THE USE OF DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS IN MEASURING COOPERATIVE GROWTH FACTORS

Vermont agricultural cooperatives were surveyed to investigate key factors contributing to cooperative success. Most of the cooperatives were formed within the last 15 years. Financial, organizational, and operational data were collected for selected years from 1974-1984. Average annual changes in gross sales were used to divide cooperatives into low-growth and high-growth groups. Selected variables were identified to classify individual cooperatives into low- or high-performance groups with discriminant analysis. Management experience and adoption of multi-year plans were the two factors found to have the most significant influence on cooperative sales growth