Abstract
The profitability of Agricultural Cooperatives (which is abbreviated to AC) is stagnating, so the farming promotion activity is by no means the sanctuary of AC. The severer the environment surrounding AC is, the more efficient the practice should be. Therefore, AC rationally needs to choose its functions among many potential functions.
The purpose of the article is to investigate the framework of the farming promotion strategies of AC and to show what the choice of activities should be.
Firstly, we apply “the theory of management strategy” to clarify the structure of the related domain of the farming promotion strategy and its decision process.
Secondly, we give a general scheme of choosing functions. The system of ways to choose functions is determined by three responsibilities and three principles. Three responsibilities are for member, for organization of AC, and for society.
Three principles are of importance, of must-be and attractive functions formation, and of functional chain.
Thirdly, we clarify the system of functions.
Fourthly, we clarify what is the strategic procedure to select functions under a environment.
Finally, we give a case study, which investigates the promotion activities of enokimushrooms by the AC in Nakano city, to make clear the interrelation between the development of production area and the choice of functions of AC. We conclude that the establishment of production area is mainly accomplished by the appropriate choice of functions and by the good performance of the selected functions of AC under well-defined goals.
