PROMOTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN GREEK RURAL ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

Despite being one of the most important productive sectors of the Greek economy, the Greek rural sector has always had significant pathogeneses, significantly reducing its growth capacity. The absence of a strategic plan, excessive support from European and national resources, the lack of expertise in agricultural production, the ailing cooperative organization and the significant entrepreneurship shortfall have turned the rural sector into a problematic sector. The economic crisis along with the increasing international competition has created a highly unfavorable environment for the Greek producers. In this context, it should be noted that important element of the agricultural sector in Greece is the participation of producers in private cooperatives. However, the shortcomings of these cooperatives regarding their organization and management, question their sustainability. This derives on one hand from the absence of private sector features and on the other hand, from the cooperatives missing an entrepreneurship spirit. This paper focuses on the beneficial effect of entrepreneurship in enhancing the economic efficiency of cooperatives thus adding to their productivity tools. The research methodology consists of secondary analysis and comparative benchmarking of successful business practices of various cooperative organizations. The main goal of the paper is to argue in favor of the theory that entrepreneurship may shield agricultural cooperatives by improving their economic performance