A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. They differ from collectives in that they are generally built from the bottom-up, rather than the top-down.Cooperatives may include:
- Worker cooperatives: businesses owned and managed by the people who work there
- Consumer cooperatives: businesses owned and managed by the people who consume goods and/or services provided by the cooperative
- Producer cooperatives: businesses where producers pool their output for their common benefit
- Purchasing cooperatives where members pool their purchasing power
- Multi-stakeholder or hybrid cooperatives that share ownership between different stakeholder groups. For example, care cooperatives where ownership is shared between both care-givers and receivers. Stakeholders might also include non-profits or investors.
- Second- and third-tier cooperatives whose members are other cooperatives
- Platform cooperatives that use a cooperatively owned and governed website, mobile app or a protocol to facilitate the sale of goods and services.
Research published by the Worldwatch Institute found that in 2012 approximately one billion people in 96 countries had become members of at least one cooperative. The turnover of the largest three hundred cooperatives in the world reached $2.2 trillion.
