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Moral Legitimacy in Controversial Projects and Its Relationship with Social License to Operate: A Case Study

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Abstract

Moral legitimacy entails intrinsic value and helps executives convince firm’s stakeholders and the general public of the ethical acceptability of an institution or its activities or projects. Social license to operate (SLO) is the social approval of those affected by a certain business activity, and it is receiving increasing attention, especially in the context of controversial projects such as mining and public works. Moral legitimacy provides ethical support to SLO. Drawing from the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition and taking substantive justice and the common good of society as the key references, this paper applies the Triple Font of Morality Theory and proposes four criteria which serve to evaluate moral legitimacy: (1) contribution of the project or activity to the common good in a better way than other alternatives (intended end), (2) morality of the means and procedures employed (means elected), (3) ethical evaluation of the situation including stakeholder concerns and needs (concurrent relevant circumstances), and (4) ethical evaluation of reasonably foreseeable consequences associated with the project and how to minimize possible damage or risks, and balance foreseeable negative consequences and benefits. The application of these criteria is illustrated through a project, presented as a case study, which certainly involved controversy and problems with SLO. The project was the construction of a rail tunnel for a high-speed train near the foundations of the Sagrada Familia, the well-known monumental church in Barcelona, Spain.

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Notes

  1. Online Etymological Dictionary, “legitimate”: Retrieved 30 Sep, 2014 from http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=legitimate&allowed_in_frame=0

  2. Retrieved 30 Mar, 2014, from http://www.eben-net.org/?q=content/eben-annual-conference-2013.

  3. Namely, Sacyr-Vallehermoso, Cavosa Obras y Proyectos and Scrinser.

  4. The Sagrada Familia was dedicated by Pope Benedict XVI in person in November 2011, and elevated to the status of basilica by him.

  5. Retrieved 9 Apr, 2013, from http://www.europapress.es/cultura/noticia-ave-presidente-patronato-insiste-hay-riesgo-sagrada-familia-ofrece-colaboracion-unesco-20100730122122.html.

  6. Retrieved 9 Apr, 2013, from http://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/714.

  7. Ibid.

  8. La Vanguardia, Barcelona, June 22, 2010.

  9. The tunnel collapse caused no casualties, but 1276 people were evacuated from their homes immediately. After 48 h, a garage located nearby disappeared into the crater. Retrieved 31 Jan, 2014 from El País online: http://elpais.com/diario/2007/05/16/catalunya/1179277652_850215.html.

  10. Among these experts were the Director of the Departament of Mining Engineering and Natural Resources at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and other engineers, architects, geologists and independent experts.

  11. Among those, the consultancy firm INTEMAC, the consultancy grouping INTECSA-INARSA, the University of Oviedo, the Official College of Geologists of Catalunya, the consultancy firms Itasca, Tifsa and D2S Internacional, and the university professors Carlos Oteo Mazo, José María Rodríguez Ortiz and Eduardo Alonso Pérez de Agreda (source: personal knowledge of one of the authors).

  12. Antonio Gens, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya, gave an address at the Círculo Ecuestre de Barcelona on January 29 2008 with the title “Will the AVE which is arriving threaten the Sagrada Familia?” He spoke of similar projects (tunnels or excavation work below historic constructions) in London, Amsterdam, Rome, Madrid, Vienna, San Sebastian, etc. With the adequate security measures, such as those that had been taken in the case of the Sagrada Familia, he was able to affirm that “The risk associated with the construction of the AVE tunnel via Mallorca Street is reduced to the extent that it does not condition the choice of route”. Similarly, he also explained in the presentation how the pile wall between the drilling works and the façade reduced the settling anticipated below the foundations of the church. Personal communication of Antonio Gens to one of the authors.

  13. Ibid.

  14. Retrieved December 2010 from Revista del Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Catalunya, no. 18.

  15. Jäger and Katzenbach (2011) affirmed: “Concluding the interpretation of all measured deformations at Sagrada Familia and at the Mallorca Street, all systems show a similar value of app. 0.10–0.20 cm of settlements, which is at least 2.5 times less than the strictest predefined threshold value and is in the range of or slightly above the measurement accuracy”.

  16. Interviewed by one of the authors in February 2013.

  17. Revista del Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Catalunya, no. 18, December 2010.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Professors Gonzalo Ramos and Antonio Gens for their willingness to be interviewed and for their valuable contributions on the subject. Thanks also to Belén Zárate and Borja Sánchez for their assistance in documentary research. Authors are also grateful to the editors of this special issue.

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  1. IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Av. Pearson, 21, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Domènec Melé

  2. School of Architecture, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, C. Imaculada, 22, 08017, Barcelona, Spain

    Jaume Armengou

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Correspondence to Domènec Melé.

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Melé, D., Armengou, J. Moral Legitimacy in Controversial Projects and Its Relationship with Social License to Operate: A Case Study. J Bus Ethics 136, 729–742 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2866-z

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