This special issue on membership associations publishes eight articles from a variety of disciplines that illustrate the continuing advancement of scholarship related to member-based nonprofit organizations. Each addresses one or more enduring questions about the existence and influence of associational activity. The articles are ordered according to the level of analysis from the cognitive/intrapersonal to the systemic/societal. Taken together, they demonstrate the scholarly and practical value of explicitly addressing membership dynamics and associational structures within the broad field of nonprofit studies. They also suggest important areas for future study. After introducing the special issue and articles, to further build understanding of membership association dynamics, we review recent publications that complement the issue and offer ideas for additional research.
AlexanderD. T.BarraketJ.LewisJ. M.ConsidineM. (2012). Civic engagement and associationalism: The impact of group membership scope versus intensity of participation. European Sociological Review, 28, 43-58.
2.
AndrewsK. T.GanzM.BaggettaM.HanH.LimC. (2010). Leadership, membership and voice: Civic associations that work. American Journal of Sociology, 115, 1191-1242.
3.
AntoniG. D.PortaleE. (2011). The effect of corporate social responsibility on social capital creation in social cooperatives. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40, 566-582.
4.
AudiaP. G.TeckchandaniA. (2010). The effect of connected and isolated voluntary associations on economic activity in the United States, 1984-2000. Social Science Research, 39, 1153-1163.
5.
BalassianoK.ChandlerS. M. (2010). The emerging role of nonprofit associations in advocacy and public policy: Trends, issues, and prospects. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39, 946-955.
6.
BendaC. (2013). Community rotating savings and credit associations as an agent of well-being: A case study from northern Rwanda. Community Development Journal, 48, 232-247.
7.
BennettR. J. (2012). Supporting trust: Credit assessment and debt recovery through Trade Protection Societies in Britain and Ireland, 1776-1992. Journal of Historical Geography, 38, 123-142.
8.
BeynonH.DaviesR.DaviesS. (2012). Sources of variation in trade union membership across the UK: The case of Wales. Industrial Relations Journal, 43, 200-221.
9.
CarminJ.JehlickaP. (2010). Navigating institutional pressure in state-socialist and democratic regimes: The case of movement brontosaurus. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39, 29-50.
10.
ChangK. S. (2011). Membership stability and performance: A study of baseball clubs and laboratory groups. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22, 457-480.
11.
ConnorJ. J. (2011). Only for “purely scientific” institutions: The Medical Library Association’s Exchange, 1898-1950s. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 99, 118-126.
12.
CornforthC. (2011). Nonprofit governance research: Limitations of the focus on boards and suggestions for new directions. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0899764011427959
13.
CritchfieldT. S. (2011). Interesting times: Practice, science, and professional associations in behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 34, 297-310.
14.
DohertyA.MisenerK.CuskellyG. (2014). Towards a multidimensional framework of capacity in community sports clubs. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
15.
DreherA.VoigtS. (2011). Does membership in international organizations increase governments’ credibility? Testing the effects of delegating powers. Journal of Comparative Economics, 39, 326-348.
16.
EsmaeiliM.Dehghan-NayeriN.NegarandehR. (2012). A review of the opportunities and challenges facing the nursing associations in Iran. International Nursing Review, 59, 168-174.
17.
EsparzaN.WalkerE. T.RossmanG. (2014).Trade associations and the legitimation of entrepreneurial movements: Mobile food vendors’ associations in the emerging gourmet food truck industry. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
18.
EtangA.FieldingD.KnowlesS. (2011). Trust and ROSCA membership in rural Cameroon. Journal of International Development, 23, 461-475.
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GazleyB. (2013). Predicting a volunteer’s future intentions in professional associations: A test of the Penner Model. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42, 1245-1267
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GazleyB.BowersA. (2013). What do high-performing boards look like: Effective governance practices in member-serving organizations. Washington, DC: ASAE Foundation Research Series.
