By understanding the historical antecedents and current organization of industry associations, business and government will better be able to help restructure them and thus assist American industry more effectively battle foreign competition. Procassini, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, maintains that American associations can, and should be reorganized by reviewing and comparing their origins and operations today to similar associations in America's two major trade competitors, Germany and Japan. Comprehensive, thoroughly researched, readable and anecdotal, this book is the first to focus on the role of associations in the global marketplace. A provocative and useful analysis for businesspeople, government officials, and members of the academic community concerned with the structure and practice of international commerce.

The author compares U.S. industry associations to those in Germany and Japan in two ways. First, he looks at their past legacies and present mandates; then, with special emphasis on America's major high-tech industries, he analyzes their organization and operation. After a general overview of the past, present, and foreseeable future of associations, and a detailed study of those in the U.S., Germany, and Japan, he turns to specific industries -- aerospace, biotechnology, semiconductors, and computer systems -- and their trade associations, defining and comparing the characteristics of each. Part IV of the book digs into the ways in which associations fail, as well as succeed, in the mission demanded of them today. From this analysis and the author's extensive experience as a corporation and association executive, emerge a series of recommendations for redefining the associations' mission in today's global economy, and a blueprint for achieving these goals.