Cooperatives’ unique characteristics can lead to different ways of understanding performance. This study aims to comprehend the concept of performance within the smallholder cooperative setting and according to the pragmatic understanding of top management. This study employs a qualitative research design that involves structured interviews with representatives of each studied cooperative’s board. Six informants were selected through a purposive sampling method. The findings indicate that the definition of performance revolves around the dimensions of efficiency (i.e. doing things right) and effectiveness (i.e. doing the right things). This operationalisation of the dimensions fits with the identity of cooperatives. Smallholders’ cooperative performance is summarised as the ability to conduct the process of basic management tasks in an efficient and effective manner as well as conform to the expectations of its members. The originality of this study lies in its attempt to investigate the concept of performance using the pragmatic understanding of top management in line with the mental model. The findings add value to the current literature on organisational performance (OP), offering fresh insights derived from a practical point of view that take into consideration the nature of cooperative entities.

合作社的独特特征可能导致理解绩效的不同方式。本研究旨在理解小农合作社环境下的绩效概念，并根据对高层管理人员的务实理解。本研究采用定性研究设计，涉及对每个研究合作社董事会代表的结构化访谈。通过有目的的抽样方法选择了六名线人。研究结果表明，绩效的定义围绕效率（即正确地做事）和有效性（即正确地做事）的维度。维度的这种操作符合合作社的身份。小农户的合作绩效概括为以有效和有效的方式执行基本管理任务的过程并符合其成员期望的能力。这项研究的独创性在于它试图使用符合心理模型的对高层管理的务实理解来研究绩效的概念。这些发现增加了有关组织绩效（OP）的最新文献的价值，提供了从实用的观点出发并结合了合作实体性质的新见解。