Organizational Growth and Ecological Constraints: The Growth of Social Movements in Sweden, 1881 to 1940

Abstract

Based on the theoretical framework of organizational ecology, I argue that social movement
\norganizations are inert structures that rarely exceed their initial size. The ecological concept
\nof organizational growth is tested by using membership data from Sweden for the period
\n1881 to 1940 for virtually all local social movement organizations (29,193 organizations) in
\nthree major social movements: the temperance, free church, and trade union movements.
\nFindings show that the organizations in two of the movements have average growth trajectories
\nclose to zero. The ecological argument is then expanded to include information on the
\nmovements’ organizational niches and intra- and inter-movement density development.
\nFindings reveal that the remaining variation in aggregate membership, after controlling for
\nthe local organizations initial size, was more likely to be dependent on the population and
\nniche dynamics that organization ecologists focus on than on the capacity of the movements
\nlocal organizations to expand. Moreover, these findings are consistent for all three movements.
\nThe ecological argument and the findings presented here are contrary to almost all
\nresearch on social movements, which takes for granted that social movement organizations
\nare units that are necessarily capable of individual growth