Do Chambers of Commerce have an added value in the web 2.0 era? Commercial missions by the Chamber

This study goes through the history of Chambers of Commerce, analysing some of the reasons for their appearance as well as their role throughout time. It moves forward to analyse the history and development of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce (BCC), founded in 1886. Emphasis on the international department of the BCC is made to evaluate whether the Internet and the web 2.0 era have jeopardised the internationalisation services offered to Catalan firms. Through five case studies of firms having participated in commercial missions of the BCC, the strategic added values of this service are analysed. The study concludes that the differential traits and added values are: the status of public law entity, the built-in worldwide chamber network, the affordable price, and the direct channel with governmental entities to obtain subsidies for Catalan firms.