How to Grow Without Getting Bigger: Inter-Cooperation as a Scaling Strategy for Social and Solidarity Economy Organizations

The issue of growth of Social and Solidarity Economy organizations has become a focus of analysis in response to the extensive case studies documented which recount processes of degeneration (or loss of original values) of the organizations in question. In this article, the case study of a non-profit cooperative (Agintzari S. Coop.) in the field of social services in the Basque Country (Spain) demonstrates the possibility of activating ecosystemic scaling processes, by way of inter-cooperative strategies, which do not result in the growth of the organization itself. The research question seeks to inquire to what extent inter-cooperation strategies, understood as ecosystemic scaling models, help to strengthen cooperative entities without weakening the maintenance of cooperative principles. The article aims to advance some results regarding the theoretical relationships between scaling strategies, the foundational motivations (or “interest orientation”) of the organizations, and the ecosystemic structures adopted to sustain these scaling processes.