Should businesses team up to build a better society?

Their offices are on back roads you don’t go down. Their names are long and unremarkable. Their work is behind the scenes. 

Whether you’ve noticed them or not, trade associations influence policy, advance environmental sustainability, and create better working conditions across industries.

“Trade associations and other business interest organizations are usually among the most active lobbyists in Canada,” says Sean Buchanan, Associate Professor at the Asper School of Business and the Associates Fellow of Business Administration.

More voices sometimes means less change 

In conducting a deep dive into existing collective action research, Buchanan and his team found a number of paradoxes and trapdoors. 

For one, the more people you have behind a cause, the less likely you are to make a real change. 

Buchanan gives the example of a widespread trade group with thousands of junior-level members. “They have a really hard time improving the collective performance in the industry because there are just too many members to control. It’s hard to get everyone in a room and on the same page.”

When this happens, there’s a “lowest common denominator effect” as the group ultimately caves to the opinions of its least progressive member, and the status quo is maintained. 

Support your local trade association

Not enough is being done to understand the workings of trade associations and BCAs, which is why Buchanan’s research acts as a spotlight—summarizing the optimal functioning conditions, including the number of people, to the best timing, to the amount of government involvement. 

“The whole point of the research is to get people to start paying attention from these often hidden but extremely powerful actors,” Buchanan said.

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You can read the full text of “Business collective action: An Integrative review and framework” here.