[5] According to resource mobilization theory, a core, professional group in a social movement organization works towards bringing money, supporters, attention of the media, alliances with those in power, and refining the organizational structure.
The laws of supply and demand explain the flow of resources to and from the movements and that individual actions or the lack thereof is accounted for by rational choice theory.
Critics also argue that it fails to explain how groups with limited resources can succeed in bringing social change and that the theory does not assign sufficient weight to grievances, identity and culture as well as many macrosociological issues.
[4] Aldon Morris claims that the resource mobilization theory is a possible explanation of the surge of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
[8] Some of the leaders that Aldon Morris reframed are Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., who, combined with the efforts of the NAACP, the SCLC, the SNCC, CORE and small business, labor unions, students' organizations and faith communities, led to the civil rights movement.
[8] The research done by Aldon Morris demonstrates that social movements depend on the ability of empower the less powerful people: "the civil rights movement managed, against overwhelming odds and historical tradition, to push for reform of oppressive and rigidly racist cultural repertoires, practices and laws that had denied African Americans basic civil rights.
[10] Also, resource mobilization applies because the people who founded the organization knew how to use the resources available, which implies that anyone who uses the website to sign or start a petition is a rational social actor, who acts as a utility maximizer, who compares the costs and the benefits before deciding to be a part of a social movement.
[12] Another group of researchers studying social movements in Tunisia during the Arab Spring found that cyberactivism sprung from grievances on increasing government restrictions on Internet use for political purposes, coupled with the lack of socioeconomic opportunities.