Benefits for the economy

All advanced economies benefit from a range of corporate forms.

Co-ops and mutuals help to build an economy with a diversity of business types, that is not dominated by corporations that only act in their own interests, creating systemic risks to the economic system in Australia.

Co-ops and mutuals have a different purpose to their competitors – they are focused on service and price rather than extracting the most profit. This safeguards Australian business from over-reliance on short term profit maximising firms by ensuring that no business sector is entirely prone to dramatic changes in the stock market.

Co-ops and mutuals are businesses that plan for the long term.

Without the need to respond to short term stock market pressures, co-ops and mutuals are able to adopt longer term business strategies. They are stable, reliable businesses that behave well in a mixed economy.

Their success is clearly shown by the longevity of mutual businesses, many of which have traded continuously for over a century.

Find more about the sustainability of co-ops and mutuals in the BCCM’s Leading the Resilience Report.