SWOT Analysis of Innovative Development in Rural Collective Share-holding Cooperatives: A Case Study of Gutian County, Fujian Province

Rural collective share-holding cooperatives (RCSHCs) are the core organizational carriers for consolidating rural collective economies and advancing rural revitalization in China. However, county-level RCSHCs universally confront a “registration-operation dilemma”: formal establishment is straightforward, yet substantive operation remains elusive. As a pilot county for rural property rights reform in Fujian Province, Gutian County has established 280 village-level RCSHCs with 353,000 members, but it still grapples with governance irregularities, delayed financial account separation (pilot coverage <2%), and inefficient resource activation—bottlenecks that hinder the shift from nominal existence to operational effectiveness.This study employs a SWOT framework to systematically analyze 280 village cooperatives in Gutian County, unpacking internal strengths (local resource endowments, efficient policy uptake, and strong market demand alignment) and weaknesses (governance imbalances, lagging financial decentralization, and weak member participation). Externally, it identifies escalating policy support, mature multi-agent collaboration models, and digital empowerment as key opportunities, alongside threats of inefficient asset activation, talent outflow, and property right risks.The SWOT analysis reveals a dual dynamic: strengths-opportunities resonance and weaknesses-threats overlap. Drawing on this, the study develops four differentiated “Village Cooperative +” collaboration models (industrial synergy, enterprise linkage, service empowerment, and collective scaling), each with clear roles and implementation protocols. These models effectively mitigate structural bottlenecks, promote governance standardization, operational upgrading, and industrial integration, and unlock collective resource value.The study’s core contribution lies in integrating SWOT insights with local realities to design context-specific strategies, translating analytical findings into actionable pathways that bridge the gap between institutional design and grassroots implementation. This provides a replicable blueprint for county-level RCSHCs to achieve high-quality development under rural revitalization.