Social Movement Organizations: Growth, Decay and Change

The classical approach to the study of the transformation of social movements (here called the Weber-Michels model) predicts that a movement organization will become more conservative and that its goals will be displaced in favor of organizational maintenance.Using organizational and incentive analysis, the classical approach is subsumed under a more general set of concepts which lead to predictions about growth and change.The movement organization responds to the ebb and flow of sentiment in the larger society, to its relations with other movement organizations and to success or failure.Leadership and schismogenetic tendencies affect the nature and vicissitudes of its goals, and the recruitment and commitment of members.Neither greater conservatism nor organizational maintenance are iron laws. Social movements manifest themselves, in part, through a wide range of organizations.These organizations are subject to a range of internal and external pressures which affect their viability, their internal structure and processes, and their ultimate success in attaining goals.The dominant line of approach to the sociological study of the transformation of social movement organizations (hereafter referred to as MO's) has been the institutionalization and goal displacement model of organizational transformation.This model, which stems from Weber! and Michels.stakes the following line of analysis: As an MO attains an economic and social base in the society, as the original charismatic leadership is replaced, a bureaucratic structure emerges and a general accom-