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A social licence to operate legitimacy test: Enhancing sustainability through contact quality

Author

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  • Marian Eabrasu

    (Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie)

  • Martin Brueckner

    (Murdoch University [Perth])

  • Rochelle Spencer

    (Murdoch University [Perth])

Abstract

The social licence to operate is a notoriously ambiguous concept that encompasses a patent normative heterogeneity, making the emergence of a widely accepted standard capable of settling controversies on its legitimate use seem unlikely. To cope with this issue, the article builds a model (adapted from Arnstein's ladder of public participation) to measure "contact quality," used here as a proxy for gauging the legitimacy of the social licence to operate. This model is tested on a case study from the minerals and energy sector (Base Titanium Mine in Kenya). Our findings show that a company can move up and down on the legitimacy scale, depending on the contact quality with company stakeholders. The interest of providing a social licence heuristic is to make sense of the theoretical controversies surrounding this concept and to offer also realistic guidance to practitioners searching to understand where a firm sits on the legitimacy scale, to enhance transparency and accountability of its social licence to operate and ultimately improve business practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Marian Eabrasu & Martin Brueckner & Rochelle Spencer, 2021. "A social licence to operate legitimacy test: Enhancing sustainability through contact quality," Post-Print hal-04455602, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04455602
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126080
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://normandie-univ.hal.science/hal-04455602
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Stronge, Dean C. & Kannemeyer, Robyn L. & Edwards, Peter, 2024. "Building social licence to operate: A framework for gaining and maintaining meaningful, trustworthy relationships," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Baba, Sofiane & Mercier, Naoko & Guesthier, Andrée-Anne, 2024. "Fostering the social license to operate: An integrative framework of organizational antecedents," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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