21.
GazleyB.DignamM. (2008). The decision to volunteer: Why people give their time and how you can engage them. Washington, DC: American Society of Association Executives & The Center for Association Leadership.
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GazleyB.DignamM. (2010). The decision to give: What motivates individuals to support professional associations with philanthropic contributions. Washington, DC: American Society of Association Executives & The Center for Association Leadership.
23.
GeysB. (2012). Association membership and generalized trust: Are connections between associations losing their value. Journal of Civil Society, 8, 1-15.
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GleesonS.BloemraadI. (2013). Assessing the scope of immigrant organizations: Official undercounts and actual underrepresentation. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42, 346-370.
25.
GoerkeL.PannenbergM. (2012). Risk aversion and trade-union membership. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 114, 275-295.
26.
GordonC. W.BabchukN. (1959). A typology of voluntary associations. American Sociological Review, 24, 22-29.
27.
HagerM. A. (2014). Engagement motivations in professional associations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
28.
HansH.AndrewsK. T.GanzM. (2011). The relationship of leadership quality to the political presence of civic associations. Perspectives on Politics, 9, 45-59.
29.
HaynesW.GazleyB. (2011). Professional associations and public service: Do associations matter? In MenzelD.WhiteH. (Eds.), The state of public administration: Issues, problems, challenges (pp. 54-69). Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
30.
HolmesK.SlaterA. (2012). Patterns of voluntary participation in membership associations: A study of UK heritage supporter groups. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 41, 850-869.
31.
HoogheM.BottermanS. (2012). Urbanization, community size, and population density: Is there a rural-urban divide in participation in voluntary organizations or social network formation?Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 41, 120-144.
32.
HoogheM.QuintelierE. (2013). Do all associations lead to lower levels of ethnocentrism? A two-year longitudinal test of the selection and adaptation model. Political Behavior, 35, 289-309.
33.
HoolwerfB.SchuytT. (2010, March). Service clubs: Serving communities? Data from a national research (Philanthropic Studies Working Paper Series). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: VU University Amsterdam.
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HulténP.BarronA.BrysonD. (2012). Cross-country differences in attitudes to business associations during the 2007-2010 recession. Journal of World Business, 47, 352-361.
35.
IglicH. (2010). Voluntary associations and tolerance: An ambiguous relationship. American Behavioral Scientist, 53, 717-736.
36.
JohnsonE. W. (2014). Toward international comparative research on associational activity: Variation in the form and focus of voluntary associations in four nations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
37.
JungE.Erbsloh-MollerB.GesmannM.Kuhn-BeckerH.PetermannF.Langhorst. . . HauserW. J. (2013). Are members of fibromyalgia syndrome self-help groups “different”? Demographic and clinical characteristics of members and non-members of fibromyalgia syndrome self-help groups. Zeitschrift Fur Rheumatologie, 72, 474-481.
38.
KeglerM. C.SwanD. C. (2012). Advancing coalition theory: The effect of coalition factors on community capacity mediated by member engagement. Health Education Research, 27, 572-584.
39.
KerrisseyJ.SchoferE. (2013). Union membership and political participation in the United States. Social Forces, 91, 895-928.
40.
KhaliqA. A.WalstonS. L. (2012). Predictors of hospital CEO affiliation with a professional association. Journal of Healthcare Management, 57, 358-372.
41.
KiE. J.HonL. C. (2012). Causal linkages among relationship quality perception, attitude, and behavior intention in a membership organization. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 17, 187-208.
42.
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43.
KouX.HayatA. D.MeschD.OsiliU. (2014). The global dynamics of gender and philanthropy: A study of charitable giving by Lions Clubs International Members. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
44.
KrentzmanA. R.RobinsonA. R.PerronB. E.CranfordJ. A. (2011). Predictors of membership in Alcoholics Anonymous in a sample of successfully remitted alcoholics. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 43, 20-26.
45.
