Preliminary results

The main changes in the system of business associations, manifested to varying degrees in most developed Western countries can be formulated as follows.
• The political influence of big business has expanded in leading associations and beyond beyond them
• The importance of traditional business associations, primarily unions, has decreased employers (on a large scale - in the USA and, partly, in the UK, in limited form - in EU countries and Japan)
• There has been a tendency to move away from the most “rigid” forms of approval interests of market agents in institutions of collective representation (centralized collective bargaining agreements, the practice of “mandatory membership" in the "chamber system")
• Opportunities for situational political mobilization of small businesses have increased business

• In relations between business and the state, there has been a relative decrease in the role of traditional intermediaries (business associations and political parties) and increasing the importance of new intermediaries (the sector of individual political actions) The restructuring of the system of business associations in Western countries took place under the sign active institutional import of attributes of the “American model”. By internal structure and behavior of the system of business associations of the EU countries and Japan is beginning to converge with its counterparts in the United States. The impact of importing attributes of the “American model” on the restructuring of the system business representation in general in the EU and Japan was even more pronounced.

The main reason for the shift is the increasing complexity and increased differentiation representation by increasing the role of large companies and specialized intermediaries. A two-sector system of interest representation is emerging. Previously in the system of representation of business interests in the EU countries and Japan was dominated associations. Now in this system two different sectors have emerged: one is still occupied by associations, the other is represented by alternative intermediaries. The division into two sectors gives the system of interest representation increased flexibility. The ability to promote “aggregated” interests through traditional business associations remain, but along with this there is an opportunity to promote individualized interests of large firms through alternative intermediaries, such as internal as well as external. The connecting link of the two-sector system is large companies: they are embedded to varying degrees in both the association sector and the alternative intermediaries.

At the same time, associations and systems for representing business interests in the EU countries and Japan continues to maintain its institutional identity are saved and systems with parent associations are being strengthened, both at the national level and in industries and sectors (in the latter case, the principle continues to apply: “one sector - one association"). Such systems are not typical for pluralistic associations model typical of countries with “liberal market economies”. To strengthen the main links are consolidating the system of associations, and in Europe there is also influence EU institutions, which in interaction with organized business interests are guided by the principle: “one country – one united voice of business”
Of all the main types of associations in the leading Western countries, the most parent employers' unions have been weakened as a result of the decentralization of collective bargaining procedures. But, despite the weakening, employers' unions retain an important place in the system of business associations in the EU and Japan. Decentralization collective bargaining practice has been reduced to the transfer of powers from central unions
- to industry, and only in some cases was accompanied by a move to the level individual companies.

In the EU countries and Japan, the trend towards a decrease in the importance of associations has received less pronounced character and so far captures two of the three main functions. The role of associations in relations between business and trade unions and the state is decreasing. On the contrary, the role of associations as service providers for their members has increased. The exit of business from neo-corporatist structures turned out to be partial. Actually, the form of presence in bilateral or tripartite bodies has changed cooperation. In the UK, large companies in an individual capacity continued to work in a number of bilateral and trilateral structures (Low Pay Commission (LPC), Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE). In France, MEDEF's exit from neo-corporatist structures was limited to the sphere of social provision. In the rest, the leading association maintained its presence (UNEDIC, UPA). MEDEF member associations, both sectoral and intersectoral, did not withdraw from one two-way or three-way structure. In Sweden the federation industrialists refused to follow the example of the employers' confederation and retained representation in tripartite structures after 1992. Member companies employers' confederations also maintained a presence in the structures of bilateral and trilateral cooperation in the individual al quality. In Austria the "system
chambers”, based on compulsory membership, withstood the test of referendums.

National systems of industry business associations in leading EU countries and Japan passed the test of transformation. They retained key parameters and, first of all, in total, relative homogeneity in the provision of basic resources (for excluding UK). This is evidenced by a comparative analysis industry associations in France and Germany. Although the systems of business associations in these countries have retained their originality; according to several key indicators, rapprochement. By the early 2000s, industry associations in France and Germany turned out to be quite comparable in terms of the number of permanent personnel and came closer in terms of budget sizes. True, Germany continued to be somewhat ahead of France in the share of associations with large budgets (more than 500 thousand ECU). In France, the share of low-budget associations (no more than 500 thousand ECU) reached 50%, and in Germany was noticeably smaller - 44.2%. However, France has ceased to be a country with "minimalist" business associations.

In France, as in Germany, the system of business associations established the principle: “one sector (industry) - one association", although the territorial branches of the French business associations still enjoy greater autonomy: they can focus on different strategies and enter into different national inter-industry business associations. Traditional conflict between two main intersectoral associations, MEDEF (formerly NSFP) and the General Confederation of small and medium-sized enterprises (VKMSP) “cooled down” and moved to the periphery. Majority industry and sub-industry associations are part of MEDEF, and many industry and sub-industry or at least some of their regional branches also are members of the General Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises. The organizations MEDEF and VKMSP cooperate quite often. Compared with UK level of competition between business associations in France can be considered quite low. Rivalry between industry business associations in France is further weakened by a fairly high share of associations, on which account for more than 76% of potential members. In France, the share of such associations account for 55, 66%. This figure is almost identical to that typical for business associations in Germany – 55.43%.

According to the scale of development of three non-specialized areas of activity (representation of interests, provision of services and market coordination) between industry associations of France and Germany observe both similarities and differences. Industry business associations in Germany are actively involved in all three fields of activity, while the activity of French business associations distributed extremely unevenly. Industry business associations in France and Germany perform approximately the same functions in ensuring market coordination. Industry business associations in France are the most are involved in providing services to their members, ahead of their counterparts in Germany. At the same time in the implementation of functions of political representation of interests French associations lag sharply behind those in Germany. Serious differences between the associations of the two countries remain in the field of industrial relations. More than half of the industry associations in France part-time work functions of employers' unions, while for German associations in this region is much more characterized by specialization.
 
The result of the restructuring of the system of associations in the EU countries and Japan is the spread of “hybrid” forms combining features in varying proportions “pluralistic” and “neo-corporatist” model. In the medium term, business associations in Western countries face two challenges - alternative forms of representation of interests and alternative ways of providing services to market agents. As political representation of interests begins to concentrate in large companies leading associations and the independent intermediary sector, there are signs of a new functional specialization. This also shows a convergence with pluralistic model of group interests. Institutional autonomy representation of the interests of large companies, characteristic of the United States (and in Europe - for France), is gradually ceasing to be an exception. The bulk of business associations losing the functions of political representation in favor of large companies and independent intermediaries, collective bargaining functions - in favor of individual firms, and coordination functions - in favor of market mechanisms, are increasingly being replaced by niche for the production of “social capital”.