Industry Partners
Overview & Aims
The first co-operative in Western Australia was founded in Albany in 1867, and its success helped to promote the foundation of other firms in the following years. From these humble beginnings, the WA Co-operative, and Mutual Enterprise (CME) sector has grown to where it now comprises many of Australia’s largest and most successful CMEs, with a combined annual turnover of more than $10 billion, assets over $16 billion, memberships over 2.4 million, and providing indirect and direct employment for thousands.
This study examines the economic and social contributions CMEs have made in Western Australia. Despite the importance of the CME sector to the state, there has been no systematic examination of the economic and social contribution yours and many other CMEs make to WA, economically or socially.
Research Questions
- What main economic and social contributions have been made by the CME sector to WA since 1829?
- How did community collaboration and existing social capital influence the foundation and sustainability of CMEs in WA?
- What role has government legislation and policy played in shaping the development of and change in the CME sector in WA?
- How have CMEs played a role in addressing market failures within selected industries across WA?
- What impacts have changes in industry structure and market competition had on CMEs within WA?
- What role have CMEs in WA played in addressing the impacts of changing environmental contexts such as droughts, cyclones, bushfires, climate change, disease, wars and global economic shocks and depression?
- How have WA CMEs adapted their business models to respond to political, economic, social, technological, and environmental challenges, and what was the role played by their organisational purpose and ability to offer member’s value?
Research Methdology
Research Publications
Corporate history
Co-operative Federation of WA Centenary History, 1919-2019
Written by Dr. Bruce Baskerville, this corporate history tells the story of the establishment, growth and contribution of the Co-operative Federation of WA (aka Co-ops WA), to the development of the WA CME sector. It provides not only a story of Co-ops WA, but of the WA co-operative movement.
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Corporate history
Royal Automobile Club of WA History, 1908-2021
Written by Dr. Bruce Baskerville, this corporate history traces the evolution of RACWA from its foundation to the present. It is a story not only of the RACWA, but of the history of the motor vehicle in WA, and the role of RACWA in helping to shape the way in which motorists and the general community understand transportation.
Presentation Co-ops WA Conference 2023
Update on the research project
This presentation by Professor Tim Mazzarol provides an overview of the WA CME History project with a discussion of the work completed over the previous year. This includes a new comprehensive research book of the CME sector, plus the completion of the histories of the Albany Co-operative Society (the first in WA), and the Perth Building Society.
Presentation Co-ops wa agm 2024
Update on the research project
This presentation by Emeritus Professor Tim Mazzarol provides an overview of the WA CME History project with a focus on the key lessons learnt from the study so far. It shows that WA has followed a different path to that of other States in Australia. The role of Wesfarmers and the Co-ops Federation of WA have also played a key role.
Presentation Co-ops WA Conference 2022
Update on the research project
This presentation by Professor Tim Mazzarol provides an overview of the WA CME History project with a discussion of the systematic literature review undertaken into the CME research field from 1848 to 2022. This highlights the main CME journals, evolution of the CMEs in history, and the key findings from the literature review.
Presentation Co-op WA conference 2022
From the vault - CME history
This presentation by Dr Bruce Baskerville overviews the evolution of the WA CME sector and the specific stories of the Co-operatives Federation of WA (Co-ops WA), and Royal Automobile Club of WA (RACWA). It provides both a chronological timeline, and a personal history of the key people who founded these two organisations.