Strengthening role and resilience of business membership organizations (BMO) through membership benefits and delivered services

Abstract

Business Membership Organizations (BMOs) are important and recognized facilitators of a competitive economic environment and its development. However, they are under continuous demand to adjust their role in the business ecosystem and determine their strategic development directions. BMOs performance, their existing connections, advantages and benefits are challenged by changing business cooperation patterns, digital transformation, generation change and other emerging factors. The paper analyses how BMOs can sustain in delivering business value to their members and stakeholders (individual firms or other BMOs, government, public institutions) through existing and new service ranges, evaluate their business model and continue to be resilient organizations. It demonstrates with a benchmarking analysis across different BMOs how these organizations are important actors with significant benefit for sustainable and competitive business and its environment development. The findings add that reviewed and adjusted BMOs service ranges are among key success factors for BMOs to continue gaining an important role and remain resilient organizations in changing business ecosystems. The paper provides an insight of demand- and supply driven service approaches to meet business and public sector as well as BMOs to be development policy drivers and help determination of business development directions.