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AbstractHRM has long claimed professional status. The global prevalence of national‐level people management associations (PMA) supports this claim. Aside from prescribing practices appropriate for differing national contexts, PMAs simultaneously claim to share international best practices. This divergence/convergence tension raises questions about whether common institutional circumstances trigger PMA formation and if universal associational features develop over time. This article addresses both concerns by extrapolating a reanalysis of two historical accounts of PMA formation in the United Kingdom (from 1913) and Hong Kong (from 1968) to commensurate developments in contemporary China (from 2001). Its application of a modified version of trait theory with institutional analysis finds that a family resemblance occurs between PMAs created by adapting to employment regulation from the state while promoting employers' substantive interests. A path‐dependent legacy of these tensions reflects the HR professionalisation project's broader institutional subordination to state and market forces.