Mohammadnejad Shourkaei, Mojtaba2025-04-212025-04-212025-03-242025-03-252025-04-172025-04-182025-04-21http://hdl.handle.net/1993/39031To address the shortcomings of the dominant form of organizing, alternative organizations offer alternative ways of organizing to promote practices that can enhance socio-ecological well-being. This dissertation includes three interrelated essays on a local alternative organization: Fireweed Food Co-op. The first essay explores the issue of degeneration (i.e., losing alternative values and practices over time) in alternative organizations and explores how Fireweed has been able to avoid two types of degeneration (i.e., exposure and insulation) common in alternative organizing endeavors. Three interrelated mechanisms (i.e., pure alt-visioning, accepting imperfection, and ongoing reflexivity) have enabled Fireweed to consciously synthesize mainstream and alternative practices without being degenerated. The second essay questions the common relationship building theories in organization studies (e.g., network-theory, social capital, and instrumental stakeholder theory) and shows how Fireweed’s efforts in building an organizational-level caring community can offer a better alternative relational theory for cooperatives that seek to create true social value. In the final essay, I draw on one of the findings in the first essay and explain how dynamic collective reflexivity can assist alternative organizations sustain their alternativeness over time.engAlternative organizationsdegenerationcommunity buildingreflexivity