SUSTAINABILITY ASSURANCE ON THE BIGGEST COOPERATIVES OF THE WORLD: AN ANALYSIS OF THEIR ADOPTION AND QUALITY

ABSTRACT Sustainability Assurance (SA) is increasing worldwide. Cooperatives are highly susceptible to CSR but there is an interesting research gap regarding SA in them. We use mixed research methods (statistical and content analysis) to study SA practices of the top 300 cooperatives worldwide. Paradoxically, our results show scarce or late SA adoption, and country‐level and sector sensibility do not affect SA adoption significantly. Conversely, country‐level and sector sensibility influence the choice of the assurance provider. Finally, findings reveal that country‐level and industry factors, and also the assurance provider, do affect assurance statements’ quality.