The survival strategy of a small local cooperative bank

The research on the strategic problems of the firm operates with concepts wich refer to markets, products, resources, and organization of the firm. This approach which concentrated on the economic aspects of the behaviour of the firm may in some cases ignore vital points especially with reference to the strategy of small firms.

This article analyses the strategy of the Lannevesi Cooperative Bank. This small bank has been able to survive in a world, where concentration in the banking industry has been rapid. The bank has survived due to its strategy. This strategy may be given a meaningful interpretation in the framework of the theories of Parsons and Smelser (1956). In the miniature society of the village the bank operates in the economy and polity sub-systems as banks do in a modern specialized society. The unique feature in the strategy of the bank, which cannot be analyzed just in economic terms is its operation as an active agent in the integrative and pattern maintenance sub-systems of the village society. Solidarity and cohesion in the village are essential to the survival of the bank.