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From 2006 to 2016, Brazilian agricultural cooperatives exhibited a sharp increase in sales. Since the operational cycle of these organizations demands a positive net working capital that is usually funded by debt, the authors examine whether this rise in sales was obtained at the cost of the short-term financial sustainability. As a matter of comparison, the authors conduct the same analysis for Brazilian agricultural public traded companies.

The authors employ the dynamic analysis of working capital method to measure the short-term financial sustainability of these organizations.

The authors find that the expansion of net working capital caused by the growth of the revenues of the sampled cooperatives was mostly funded by short-term debt, which rose by 31% in annualized terms. The authors also document that around 60% of these firms displayed a current capital structure that can be considered risky in terms of indebtedness, and that the majority of firms exhibited a non-sustainable growth in the period, what contrasts with the performance presented by Brazilian agricultural publicly traded companies, since only 16% of the firms from this group have shown a non-sustainable growth. This distinction seems to be explained by the lower capacity of agricultural cooperatives to provide resources from their operations.

The authors investigate the short-term financial sustainability of a unique dataset of 65 Brazilian agricultural cooperatives and provide insight for researchers analyzing the dual nature of these firms.

This paper aims to assess the maturity level in the strategic risk management of an agricultural cooperative’s supply chain.

A descriptive qualitative research approach was employed for a case study. Four interview scripts were administered to 15 stakeholders within the supply chain and subjected to content analysis.

The findings reveal 23 strategic risks in the supply chain, whereas the maturity assessment identified five dimensions at the “Defined” level and two at the “Fragmented” level. To elevate the risk management maturity, this paper delineated 22 intervention actions.

The theoretical contribution is the presentation of the various maturity assessment models and how they can be employed in studies on agribusiness supply chain risks.

Managerial implications underscore the formal establishment of a risk governance unit, the appointment of a Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and the constitution of an interdisciplinary risk management committee.

Cooperatives contribute to adding value to rural production in many regions and project small and medium-sized producers in global markets. They play an economic and social role, promoting fair prices and providing services to members and the community. Efficient risk management can contribute to fostering the social role of cooperatives.

No maturity model for risk management in agribusiness supply chains is listed in the literature. This study can contribute to the development of such maturity models.

This study aims to identify indicators of social performance in health cooperatives, emphasizing the crucial need for cooperatives to systematically monitor their social performance with members, thus strengthening relationship and ensuring sustainability.

Using a descriptive research design with a qualitative approach, this study analyzed interviews with cooperative managers through content analysis.

A total of 23 indicators were identified covering financial aspects, personal and professional training facilitated by cooperative education and the promotion of active participation and engagement among cooperative members.

As for the limitations of this research, it is possible to mention the proposition of performance indicators based on the perception of the managers, who were the interviewed. A better description and validation of the indicators could be done through a survey with the cooperative members, who are the most interested and affected by actions and social results of the cooperatives.

The main managerial implications of the results indicated the need to implement a monitoring structure so that the indicators of the cooperative’s actions with its members can have the same importance as the monitoring of the economic–financial indicators.

By making information available to members, with transparent and effective communication, it is possible to infer that members have a broader perspective of the cooperative’s actions and the benefits of being part of it. The engagement of members in a cooperative with quality governance improves the feeling of belonging and ensures the perpetuity of the cooperative. Also, it is expected that the results of this research can favor and influence other studies and help cooperatives to improve their planning with permanent actions to monitor their social performance in relation to their members.

Performance indicators of cooperatives should be treated and analyzed in a particular way because cooperatives have particularities regarding their economic and social functions. There are several indicators to evaluate the economic-financial performance of cooperatives, but there are few indicators to verify the social performance of the cooperative with its members.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.