Chamber of commerce

Local businesses are members, and they elect a board of directors or executive council to set policy for the chamber.

The board or council then hires a president, CEO, or executive director, plus staffing appropriate to size, to run the organization.

A chamber of commerce may be a voluntary or a mandatory association of business firms belonging to different trades and industries.

[9] However, Hull Chamber of Commerce is the United Kingdom's oldest, followed by those of Leeds and of Belfast in present-day Northern Ireland.

[10][11][12] As a non-governmental institution, a chamber of commerce has no direct role in the writing and passage of laws and regulations that affect businesses.

[18] In the United States, chambers do not operate in the same manner as the Better Business Bureau in that, while the BBB has the authority to bind its members under a formal operation doctrine (and, thus, can remove them if complaints arise regarding their services), the local chamber membership is either voluntary or required by law.

Addressing the national or international need for information is the key service that these chambers of commerce provide.

Under the compulsory or public law model, enterprises of certain sizes, types, or sectors are obliged to become members of the chamber.

This model is common in European Union countries (e.g. France,[27] Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria), as well as Japan and Indonesia.

The main tasks of the chambers are foreign trade promotion, vocational training, regional economic development, and general services to their members.

[29] Germany also has compulsory chambers for "free occupations" such as architects, dentists, engineers, lawyers, notaries, physicians, and pharmacists.

It can further be active in representing the interests of local and foreign investors in that specific country, achieved through promotion and proactivity regarding the general business environment.