Major Internationaiization Problems of Spanish Food and Agricultural Cooperatives

Abstract

Food and agricultural cooperatives, as well as other food companies must consider internationalization as essential for them for their survival; and although there are governmental and private agencies that can support them in this challenge, it is necessary to deeply study the problems that cooperatives face in international markets. Using a methodology that combines theoretical review with qualitative research, the main problems from a sample of internationalized Spanish cooperatives are identified and classified by differentiating the internal from the external ones so as in the near future the necessary measures to minimize or avoid them could be taken by managers and support agencies. The results of this exploratory study, suggest that the most important external barriers are competition and the structure of the distribution, while the internal ones are the lack of, financial resources, image and brand, and research and development.