Social acceptability: a concept in consolidation
This article examines a particularly important issue for all companies that have significant local anchoring: social acceptability. This concept has emerged in recent years in different contexts as a result of major disputes between companies and local communities. However, while it became central in the circles of practitioners and decision makers, its conceptualization as an object of research is still limited. The contribution of this paper is twofold. The first is theoretical and aims to map the definitions of social acceptability, identify its challenges and propose a multi-level model of social acceptability. The second contribution is empirical. The in-depth analysis of levels of social acceptability deriving from the evolution of the relationship between Hydro-Québec and the Cree Nation for nearly four decades (1971-2012) illustrates these issues and the evolution of their management.