What obligation do #platformcoops have to operate at the same scale as or even outperform their venture capital funded corporate counterparts? If a #platformcoop does not succeed in having a similar reach as major corporations with comparable features, should it be considered "low quality" or are there other standards of success worth considering?
📝 New solo paper out in Socio-Economic Review that analyses member participation patterns in #platformcoops, which is crucial considering that governance issues have historically been a pitfall for worker-owned #cooperatives: https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwad058
Pondering how democratic tools & rules are only as good as they can reflect a group's consensus.
The #benevolentdictator model in open systems, ie FOSS & now fedi instances, despite problems (centralisation, burnout), remains compelling. It could also be a Team with control (as with post-BDFL projects like CiviCRM) – the key is decision-makers have to reflect consensus. Because it's all open, they know the community can depart/fork with relatively low cost (unlike the Zuskian/techbro dictator).
@afewbugs Totally! Someone who sets up coops and mutuals for a living when I was asking for his views on #platformcoops once advised me something like: "set up a worker coop, yes, always! But a user-coop? All you will do is empower retired people, those with private-wealth, and people who like the sound of their own voice, to decide everything."