A nonvolatile memory element is disclosed comprising a first electrode, a near-stoichiometric metal oxide memory layer having bistable resistance, and a second electrode in contact with the near-stoichiometric metal oxide memory layer. At least one electrode is a resistive electrode comprising a sub-stoichiometric transition metal nitride or oxynitride, and has a resistivity between 0.1 and 10 Ωcm. The resistive electrode provides the functionality of an embedded current-limiting resistor and also serves as a source and sink of oxygen vacancies for setting and resetting the resistance state of the metal oxide layer. Novel fabrication methods for the second electrode are also disclosed.