The influence of resources and opposition on environmental justice organizations' game strategies: An application of the ecology of games framework

This research applies the ecology of games framework and resource mobilization theory to an analysis of the effects of organizational resources, community resources, and oppositional presence on the odds that environmental justice organizations will utilize various strategies. Environmental justice organizations are game players in the environmental justice game, and an examination of the strategies they use and the factors that influence them is relevant to determine how they play the game, which is part of a larger ecology. Resource mobilization theory provides theoretical empirical guidance with respect to the types of resources organizations draw on and how they might relate to groups' activities. Data were gathered from a number of sources to obtain information on organizational resources, community resources, opposition, and the control variables of area of social differentiation (e.g., race), substantive focus (e.g., dumping, siting, climate justice, etc.), geographic focus (local or broad), and group age. The findings demonstrated minimal support for the hypotheses.