Association Management the 1980s: The end of History

Internationalisation, Deregulation, and Privatisation

The 1980s were marked by significant deregulation and privatisation. In a trans-Atlantic dialogue, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US President Ronald Reagan set the international tone with their respective “Thatcherism” and “Reaganomics” policies. In the Netherlands, under Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers and Finance Minister Onno Ruding, the deregulation of the economy began, following the previous decade's expansion of the welfare state.

The 1980s saw the rise of multinational corporations. Food and beverage manufacturers like Nestlé, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo invested in global brand recognition. In developed Western markets, supermarket chains increasingly became the dominant link between supply chains and consumers. American technology companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Cisco set global standards, while Japanese companies like Toyota and Sony expanded worldwide. Through brand streamlining, supply chain optimisation, enforcing global standards, and promoting ‘modern’ trends and lifestyles, the first steps toward globalisation were taken. Sector associations took up the challenge of preparing their members for this process.

Sector Associations

The phenomenon of a retreating government in an increasingly integrated international market provided new opportunities for sector associations, but also risks. Opportunities arose as they could fill the gaps left by governments through self-regulation, collaboration, knowledge sharing, setting up accreditation and recognition schemes, and assisting members with implementing regulations. However, risks emerged as their members found themselves in an increasingly competitive and complex field. This led to a reassessment of the relationship between national and European sector associations.

A key focus for the international sector associations within Lejeune in the 1980s was building connections between national sectors. In addition to setting standards, efforts were made to map sectors, inform members in multiple languages, and develop ‘dictionaries’ and ‘glossaries of terms,’ outlining key sector-specific terminology in the most important languages. Although there was no common language yet, this work helped foster a shared language in a metaphorical sense.

The Annual Congress – Breaking Down Cultural and Language Barriers

The federation's annual congress had by now become a regular event for businesspeople, particularly owner-directors of family businesses in the still fragmented European market. They were often accompanied by their partners and sometimes children. The congresses took place in exotic locations, using favourable flight schedules, combining work and leisure. This contributed to building friendships, business relationships, and shared memories, although language and cultural barriers remained. The federation spent considerable sums on interpreters and equipment, and speakers were often asked to speak more slowly for this reason. One anecdote tells of participants staying by the pool after lunch because their headsets still had reception there – ‘Poolside-gate’ was born.

Growing Environmental Awareness

Technologische innovatie

In de jaren '80 werden de eerste stappen richting digitalisering gezet. Early adopters liepen rond met grote mobiele telefoons, en Tim Berners Lee ontwikkelde het World Wide Web. Personal computers van IBM, Commodore, HP en Apple kwamen op de markt, en Microsoft lanceerde MS-DOS. De LP werd vervangen door de CD, en Sony introduceerde de Walkman en Discman. Op YouTube zijn nog steeds video's te vinden over de reacties op deze snel veranderende technologie. De digitalisering ging hand in hand met de verschuiving naar een diensteneconomie. Bij Lejeune werd het kantoor aan de Laan Copes van Cattenburch 79 (waarnaar het bureau eind jaren ’70 was verhuisd) gemoderniseerd, waarbij typmachines werden vervangen door Rank Xerox typcomputers (met floppy disk drive!), de telex door een fax, en een kopieerapparaat de stencilmachine verving.

Political and Social Developments

At the start of the decade, significant political and social concerns captured the public’s attention. On 29th October 1983, a mass demonstration against the stationing of cruise missiles in the Netherlands took place in The Hague. With 550,000 participants, it remains the largest demonstration ever held in the Netherlands. On 13th July 1985, the Live Aid pop festival took place in London and Philadelphia, one of the largest media events the world had ever seen. The festival drew global attention to the catastrophic effects of famine in Africa. Geopolitically, the 1986 European Single Act laid the groundwork for the European Single Market, which would come into effect in 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 led to the reunification of Germany in 1990. In the Netherlands, large-scale immigration from Suriname and the Dutch Antilles led to increased diversity in Dutch society and debates about integration and multiculturalism. 
The progressive ‘de-pillarisation’ in the Netherlands since the late 1960s was the trigger for a wave of consolidation within the association sector from the 1980s onwards: broadcasting organisations, trade unions, health insurance funds, political parties, sports associations, housing cooperatives as well as industry associations sought cooperation with sister organisations outside their own pillars or merged with them.

A Personal Story

Mans' two daughters joined the Lejeune team. Astrid, a well-travelled young woman in her twenties with experiences in the US and Italy, began supporting some international organisations. Lisanne did the same for a few national clients while balancing her busy training schedule with the Dutch women’s hockey team, which was already among the world’s best at that time. While Mans' youngest son was completing his final exams, eldest son Jules, during his university holidays, helped out by preparing statistical reports, which, in the absence of Excel, still had to be manually calculated. Meanwhile, upstairs in the office, the accounting department worked busily every day, typing up cash register receipts on the adding machine for the debtors and creditors' reports.

Mans’ busy schedule as a self-employed entrepreneur sometimes came at the expense of family life, but his wife Tonny kept things well organised at home. Together, they were active outside of work in both sports and administration at the HGC hockey club in Wassenaar, which at the time was consistently among the top three teams in the Netherlands, both for men and women. Tonny led the reserve women’s team to several national titles as coach, and as an administrator, she initiated the playoffs for women’s hockey, a successful event that continues to draw large crowds to the end of the hockey season. As club chairman, Mans brought his network and management experience from sector associations into the sports world. Together, they laid the foundation for the glory years of the club.

Jules Lejeune

(to be continued)

Six Decades of Lejeune Association Management. Read all the blogs via the links below:

The 1940/50’s | The 1960’s | The 1970’s | The 1980’s | The 1990’s | The 2000’s | The 2010’s | The 2020's| The future 2030’s | Navigating Uncertainty | Back from the future ask Sandra