2020 Volume 38 Issue 1 Pages 79-90
The Producer-Consumer cooperative movement is an out growth of the organic agricultural movement, which became active during the 1970s. The cooperative movement first began in the form of social movement thought the collaboration between the production and consumption sectors. The 10 principles of partnership created by the Japan Organic agriculture Association in 1978 have been used as a guideline for partnerships between producers and consumers. However, reconsideration is necessary because these guidelines are no longer suitable in their present state. New guidelines are needed for regulating the Producer-Consumer cooperative movement. In this paper, we apply the concept of “Co-Creation of Value” to evaluate the nature of the relationship between producers and consumers, since it is said that producers and consumers create value together. As a result of creating value together, the value that consumers experience is known as “Value-in-Context.” This study examines the Produce-Consumer cooperative movement as it exists in the case of the Seikatsu-Club cooperative association and the Shonai-Midori agricultural cooperative. Based on interviews and questionnaire surveys, the relationship between producers and consumers was evaluated in the context of four identified elements: “dialogue,” “access,” “risk assessment,” and “transparency.” Furthermore, we clarify the meaning of the concept “Value-in-Context.” Finally, we show that a re-evaluation of the concept “Co-Creation of Value” is necessary in the context of the Producer-Consumer cooperative movement.
