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Worker Cooperatives: Pathways to Scale

A research report by Hilary Abell on barriers and success factors for scaling worker cooperatives, including cooperative culture, training, management, capital, and governance.

Source: The Democracy Collaborative / Project EquityAdded June 12, 2026Published 2014
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Why it matters

It connects governance basics to the harder question of scale: how worker co-ops grow without losing democratic culture or business discipline.

Best for

Researchers, ecosystem builders, and advisors thinking beyond single-co-op formation.

This report is useful for understanding worker co-op governance as part of a larger development ecosystem. It emphasizes that governance, training, culture, management, and capital all shape whether worker co-ops can grow. For library users, it is a strong next step after introductory governance resources.

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Heirloom Library entries are summaries and wayfinding notes. The original source is the best place to read the full resource.

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Scale and Impact Resource Guide

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