Abstract
This study systematizes theoretical approaches and proposes an analytical framework for the sustainable development of agricultural cooperatives. A narrative literature review combined with thematic content analysis was applied to 79 publications , predominantly published during the period 2000–2026. The findings show that agricultural cooperatives, both conduct business activities and serve the interests of their members and communities. Accordingly,their sustainable development is examined from two perspectives: (1) the economic, social, and environmental outcomes that cooperatives generate for members and communities, and (2) their internal capacities including organizational capacity, financial capacity, and transformative capacity, which enable them to sustain operations,and achieve long term development. Previous studies have generally focused either on sustainability outcomes on individual groups of capacities without integrating these elements into a unified analytical framework. On this basis, the study proposes an analytical framework that integrates the operating context, the internal capacities of cooperative, and sustainable development outcomes. The framework contributes the theoretical foundation of agricultural cooperative sustainability while help identify priorities for cooperative governance and policymaking.