Chambers of Commerce as Political Actors: Theoretical Perspectives on Their Organisation and Influence

The chapter sheds light on the political role of chambers by exploring the potential contributions different research programmes and approaches in political science and organisational sociology can make to the study of these organisations. It seeks to contribute to research on chambers in three ways: first, by locating chambers in current typologies of non-state political actors; second, by addressing the challenges of chambers compared with other, more extensively researched business interest associations; and third, by outlining how theoretical approaches in political science and organisational sociology can inform research in this area. The review of the interest group literature suggests that an organisational ecology perspective can provide a particularly suitable framework for analysing how changes in the institutional environment affect chambers’ resources and thereby shape their strategies.