Professional bodies

Abstract

Organization structures and processes of UK-based professional associations and regulatory bodies (professional bodies) are analyzed across all professions and over the long term. These are successful, long lived, and important organizations which have been neglected in the sociological and organizational literatures. Numbers have been growing and on average these organizations have enjoyed consistent financial success. They have been changing, reacting in part to external challenges, but also in response to internal challenges arising from growth and strains due to reactions to changes from their primary stakeholders, their members. We trace substantial changes in their staffing, governance, and education activities. We evaluate whether these changes amount to corporatization, as has been found in other public and third-sector organizations. We evaluate whether the changes confirm the charge that these organizations demonstrate the iron law of oligarchy. We find corporatization has been substantial but limited and that the changes represent shifting toward strategy rather than oligarchy, though democratic weakening has occurred. We find organization responses to member confusion, concerns, and criticisms to be influential in driving these changes and contributing to the sustainability of these organizations.