Without a clear provider of vision and decision, it crumbled. This part is true of any venture, but I think becomes even more critical in a co-op since the authority is necessarily shared.
I think in broader terms, cooperatives are bound to be less efficient than an equivalent capitalist controlled venture, but that difference doesn't have to be a death sentence for the cooperative.
If you are brilliant at engine design does not mean you are brilliant at selling cars.
Selling cars make money. There is negative value in a bunch of engines lying around.
As software engineers we design automation to make a business more efficient.
To make money you need to run a business.