LakeR. J. (2013). They treat me like I’m scum: Social exclusion and established-outsider relations in a British tennis club. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 48, 112-128.
46.
LuJ.SchuettM. A. (2012). Examining the role of voluntary associations in environmental management: The case of the Sam Houston national forest. Environmental Management, 49, 334-346.
47.
MarkovaG.FordR. C.DicksonD. R.BohnT. M. (2013). Professional associations and members’ benefits: What’s in it for me?Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 23, 491-510.
48.
MatchayaG. C.PerotinV. (2013). The impact of cooperative patronage: The case of National Small Holder Farmers’ Association (NASFAM) of Malawi in Kasungu District. Agrekon, 52, 75-103.
49.
MillerM. K. (2010). Membership has its privileges: How voluntary groups exacerbate the participatory bias. Political Research Quarterly, 63, 356-372.
50.
Miller-MillesenJ. L. (2003). Understanding the behavior of nonprofit boards of directors: A theory-based approach. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 32, 521-547.
51.
NathausK. (2010). Leisure clubs and social integration of workers in Germany, 1860-1914, with a comparative glance at the British case. Geschichte Und Gesellschaft, 36, 37-65.
52.
NesbitR.GazleyB. (2012). Patterns of volunteer activity in professional associations and societies. Voluntas, 23, 558-583.
53.
NesbitR.MoultonS.DeHart-DavisL.FeeneyM.GazleyB.HouY.. . . RobinsonS. (2011). Wrestling with intellectual diversity in public administration. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 21(Suppl. 1), i13-i28.
54.
NewberyR.SauerJ.GortonM.PhillipsonJ.AttertonJ. (2013). Determinants of the performance of business associations in rural settlements in the United Kingdom: An analysis of members’ satisfaction and willingness-to-pay for association survival. Environment and Planning A, 45, 967-985.
55.
NewmanM. D.PetroskoJ. M. (2011). Predictors of alumni association membership. Research in Higher Education, 52, 738-759.
56.
OserJ. L. (2010). Between atomistic and participatory democracy: Leverage, leadership, and legitimacy in Israeli civil society. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39, 429-459.
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OstrowerF.StoneM. M. (2010). Moving governance research forward: A contingency-based framework and data application. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39, 901-924.
58.
PaikA.Navarre-JacksonL. (2011). Social networks, recruitment, and volunteering: Are social capital effects conditional on recruitment?Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40, 476-496.
59.
PapakostasA. (2011). The rationalization of civil society. Current Sociology, 59, 5-23.
60.
ParkC.SubramanianS. V. (2012). Voluntary association membership and social cleavages: A micro-macro link in generalized trust. Social Forces, 90, 1183-1205.
61.
PerksT.HaanM. (2011). Youth religious involvement and adult community participation: Do levels of youth religious involvement matter?Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40, 107-129.
62.
PerryM. (2012). Trade associations in Ireland and New Zealand: Does institutional context matter for collective action?Irish Journal of Management, 31, 19-44.
63.
PhillipsB. N.LeahyM. J. (2012). Prediction of membership in rehabilitation counseling professional associations. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 55, 207-218.
64.
PovlsenL. (2012). Immigrant women’s clubs in a health promotion perspective. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 40, 355-359.
65.
QuintelierE. (2013). Socialization or self-selection? Membership in deliberative associations and political attitudes. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42, 174-192.
66.
ReveleyJ. (2012). Reciprocity, associability and cartelisation: Organisational development of the New Zealand Shipowners’ Federation, 1906-1960s. Business History, 54, 1077-1098.
67.
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69.
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SukiassyanG.NugentJ. B. (2011). Lobbying or information provision: Which functions of associations matter most for member performance?Eastern European Economics, 49, 30-63.
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TeckchandaniA. (2014). Do membership associations affect entrepreneurship? The effect of type, composition and engagement. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
74.
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87.
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88.
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