2026 年 14 巻 3 号 p. 105-131
The cooperative life cycle framework has been predominantly developed from evidence in Western economies where cooperatives emerge from grassroots collective action. However, in many Asian countries, agricultural cooperatives are frequently initiated, designed, and governed with strong state involvement and embedded within federation systems. This raises a fundamental question: can the cooperative life cycle framework adequately explain cooperative evolution in contexts where development is institutionally structured rather than primarily member-driven? This study addresses this question through a PRISMA-based systematic review and bibliometric analysis of 74 studies on agricultural cooperatives in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and China. The review shows how cooperatives evolve from pre-establishment to regeneration or degeneration under varying degrees of government intervention and federation-based governance. The findings show that although cooperatives in these countries pass through stages resembling those described in existing life cycle frameworks, transitions between stages are largely driven by government intervention, regulatory frameworks, and federation structures rather than by internal governance dynamics. Across countries, cooperatives respond to developmental challenges through four strategic pathways (reinvention, status quo maintenance, spawning, and exit), but these responses are often triggered by government reform or withdrawal. Most importantly, the review highlights the role of the initiator and federation governance as underexplored dimensions in existing interpretations of the cooperative life cycle. By synthesizing fragmented evidence across disciplines and countries, this study revisits the cooperative life cycle framework and offers new insights into how it operates in institutionally embedded contexts.
