Chamber Rivalry Across the State Line

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce just announced plans to open a branch office in Johnson County, Kansas, and Johnson County officials are not happy about it.

"It is a Missouri organization," Overland Park Mayor Ed Eilert said, although more than 700 of the chamber's 2,500 members are based in Johnson County. "The perception is and probably will be that this is an overt move to actively solicit additional memberships from the county and solicit companies to move across the state line.

As they say, we are all for regionalism until it poses a threat to our usual ways of doing business. What's my take on this situation? First, the interstate rivalry issue is a factor in this debate. Even though both Kansas and Missouri share a regional economy in this case, the truth is that a great deal of territorialism continues to exist. The second issue is the perception that Kansas City, MO is the 800-pound gorilla that is trying to use its chamber to takeover political and economic territory across the state line. Third, I suspect that the institutional rivalry is the real issue raising hackles in this case. As competition for members grows, community and regional chambers are bumping heads in many parts of the country. Finally, that says something to me that the Greater KC Chamber has 700 members in Kansas. That is significant. As I look at this situation, interests in both states have more reasons to cooperate than compete. Also, this may be a good time to "innovate" with new partnerships and other activities.

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