Behaviors and Determinants of Member Participation in Farmer Cooperative Governance: Empirical Evidence from 273 Apple Growers

This paper is based on planned behavior theory to analyze how members act when they participate in cooperative governance. A Bviariate Probit Model is applied to investigate the determinants of apple growers’ participation in cooperative governance which include the behavioral characteristics of members to participate in cooperative, cooperative characteristic, revenue change of member before and after join in cooperative, trust and commitment in between member and cooperative, growers own as well as their household characteristics. Data from a field survey in Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu of 25 cooperatives and 273 Apple planting households (all households are cooperative members) are used to estimate the model. Empirical results show that after members joining cooperative, their revenue improved, the contractual relationship is established and they can get better services from cooperatives, all of these can improve the degree of members’ participation in cooperative governance. Finally, the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are proposed from the perspective of standardizing cooperative governance.