This paper examines organizational structure and control in a small producer cooperative. The methods by which the cooperative meets its information-processing needs (Galbraith, 1974), the sites of authority in the cooperative, and the sources of member compliance are analysed. This analysis reveals that, although authority relations in the cooperative did not conform to those of a classical bureaucracy, the information-processing needs of the organization led to a greater bureaucratization along some dimensions than is typically found in comparable traditional businesses. It is argued that separating the information-processing aspects of coordination and control from issues of authority can provide a useful insight into the processes and dilemmas of cooperative organization.
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