex set of dynamics. Directing scholarly attention to scaling in the context of Italian Social Agricultural Cooperatives (i.e. organizations that hold a different rationale and modus operandi from the capitalist enterprise), this research contributes to the literature on scaling the impact of post-growth organizations by identifying nine different scaling routes: organizational growth (vertical and horizontal); organizational downscaling; impact on policies; multiplication; impact on organizational culture; impact on societal culture; aggregation; and diffusion. This article demonstrates that post-growth scaling: (1) requires the synergistic interaction of different strategies; (2) focuses on impacting societal culture; (3) does not necessarily require organizational growth; and (4) is a relational process, embedded in socio-ecological systems. The typology presented in this article empowers post-growth organizations to become more aware of different available scaling routes, unlocking their transformative potential and supporting the transition towards a post-growth future, in which the goal of economics is the pursuit of human and ecological flourishing.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	1350-5084
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 January 2023
Date of Acceptance:	2 December 2022
Last Modified:	19 Feb 2024 13:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/156205

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item