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One of the reasons the science and art of business diplomacy is interesting, is because it puts the role of the nation in another, somewhat reduced, perspective. Instead of the nation, it puts a company at the focal point of an exchange of interests with NGOs and other national and international players. This is a reflection of a world that becomes ever more complicated: a truly multiactor world, implicating great global challenges for international companies.

However, changing the perspective from the nation state to that of business is not enough, no matter how multinational or big the enterprise is. To have a true perspective on the challenges diplomacy faces, it is better to add another perspective. A perspective in which the business and the multiactor aspect merge: in associations.

Here the international and diplomatic dimensions of associations are defined, a model for change is presented, and cases are discussed. Each case is discussed in terms of business diplomacy, using recent literature and definitions. Certainly not all actions by associations can be called diplomatic, but some can and these are significant.

Combining this insight and the possible impact of associations with available literature on the definition and nature of business (economic, corporate, commercial) diplomacy, a different light will be shed on the concept of business diplomacy. Perhaps it is better to speak about “multiactor diplomacy,” in which traditional, business, and other forms of diplomacy all have their place. The chapter ends with conclusions and specific recommendations.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the rationale for value chain business associations and construct a conceptual framework for establishing and managing a value chain association, using the value chain for dried fruits and vegetables in Tanzania as the empirical basis.

To achieve the objectives of the paper, a conventional approach involving literature review, framework development, and data collection and analysis was used to conceptualise the organisation of a value chain association in a developing country context.

The study finds rationale for a value chain-based business association based on the literature review, observations and discussions from the stakeholder workshop.

It has been suggested that upgrading the currently fragmented dried fruit and vegetable value chain to encompass all value chain actors might have implications towards “creativity”, “innovation” and “entrepreneurial abilities” along the value chain, i.e. resources and competences that could enhance the value of the market offer and thus the competitiveness of the whole value chain. A value chain-based business association might be one of the stepping-stones to enhance innovative and entrepreneurial abilities for strong and competitive value chain activities.

If the literature has been relatively silent on business associations understood primarily as industry associations, it has been completely silent on value chain associations. This paper therefore makes explicit contribution on the conceptualization of value chain association with a particular focus on the developing country setting.

All of the major market economies of East Asia have developed institutional arrangements through which business associations, labor unions, and other major types of associations maintain close relationships with the state. During the stage in which these were emerging economies, the state dominated this relationship in an arrangement known as “state corporatism.” But with democratization, Japan’s, Taiwan’s, and South Korea’s business associations and unions came more under the influence their members, and a new balance in relations with the state emerged in an arrangement known as “societal corporatism.” In China, which is still in transition from the status of an emerging economy, the state continues to dominate associations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the situation in China and to analyze whether the government is likely to maintain its dominance in future decades over powerful economic constituencies and their associations.

The historical transition from state corporatism to societal corporatist practices in East Asia is discussed on the basis of available English-language literature. This forms the framework for an analysis of China, based largely upon on-site research and Chinese-language writings. The paper includes case studies of China’s two major business associations.

The paper finds that China’s controls over business associations using state corporatist techniques are likely to persist in coming decades, due to the government’s vigilance in warding off any transition to members’ influence and societal corporatism.

The influence of the state on businesses and unions and on business associations affects the operations of these vival economic institutions as well as the shaping of government policies.

To understand relations between business associations and governments in East Asia, especially China, it is necessary to come to grips with the concept and practices of corporatism. This paper uses a comparative perspective to illuminate trends in the region’s capitalist countries and to cast new light on China.

This paper is aimed at association managers and market advisors. It explores how associations balance their provision of different services, the potential for associations to provide new services, and the relevance of service “bundling”. A new survey of small firm use of associations in Britain shows that there are few differences between businesses by sector in their use of association services, but membership does significantly increase with firm size, and there is a pattern of “joiners” who belong to many associations, and “non‐joiners”. There is considerable evidence of the benefits of bundling a range of low‐cost, low‐intensity services. But actual use levels of services are low. Even joiners of many associations seem to use association membership chiefly as an insurance principle: to gain ready access to a range of services “just in case”. Analysis of the potential for new services suggests a few potential new specific niches that are related chiefly to strengthening existing service bundles emphasising the insurance principle.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how corporate associations emerge in business networks focusing on mutually attributed identities in customer-supplier relationships. The role of the mutually perceived identities for interaction behaviours of the parties is examined and consequences of multiple emergent identities for management are discussed.

The paper is a conceptual one starting from an overview of prior research on corporate associations in marketing, findings on distinctive features of business markets and review of studies on identity in interaction processes.

Departing from various strands of research on the origin and role of corporate associations in the literature the authors argue that corporate associations, in business networks are relationship specific and continuously emergent, and that businesses acquire multiple identities in relation to main stakeholders as customers and suppliers. The relationship specificity, emergent nature and multiplicity of relationship-specific identities have consequences for management.

This study is among the few that explore the role of corporate associations in business-to-business context. It results in two propositions: first, that corporate associations are relationship specific and continuously emergent and, second, that businesses operating in business networks have to cope with multiple relationship-specific identities. Both propositions are original and contribute to the understanding of dynamics of business relationships and networks.

This paper aims to study and explore the activities and the use of institutional network resources by industrial business associations (IBAs) to support and facilitate internationalisation processes of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Other goals are to understand the internationalisation follow-up process and the future vision of IBAs to improve this internationalisation support.

Based on empirical evidence and following an abductive approach, this paper presents a qualitative exploratory field research, providing insights from interviews performed with 20 IBAs based in Portugal.

