Journal of Entrepreneurship Education Volume 23, Issue 1, 2020 1 1528-2651-23-1-500 Citation Information: Shakir, K.A., Ramli, A., Pulka, B.M., & Ghazali, F.H. (2020). The link between human capital and cooperatives performance. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 23(1). THE LINK BETWEEN HUMAN CAPITAL AND COOPERATIVES PERFORMANCE Khairunnisak Ahmad Shakir, International Islamic University Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Azahari Ramli, Universiti Utara Malaysia Buba Musa Pulka, University of Maiduguri Faizatul Hasliyanti Ghazali, International Islamic University Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah ABSTRACT Organisational resources are the fundamental drivers of organisational performance. Human capital is considered one of the organisational resources and many studies had found its positive impact on organisational performance. However, the association between human capital and cooperatives performance is neglected to be studied by previous researchers. The distinct characteristics of cooperatives compared to private or public organisations has paved the way for this paper to investigate the relationship between the human capital of cooperatives board members and cooperatives performance. 1,230 questionnaires were distributed to the randomly selected cooperatives in Peninsular Malaysia and 154 questionnaires were received back from the respondents. 135 questionnaires were usable for the analysis. From the correlation and linear regression analyses, the study discovered that the relationship between the human capital of cooperatives board members and cooperatives performance is positive and significant. These results were supported by findings from previous studies which have been conducted in the non- cooperatives sector. Hence, this result allows for the generalisation of the importance of human capital on organisational performance across different types of organisations. Keywords: Human Capital, Cooperatives Performance, Organizational Resources. INTRODUCTION Cooperatives emerge for the purpose to improve the economic status of its members and the community at large by creating and acquiring jobs, for better working environment, decent wages, to provide an additional source of income through profit and dividends sharing (Lidasan et al., 2018; Zeuli et al., 2004). Cooperatives also aid in promoting community development and enhancing the standard of living of its members (Purtik et al., 2015). Therefore, Pulka & Ndubuisi (2016) defined cooperatives as the group of people coming together to form an association or union with the aim of promoting their common interest. Similarly, the International Cooperative Alliance (2015) defined cooperatives as the group of individuals with autonomous powers coming together voluntarily to actualise their common economic, cultural and social interests and ambitions jointly owning and democratically managing the social enterprises (Mohamad et al., 2013). The ultimate goal of the cooperatives is to promote the welfare of their members economically and socially. Furthermore, the role of cooperatives in empowering the nation's economy should not be underestimated. This is