Assessing the Performance of Rural Cooperatives by the use of Balanced Score Cards in Gilan Province (Case Study: Lahijan and Siahkal Townships)

The main purpose of this study was to assess the performance of rural cooperatives in Gilan province by the use of balanced score cards. The research design was descriptive and was an appied in nature. The target population included all stakeholders, executive managers and directors of rural cooperatives located in Lahijan and Siahkal Townships in Gilan Province (N=39205). The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire. Validity of the instrument was gained by a panel of experts consisting of faculty members in agricultural management department and Cooperative Organization specialists. Reliability analysis was conducted by using Cronbach’s alpha formula and the result was 0l.81. A balanced score cards model was implemented to examine four dimensions (financial, customers, internal business process, growth and learning) in rural cooperatives. Findings revealed that cooperatives were not in a pretty good condition in terms of financial features. However, it was recommended that in order to improve their performance, cooperatives should seriously consider learning and growth strategy as well as boosting their internal business process features.