The findings suggest that the current institutional network support to internationalisation is mainly provided through promotional activities; counselling, training and technical and legal support; information sharing; and cooperation with other institutional entities. Each support category is explored and explained and a new conceptual model is developed to represent these findings. Regarding the internationalisation follow-up, IBAs provide a continuous support for the international operations by using some instruments and mechanisms to assist SMEs after an internationalisation initiative. Finally, collaboration and the use of new information technology are the main aspects to improve IBAs’ support in a near future.

The qualitative methodological approach adopted in this work can imply a larger difficulty to obtain a generalisation of the findings. Another limitation is that the participating IBAs are based in only one country.

Findings can help SMEs to understand the functioning and the benefits of using the institutional network resources of IBAs in overcoming their lack of resources to operate in international markets. IBAs can also understand their current position in terms of internationalisation support and think about new ways for improving this support.

This paper contributes to a better understanding of the influence of institutional networks in SME internationalisation by exploring the specific role of one of the institutional actors rather than focusing on the institutional network as a whole. Therefore, this study details the current activities and uncovers other types of support provided by IBAs that are not based on export promotion programmes. New knowledge is also obtained about the specific information content, information sources and means and channels of information sharing used by IBAs for supporting SME internationalisation.

This paper aims to investigate the way in which Sri Lankan business associations contribute to addressing such issues and the motivation behind their contributions.

Data, in this study, came from publicly available sources (online news articles, newspaper articles, reports, etc.) and a series of unstructured elite interviews with leaders of Sri Lanka’s most prominent peak business associations.

Sri Lankan associations contribute to addressing problems associated with human capital flight because doing so, ultimately, benefits their members and secretariat organisations. Peak bodies make their contributions by easing the push factors that catalyse the outflow of skilled migrants from the island nation and helping to replenish skills in the country by engaging in initiatives aimed at training and developing workers, young people and entrepreneurs.

The behaviours of Sri Lanka’s business interest associations and the logics that drive their actions are similar to those of their counterparts in other countries (as per academic literature in the area), where association membership is not state-mandated. Rational actions of business associations have the potential to produce socially beneficial positive externalities (as in the present case issues around the brain drain).

Findings from this research can assist government bodies, non-government organisations and other civil society organisations develop a better collaborative relationship with the private sector in developing nations to tackle problems associated with human capital flight.

While there has been a lively debate, among philosophers and scholars of public policy, on how governments should help address issues associated with this phenomenon, very little attention has been given to the real and potential contributions of non-governmental, non-charity-based civil society groups such as unions and business chambers. This paper seeks to address this gap.

To provide a conceptual framework to help researchers and managers understand the complex factors affecting the associations between brands.

Brand extension, co‐branding and other associative techniques together with an increasingly communicative environment are resulting in an increasingly complex set of networks and relationships between brands, with singular and multiple relationship forms. There are two key perspectives on these complex relationships, that of the customer and that of the brand owner, i.e. what is seen at the point of transaction and what is expressed by the various brand constructors. Two key perspectives on brand relationships are used that of the customer and that of the brand owner, to describe and discuss an analytical classification of these relationships.

A conceptual synthesis of the dynamics of brand networks and business relationships is presented and a 2 × 2 matrix is developed to classify and describe the four categories that emerge.

Different management strategies for different types of business‐brand relationships are suggested.

The conceptual synthesis is new and some uses of the classification for researchers and brand managers are suggested.

The purpose of this paper is to review the attempts to describe the features and characteristics of business associations in Tanzania which are aiming to influence public policy. It concludes that those attempts, whilst thought provoking, do not go far enough to be of real use to practitioners and offers an improved model.

This paper uses empirical evidence, gathered from interviews with business associations, supplemented by reviewing their research reports and policy position papers and cross referenced through interviews with public officials.

Activities and approaches of successful business associations are described and used to draw out characteristics which might enable associations to be categorised in one of four development stages based on their approach to influencing public policy.

The new model is conceptual and work is now required to assess its validity.

Donors, in their design of advocacy support programmes, already focus support on associations in one or two stages of development. An improved model will make it easier for them, and practitioners, to categorise business associations. Importantly, it will provide indicators for how business associations are expected to improve as a result of the support that they are offered and thus to assess the success of the support programme.

There has been little research and little discussion about the features and characteristics of business associations that might lead to success in influencing public policy and thus in improving the enabling environment. This paper contributes to filling that gap.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is one technology among the many under the umbrella of Industry 4.0 technologies. AM is developing rapidly, and extant research reveals that the technology contains possibilities for firms to develop competitive advantages, but that it also poses several challenges to overcome before such benefits can be achieved. To provide further insight into this topic, this paper aims to analyse how a business association can disseminate knowledge and experience about AM to its members.

The paper is based on 13 interviews from 11 different organisations within an embedded single-case study of a Danish non-profit business association.

The paper identifies 12 motivational factors for joining the association as well as seven perceived challenges in the current setup of the association. The paper demonstrates that barriers to the use of AM can be reduced through participation in a business association.

The paper is based on a single-case study design and does not provide a foundation for statistical generalisations. The challenges identified are biased towards the companies that are members and do not represent companies that either consciously or unconsciously are not part of the association.

Being aware of the barriers for AM is important to optimize the benefits of joining a business association. However, operating such an association with the purpose of disseminating AM knowledge involves the inherent dilemma of protecting knowledge for the individual members, and at the same time, fostering knowledge sharing.

The paper provides novel data on how a business association can help mitigate perceived barriers to using AM.