The performance of individual businesses is affected by conditions shared across an industry. This is reflected in the widespread participation in industry-based trade associations. As agents of potential importance to business and industry development this study explores whether there is opportunity to transfer practice between trade associations in two comparable economies: Ireland and New Zealand. Industry and institutional influences on trade association activity are identified to explain why associations may differ between the two economies. Industry influences consider how business populations differ in the ease of coordinating collective action; institutional influences include economic governance structures and the extent of embeddedness within social environments. A comparison of eighteen matched associations finds that overall support for associations is higher in New Zealand but that the individually strongest associations are found in Ireland. This outcome is explainable by differences in industry characteristics, confirming the expected sensitivity of trade association to levels of business heterogeneity. Limited evidence of institutional influences on trade associations suggests scope to strengthen industry-based collective action.