The Role of the Supervisory Board in Finnish Cooperatives

  • Kari Huhtala Pellervo Coop Center, Finland
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/dec.2887
Keywords: supervisory board, governance, conformance, performance

Abstract

Research on the supervisory boards of cooperatives has been scarce considering their prevalence, especially in continental Europe. The supervisory board is a voluntary body under Finnish conditions and consists exclusively of members’ representatives. According to the cooperative law, the task of the supervisory board is to supervise the board and management. Based on the results of this article, the role of the supervisory board is changing in a more dynamic direction, which includes sparring with the board, taking care of the ownership strategy and developing interaction with the membership. Hence, it would fulfill not only the conformance role of the governance towards the membership but support the performance role of the board. This new role would require re-assessment of the selection criteria for the members of the supervisory board, not merely from a representational perspective, but also from the perspective of competence adequacy. The supervisory board and its chairperson are significant users of the power based on their formal position in preparing and electing directors. They also use the informal power in interaction with the board and its chairperson.

Received: 28 April 2023
Accepted: 07 October 2023

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Author Biography

Kari Huhtala, Pellervo Coop Center, Finland

Master of Science in agricultural economics from the University of Helsinki. He is Director of Cooperation at Pellervo Coop Center, the apex organization of Finnish cooperatives, and Managing director of Finlands Svenska Andelsförbund, the central organization of Swedish-language cooperatives in Finland. He has had a long career in business and as a senior trainer of cooperatives. He is now working for cooperative advocacy organizations in Finland and is finishing his doctoral dissertation on the board governance of cooperatives.

Published
2024-01-30
How to Cite
Huhtala, Kari. 2024. “The Role of the Supervisory Board in Finnish Cooperatives”. Deusto Estudios Cooperativos, no. 23 (January), 107-24. https://doi.org/10.18543/dec.2887.
Issue
No. 23 (2023): Cooperatives in Finland
Section
Articles

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