Danku, J C (2020) Exploring the concept of social licence in the construction industry of a developing country. Journal of Construction Business and Management, 4(2), pp. 25-33. ISSN 2521-0165
Abstract
A construction company must acquire regulatory permits and licences before granting project approval. The formal processes do not embrace all the stakeholders. While regulatory permits or licences are granted by government, local and statutory authorities, there is also the need for the hosting or local community to consent to a firm’s activities to complete the symbiotic relationship. This commitment of residents towards acceptance, approval and support for a project to exist within their community is known as a social licence. This paper investigates the application of the concept of social licence in the Ghanaian construction industry. A total of 102 questionnaires were used in the analysis. Findings based on the questionnaire survey of contractors, project managers, quantity surveyors, engineers and architects indicate that social licence is an emerging concept in the Ghanaian construction industry. The result also shows the limited grasp and restricted application of the concept. Only 37% of the professionals with some level of familiarity with the concept admitted to using the term social licence or its concept in the construction industry. There is a need for industry sensitisation and education to harness the benefits a company derives from acquiring a social licence.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | community; professionalism; Ghana; questionnaire survey; regulation; social licence; stakeholders |
| Index terms: | approval, developing country, construction company, survey, statutory authorities, commitment, licence, regulation, questionnaire, professionalism, project manager, quantity surveying, Ghana, engineer, architect, construction industry |
| Subjects: | organization, profession, contractual role, data collection methods, psychology, professional development, development economics, Geography, contract structure, political science, industry analysis, administrative law |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Contract Administration, International Construction, Roles and Professions, Regulations & Compliance, Governance, Procurement, Business Strategy, Information Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here