Beyond the Membership Decision: How Do Trade Associations Manage Firm Involvement?

Abstract

A trade assocation’s effectiveness is more than a matter of attracting and retaining member firms. It must also manage member firm involvement in its activities. Herein, I outline three drivers of firm participation in TA activity – economic self-interest, sociological identity, and meta-organizational management – and call for further research on ways that trade associations can manage firm-level contributions to communal strategy.