ABSTRACT
This concept was introduced into the literature by resource mobilisation theorists (McCarthy and Zald 1977, 1987; Zald and Ash 1966) and forms part of a series of linked concepts that reflects the influence of economic theory in thinking about social movements, which perceived them as akin to ‘businesses’ composing a ‘sector’ within a society. Whilst the use of concepts such as social movement ‘entrepreneurs’ and ‘businesses’ has faded, the idea of social movement organisations (SMOs) has maintained a presence within social movement studies. In part, this is due to its straightforward descriptive utility, an SMO is a formally organised component of a broader social movement within which there is likely to be a number of SMOs. Classic examples of SMOs would be the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in the American Civil Rights Movement, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace International within the environmental movement.
