Extract: Little is known about why or to what extent cooperatives use subsidiaries for carrying out various functions. Their increasing use, indeed, the increasing dependence of some regional cooperatives on subsidiaries, has implications for other cooperatives considering this organizational tool. This study was undertaken to answer some of the questions concerning the use of subsidiaries. 1. Why were the subsidiaries established? 2. What are the important advantages and disadvantages of using a subsidiary compared with a division or department within the parent cooperative organization? 3. What policy implications arise from cooperative use of subsidiaries? The study draws on the following sources of information: annual reports and other information related to specific cooperatives and their subsidiaries; literature and case histories involving subsidiaries and their use; and personal interviews with officials of eight selected cooperatives using either a unique type of subsidiary arrangement or a relatively large and diverse number of subsidiaries.