Which resources matter for what impacts? Resource mobilization and impacts of local SMOs in rural Lithuania, 2004–2006

Abstract

Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT) posits that the key to social movement organizations’ (SMOs’) success is their ability to mobilize resources. Yet there has been little research verifying this claim. This study uses the case of post-Soviet rural Lithuania to test the link between human, social, material, and organizational resources of SMOs and three types of organizational impacts: issue awareness, local support, and media coverage. Using original data from 165 rural advocacy organizations that spans the period of 2004 to 2006, we demonstrate that the effects of different resources vary in significance and strength for differentoutcomes. Furthermore, no single resource type consistently predicts all impacts. This research contributes to RMT by (1) identifying which resource types predict specific organizational impacts, (2) extending RMT to the unique context of post-Soviet Lithuania, and (3) illuminating the relationship between resources and impacts for an understudied unit of analysis (small, newly founded nonprofessionalized organizations).