Roles of industry associations in industrial ecosystems – The case of Hungarian battery association

Industry associations play important roles in industrial ecosystems, yet their multiple functions are difficult to capture through a single theoretical perspective. This study examines the role configuration of the Hungarian Battery Association and evaluates the explanatory contributions of industrial network management, meta-organization theory, and civil society organization scholarship. Using a single-case design, the authors conducted a deductive codebook thematic analysis of HUBAs activities from its inception in 2021 to 2026. They find that all roles identified by industrial network management and meta-organization theory are evident in HUBA’s activities, but their presence varies while some roles predicted by CSO literature were either absent or partially evident in HUBA’s activities. The findings reveal that the same organization activity can fulfil theoretically distinct roles depending on their purpose, beneficiaries, and relational context. The study shows that combining the three perspectives provides a more comprehensive functional explanation of industry associations operating within strategic industrial ecosystems.