Abstract: The discussion about the governance of agricultural cooperatives has emphasized that a better allocation of property rights interferes with the competitiveness of this business model in the increasingly internationalized and deregulated market. This study seeks a greater deepening of the allocation of property rights in agricultural cooperatives in Mato Grosso do Sul/Brazil. The qualitative research was carried out in 4 agricultural cooperatives, two considered an emerging model and two traditional cooperatives. The investigation was conducted through the analysis of minutes of Ordinary General Meetings, statutes, and semi-structured interviews with managers and presidents. It was observed that the agricultural cooperatives, seen as an emerging model, where there is a selection of new members and act in a purchasing pool format, demonstrate an evolution concerning the traditional model by pointing to a greater professionalization of management, evidence of the separation between property and management. Moreover, the emerging model becomes more attractive than the traditional one by efficiently allocating the residual rights (earnings).

O presente estudo analisa a eficiência técnica e de escala das cooperativas agropecuárias do Paraná, bem como identifica os fatores que estão relacionados com sua eficiência. A metodologia empregada está baseada em Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA) e análise discriminante. Os resultados demonstram que as cooperativas agropecuárias de grande porte foram mais eficientes do que as de pequeno porte. Entre os principais fatores que influenciaram a eficiência nas cooperativas, destacam-se as aplicações de capital próprio (patrimônio líquido) e os prazos de pagamento menores. Em síntese, para atingir maiores níveis de competitividade, é necessário que as cooperativas desenvolvam práticas bem definidas de capitalização.<br>The present paper analyzes the scale and the technical efficiency of the agricultural cooperatives in the Paraná state, and identifies the factors that are related with their efficiency. The methodology is based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and discriminant analysis. Results demonstrate that large agricultural cooperatives are more efficient than the small ones. The main factors that influence the efficiency are own capital (equity) and smaller payment periods. In synthesis, to reach larger levels of competitiveness, the agricultural cooperatives need to develop better defined capitalization practices.

As cooperativas devem possuir uma estrutura de capital coerente com os objetivos dos associados e ser administradas com vistas a manter a empresa competitiva. Para isso, é importante que as estratégias do setor financeiro procurem viabilizar a ocorrência de sobras, pois esta é uma indicação de que a empresa consegue pagar a seus credores, atender os associados e proporcionar retorno financeiro para a cooperativa. Nesse sentido, buscou-se avaliar a influência dos indicadores financeiros na ocorrência de sobras e determinar qual a estratégia adotada pelas cooperativas de cafeicultores do Estado de Minas Gerais, com base na estrutura financeira, utilizando o modelo Logit. Constatou-se que as sobras apresentadas pelas cooperativas foram explicadas pelo giro dos ativos e pela rentabilidade sobre vendas, e suas estratégias concentram-se na administração de vendas.<br>Coffee producer cooperatives need to have a capital structure coherent with their associates' objectives and administered to maintain the organization’s competitiveness. For this, it is important that the cooperative’s financial section’s strategies lead to the creation of a financial surplus to pay creditors, assist the associates, and provide the cooperative a financial return. Using the Logit model, our study evaluates both the financial strategies employed by coffee producer cooperatives in the state of Minas Gerais to maximize surpluses and the influence of different financial indicators on the occurrence or non-occurrence of these surpluses. It was verified that the analyzed cooperatives’ business strategies concentrate on the management of sales and that the occurrence or non-occurrence of surpluses was explained by asset turnover and the profitability of sales.

As cooperativas devem possuir uma estrutura de capital coerente com os objetivos dos associados e ser administradas com vistas a manter a empresa competitiva. Para isso, é importante que as estratégias do setor financeiro procurem viabilizar a ocorrência de sobras, pois esta é uma indicação de que a empresa consegue pagar a seus credores, atender os associados e proporcionar retorno financeiro para a cooperativa. Nesse sentido, buscou-se avaliar a influência dos indicadores financeiros na ocorrência de sobras e determinar qual a estratégia adotada pelas cooperativas de cafeicultores do Estado de Minas Gerais, com base na estrutura financeira, utilizando o modelo Logit. Constatou-se que as sobras apresentadas pelas cooperativas foram explicadas pelo giro dos ativos e pela rentabilidade sobre vendas, e suas estratégias concentram-se na administração de vendas. | Coffee producer cooperatives need to have a capital structure coherent with their associates' objectives and administered to maintain the organizations competitiveness. For this, it is important that the cooperatives financial sections strategies lead to the creation of a financial surplus to pay creditors, assist the associates, and provide the cooperative a financial return. Using the Logit model, our study evaluates both the financial strategies employed by coffee producer cooperatives in the state of Minas Gerais to maximize surpluses and the influence of different financial indicators on the occurrence or non-occurrence of these surpluses. It was verified that the analyzed cooperatives business strategies concentrate on the management of sales and that the occurrence or non-occurrence of surpluses was explained by asset turnover and the profitability of sales.