Sociological analysis of the attitudes of residents of the Volga Federal District towards the creation of consumer cooperatives

Relevance. The development of cooperation in modern conditions is one of the factors of economic growth, countering the pressure of anti-Russian sanctions, ensuring the country's food security, creating new jobs, and activating entrepreneurial initiatives of citizens.

The purpose is to analyze the attitudes of Volga region residents in organizing/joining consumer cooperatives.

Objectives: assessment of the factors of motivation of the population to organize / join consumer cooperatives, analysis of readiness to join cooperative associations, study of the most popular forms of support for cooperative initiatives in the regional context.

Methodology. The main research method is a questionnaire survey of residents of the Volga Federal District (N = 1,320 respondents). The sample was formed taking into account such features of representation as the type of settlement (city, village), gender and age of the respondents.

Results. The attitudes of the Volga region residents regarding the organization / joining of consumer cooperatives are generally characterized by a positive tone. So, 16.4% of respondents would like to organize or become a member of a consumer cooperative themselves, another quarter of the surveyed residents chose the answer option "rather yes than no" (26.0%). The highest level of interest in cooperation is typical for residents of the Republic of Mari El. Most respondents generally consider their level of knowledge necessary to work in cooperation to be sufficient. The study revealed the interest of potential cooperators in participating in institutional associations (in particular, joining the Union of Consumer Societies).

Conclusions. The motives of Volga region residents to join cooperatives can be systematized in the following areas: status-social ("to start your own business"), financial ("to find a new source of income"), communication ("association with like-minded people") and social ("to provide people with high-quality goods"). The most popular form of cooperation support is organizational and economic assistance related to solving problems of logistics, marketing, access to warehouses, and areas for the sale of goods.

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