Association for Business Communication

What Association for Business Communication does

The Association for Business Communication (ABC) is an international, interdisciplinary nonprofit professional membership association founded around 1935 and headquartered at P.O. Box 304, Natural Bridge Station, Virginia. It serves business communication faculty, researchers, graduate students, and practitioners by providing a unified professional home for a fragmented interdisciplinary field. The organization is sustained by a small staff of 9 employees and governed by elected officers and directors.

ABC's service portfolio centers on three programmatic pillars. First, it publishes two peer-reviewed journals through Sage Publications: Business and Professional Communication Quarterly (BPCQ), the only refereed journal devoted to teaching workplace communication, and International Journal of Business Communication (IJBC), indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index with impact factor 3.1 and a 5-year impact factor of 4.0 and an 18.3% acceptance rate. Second, it runs an annual international conference (the 90th edition held in Los Angeles in 2025) and regional conferences, supporting research presentation, networking, and professional development. Third, it administers an awards and grants program — including the Rogers and Anderson Research Grants (up to $15,000) and the Margaret Baker Graham Research Grant ($500) — via an affiliated 501(c)(3), the Business Communication Research Foundation.

The organization's core technology is the Higher Logic Thrive platform, which powers its member portal, journal access, conference registration, committee participation, and content distribution. Revenue is generated primarily through recurring membership dues (granting journal access, conference discounts, networking, and award eligibility), institutional journal subscriptions distributed by Sage Publications, and conference registration and proceedings sales. ABC is not publicly traded, has no disclosed parent company or institutional investors, and is structurally sustained by individual members and institutional library subscribers worldwide.

Name

Association for Business Communication

Legal name

Association for Business Communication

Website

https://businesscommunication.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Association for Business Communication is an international nonprofit scholarly association, founded around 1935, that serves business communication faculty, researchers, graduate students, and practitioners via two peer-reviewed journals, annual and regional conferences, research grants, awards, and a 30-group community ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Academic Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional & Association Conferences (MPAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Business communication research
• Academic publishing services
• Professional association membership
• Scholarly conferences
• Communication pedagogy resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Roanoke, VA

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ABC generates revenue through membership dues which provide full access to BPCQ and IJBC journals, conference discounts, networking opportunities, teaching resources, award eligibility, and newsletter access.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Association for Business Communication (ABC) is a nonprofit professional academic association that advances the field of business communication through peer-reviewed journals, an annual international conference, regional conferences, research grants, teaching resources, and recognition programs. Its core deliverables serve faculty, researchers, graduate students, and practitioners in business, management, and professional communication disciplines.

Product overview

The Association for Business Communication (ABC) is an international, interdisciplinary membership organization that advances business communication research, education, and practice. Rather than a unified software platform, ABC offers a portfolio of member services including two peer-reviewed journals (Business and Professional Communication Quarterly and International Journal of Business Communication), annual and regional conferences, research grants (Rogers and Anderson Research Grants and Margaret Baker Graham Research Grant), teaching resources (ABC E-Lecture Series, MBA Teaching Resources, and the ABC Members' Collection of Teaching and Learning Resources), an awards program, and conference proceedings. Members receive full journal access, conference discounts, networking opportunities, and eligibility for awards and research funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Communication Quarterly (BPCQ) A peer-reviewed quarterly journal publishing original research, pedagogy articles, and applied studies on business and professional communication, distributed to ABC members and institutional subscribers worldwide.
• International Journal of Business Communication (IJBC) A peer-reviewed journal dedicated to international, intercultural, and cross-disciplinary research in business communication, available to ABC members and institutional subscribers.
• Annual International Conference ABC's flagship annual conference featuring peer-reviewed paper presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and networking for business communication researchers, educators, and practitioners; the 90th edition took place in 2025.
• Regional Conferences Smaller-scale, geographically focused conferences held throughout the year for members to share research, pedagogy, and best practices in business communication.
• Research Grants Competitive funding programs (Rogers and Anderson Research Grant, Margaret Baker Graham Research Grant) administered via ABC's research foundation to support empirical and pedagogical research in business communication.
• E-Lecture Series An online video resource series providing ready-to-use lecture content and classroom materials for business communication instructors.
• MBA Teaching Resources Curated instructional materials, case studies, and pedagogical tools designed for MBA-level and graduate business communication courses.
• Awards Program An annual program recognizing outstanding scholarship, teaching excellence, and distinguished service contributions to the field of business communication.
• ABC Membership Annual membership tiers granting access to ABC journals, conference registration discounts, member-only teaching resources, and participation in committees and special interest groups.

Quantifiable outcome

• IJBC Impact Factor: 3.1 (5-year: 4.0) as of February 2026
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Sage PublicationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSage Publications serves as the publisher for both ABC journals: International Journal of Business Communication (IJBC) and Business and Professional Communication Quarterly (BPCQ). Libraries and institutions subscribe to journals directly through Sage Publications.
• Higher LogiccoreTechnology or IntegrationHigher Logic provides the Thrive platform powering ABC's member portal, community engagement, and content delivery systems. The website is powered by Higher Logic's platform technology.
• Business Communication Research FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Business Communication Research Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) affiliate of ABC that allocates financial support for business communication research through grant programs including the Rogers and Anderson Research Fund and the Margaret Baker Graham Research Grant.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Public Relations Society of America: Large professional society for PR and communications practitioners with peer-reviewed publications, an annual conference, and chapter networks. Overlaps with ABC in business communication and practitioner development.
• Academy of Management: Major academic management association with multiple peer-reviewed journals, an Annual Meeting, and member interest groups (e.g., Management Communication). Provides a comparable AOM-scale model for journal and conference operations.
• American Marketing Association: Large-scale professional association for marketing academics and practitioners, operating peer-reviewed journals (e.g., JM), conferences, and member communities at much greater scale than ABC.

Direct peers

• International Communication Association: International scholarly association for communication research with peer-reviewed journals and an annual conference. Highly comparable membership and publishing structure to ABC.
• Modern Language Association: Long-standing scholarly association with peer-reviewed journals, an annual convention, and member communities focused on language and rhetoric. Operates an analogous academic membership and publishing model.
• International Association of Business Communicators: Global membership association for business communication practitioners offering networking, awards, and professional development. Closest practice-side peer to ABC, though practitioner-focused rather than academic.
• National Communication Association: Largest U.S. academic communication association with peer-reviewed journals, annual conventions, and member communities. Direct structural peer to ABC with comparable journals, conferences, and member-driven model.

Regional players

• Association for Business Communication - Asia: Asia-Pacific chapter/affiliate network for business communication scholars and teachers, operating regional conferences and communities comparable to ABC's international footprint.
• European Communication Research and Education Association: European scholarly association for communication research and education with conferences, working groups, and journals that overlap thematically with ABC's mission in Europe.

Others

• Council of Communication Associations: Umbrella organization bringing together multiple communication-related scholarly associations. Relevant as an ecosystem/coalition peer and potential distribution channel for ABC's programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-for-business-communication

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Association for Business Communication