The Social License to Operate as a Tool to Promote Sustainability …
413
Data collection took place in February 2020. The respondents were asked to rate
some topics in a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). The mean
average score of the first 12 (adapted from Boutilier and Thomson 2018) indicated
the level of the SLO. The following topics (adapted from Zhang et al. 2015) assessed
different factors that influence the tolerance and support to mining companies (Table
2).
The variables were averaged for each participant, for socials groups and, finally, for
the entire sample. A Path Analysis (a complex Multiple Regression) was conducted
to investigate the relationships between the variables and analyze how they affected
the tolerance and support to companies, using the IBM SPSS 23 software (IBM Corp.
2015).
The Path Analysis tests hypotheses’ coherence with the existing data. The
following hypotheses were tested (Fig. 2):
(a) Good company-community communications and governance positively and
directly influence trust in companies;
(b) Procedural fairness, economic benefits and improvements in infrastructure
positively and directly influence trust, tolerance and support to companies;
(c) Economic impacts negatively and directly influence tolerance and support to
companies;
(d) Environmental impacts directly and negatively influence trust, tolerance and
support to companies;
The Path Analysis evaluates the goodness-of-fit of the hypothesised models
to check whether the proposed relationships are adequate using chi-square test,
Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Normed Fit Index (NFI), and Root Mean Square Error
of Approximation (RMSEA). Satisfactory fits are indicated by nonsignificant chisquare test, CFI ≥ 0.95, NFI ≥ 0.95, and RMSEA ≤ 0.06 (Hu and Bentler 1999;
Kenny and McCoach 2003; Moffat and Zhang 2014).
4 Results and Discussion
The current SLO level of mining industry in the municipalities of Parauapebas and
Canaã dos Carajás is Acceptance (2.6 points; standard deviation: 1.01), a very low
level just 0.1 point above the minimum acceptable (Fig. 3). Local stakeholders barely
tolerate the mining companies and their activities, as trust and goodwill is low.
Unplanned unfortunate events may cause social turmoil and subsequent blockages
to roads and entrances to mines.
The current SLO levels are lower than the results found by Cruz et al. (2020)
in 2016 (Acceptance level: 3.63 points; only in Canaã dos Carajás). Participants
involved in NGOs/Trade Unions and industry workers still granted the highest SLO
levels, as companies kept engaging with their institutions through sponsorships
for projects that benefits their activities. Religious leaders and people involved in
413
Data collection took place in February 2020. The respondents were asked to rate
some topics in a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). The mean
average score of the first 12 (adapted from Boutilier and Thomson 2018) indicated
the level of the SLO. The following topics (adapted from Zhang et al. 2015) assessed
different factors that influence the tolerance and support to mining companies (Table
2).
The variables were averaged for each participant, for socials groups and, finally, for
the entire sample. A Path Analysis (a complex Multiple Regression) was conducted
to investigate the relationships between the variables and analyze how they affected
the tolerance and support to companies, using the IBM SPSS 23 software (IBM Corp.
2015).
The Path Analysis tests hypotheses’ coherence with the existing data. The
following hypotheses were tested (Fig. 2):
(a) Good company-community communications and governance positively and
directly influence trust in companies;
(b) Procedural fairness, economic benefits and improvements in infrastructure
positively and directly influence trust, tolerance and support to companies;
(c) Economic impacts negatively and directly influence tolerance and support to
companies;
(d) Environmental impacts directly and negatively influence trust, tolerance and
support to companies;
The Path Analysis evaluates the goodness-of-fit of the hypothesised models
to check whether the proposed relationships are adequate using chi-square test,
Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Normed Fit Index (NFI), and Root Mean Square Error
of Approximation (RMSEA). Satisfactory fits are indicated by nonsignificant chisquare test, CFI ≥ 0.95, NFI ≥ 0.95, and RMSEA ≤ 0.06 (Hu and Bentler 1999;
Kenny and McCoach 2003; Moffat and Zhang 2014).
4 Results and Discussion
The current SLO level of mining industry in the municipalities of Parauapebas and
Canaã dos Carajás is Acceptance (2.6 points; standard deviation: 1.01), a very low
level just 0.1 point above the minimum acceptable (Fig. 3). Local stakeholders barely
tolerate the mining companies and their activities, as trust and goodwill is low.
Unplanned unfortunate events may cause social turmoil and subsequent blockages
to roads and entrances to mines.
The current SLO levels are lower than the results found by Cruz et al. (2020)
in 2016 (Acceptance level: 3.63 points; only in Canaã dos Carajás). Participants
involved in NGOs/Trade Unions and industry workers still granted the highest SLO
levels, as companies kept engaging with their institutions through sponsorships
for projects that benefits their activities. Religious leaders and people involved in