Abstract
This article investigates commitment in cooperative marketing relationships. Sideselling
by members poses a serious threat to the viability of cooperatives, since services
provided to members have to be financed through collective sales. We develop a model that
demonstrates how the size of the producer determines the degree of individual commitment
under the provision of public and private collective goods. Based on survey data from
cooperatively organized coffee farmers in Costa Rica, we find that smaller and larger farmers
are more committed, while medium-sized farmers side-sell a larger share of their produce to
private buyers. Some broader implications for collective marketing relationships are
discussed.