A framework for social licence · Est. 2024

The rules of permission
have changed.

How can your organisation navigate them, if you don't know what they are?

Societal Capital is the framework that shows you exactly where that permission stands — how to use it when it's strong and what to do when it's under pressure.

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IndependentAcademicNon-proprietary
Short film

The origins of Societal Capital

The framework

Three licences. One asset.

Societal Capital disaggregates "social licence to operate" into three distinct dimensions. Each is governed by different audiences, different logics, and different management strategies.

Social Licence
Acceptance and endorsement from those directly affected
Who grants it: Communities, stakeholders, employees, suppliers
How you build it: Structured dialogue, procedural fairness, operational concessions
Public Licence
Formal regulatory and legal right to operate
Who grants it: Regulators, legislators, statutory bodies
How you build it: Compliance, government relations, proactive reform
Popular Licence
Tolerance and buy-in from people with no direct stake
Who grants it: The broader public, media, cultural commentators
How you build it: Earned media, CEO visibility, cultural positioning
SocialPublicPopularONE ASSET
Where all three overlap, an organisation holds Societal Capital — a strategic asset that can be built, spent, or lost.
Triplet profile
Each licence rated 1–5, expressed as a three-number score (e.g. 3-4-2)
Bunnings: 3-3-4
Contagion
How a failure in one licence domain spreads to others
Rio Tinto: Social → Popular → Public
Entropy
Legitimacy depreciates through neglect without active investment
Optus: cascading erosion across all three
Case studies

The framework in action.

Tier 1 diagnostic analyses

Triplet scores shown as Social – Public – Popular

Academic foundations

Built on five decades of research.

Societal Capital does not invent new theory. It operationalises peer-reviewed research from institutional theory, regulatory theory, reputation theory, and organisational sociology.

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35+
Peer-reviewed works
300k+
Combined citations
10
Disciplines
1978 – 2025
Temporal range
Pillar 1
Legitimacy isn't one thing
Suchman (1995)
25k+ citations
Pillar 2
Three separate forces
Gunningham et al. (2004)
1.2k+ citations
Pillar 3
It behaves like money
Bourdieu (1986)
80k+ citations
Full reference library
Practitioners

Using Societal Capital in your work.

Societal Capital is published under a Creative Commons licence and is free for anyone to use with acknowledgement. Listed below are recognised practitioners of the framework who specialise in its application.

General Strategic

The originators of Societal Capital. Available for engagement across:

Keynote speaking and media – Conference presentations, panels, and media commentary on the Societal Capital framework
Tier 1 diagnostic – Rapid assessment across all three licence dimensions
Strategic advisory – Licence-matched action plans for organisations under pressure
Board briefings – Executive-level presentation of Societal Capital position
SoCap@GeneralStrategic.com

JWS Research

Established Australian research firm experienced in applying Societal Capital methodology:

Reputation and issues management research
Government relations and advocacy research
Community opinion and satisfaction
Communications and engagement research
info@jwsresearch.com