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Becoming an extended cooperative enterprise citizen through Fair Trade: a case study of a Korean consumer cooperative

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Abstract

This paper examines the Fair Trade practices of Dure, a Korean consumer cooperative, through the extended cooperative enterprise citizenship framework. Extended cooperative citizenship means that cooperatives should replace citizenship and fill the gaps in the weakening public service sector. As dual-purpose business organizations, cooperatives have already played essential roles as extended corporate citizens. However, previous literature regarding CSR or cooperatives has not sufficiently explored the social responsibility of cooperatives. Furthermore, corporate citizenship is generally regarded as a singular and static concept. Therefore, this paper analyses Dure’s Fair Trade practices through the newly developed framework. Significantly, this article clarifies how Dure collaborates with key stakeholders and upholds their civil, political, and social rights through Fair Trade. This paper also explains how cooperative enterprise citizenship has changed as Fair Trade practices have shifted. Two implications of this research are revealed. First, the paper develops a new analytical model to explain the dynamics of corporate citizenship and Fair Trade practices. Second, the research provides details about the social responsibility of Korean consumer cooperatives based on Fair Trade that will have practical applications for practitioners in the business sector.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cultural Studies, Lingnan University, 8 Castle Peak Rd-Lingnan, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong

    Jiyun Jeon

  2. Division of Business Administration & Department of Management of Cooperatives, Graduate School, Sungkonghoe University, 320, Yeondong-Ro, Guro-Gu, Seoul, 08359, Republic of Korea

    Seungkwon Jang

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  1. Jiyun Jeon
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Correspondence to Seungkwon Jang.

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Jeon, J., Jang, S. Becoming an extended cooperative enterprise citizen through Fair Trade: a case study of a Korean consumer cooperative. Asian J Bus Ethics (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-024-00195-8

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