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Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the relation between governance and financial efficiency of credit unions in Brazil. The study shows how poor financial efficiency in credit unions may result from undesirable configurations in executive management and other variables related to governance.


Design/methodology/approach
The study develops an innovative methodology to classify credit unions according to the level of governance using indicators of representativeness and participation, leadership, management and supervision. This methodology integrates the use of multiple correspondence and cluster analysis. The study then applies stochastic frontier models to analyze how governance affects the indicators of financial efficiency.


Findings
The results highlight that better governance substantially increases the efficiency of credit unions in terms of a higher level of credit operations per institution.


Originality/value
The paper uses a pioneering survey applied by the Central Bank to almost the total population of credit unions in Brazil. The results highlight how to operationalize a subjective and broad concept related to cooperative governance to identify the remarkable impacts of good governance practices on the financial efficiency of credit unions.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors, including behavior, that impact the knowledge and use of futures contracts among Brazilian coffee producers. The results are based on primary data obtained from a sample of 244 farmers.


Design/methodology/approach
A multinomial logistic regression model is adjusted to analyze the determinants of the producers' choices.


Findings
The results show that behavioral variables play an important role in the decision to use futures contracts: risk propensity, self‐confidence in management, and the level of market monitoring. Variables such as education and crop size also factor into this decision.


Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study is that the analysis of farmers' decisions and behavior was limited to one year. Future research which examines a more comprehensive group of producers over a longer period can reveal in more detail the determining factors for the use of futures contracts as a price risk management tool in the coffee market.


Originality/value
The paper is the first to interview Brazilian coffee producers about their hedging decisions on a large scale. The main contributions this paper makes to the literature are the inclusion of behavioral variables in its analysis that will prove valuable in both future research and in the investment industry.