Fossil Fuel Industry Efforts To Manage Their “Social License”: Scoping Review, Conceptual Analysis, And Empirical Investigations

Patrick Owusu Ansah

Advisor: Edward Wile Maibach, PhD, Department of Communication

Committee Members: Timothy Gibson, Christopher Clarke, Benjamin Manski

Commerce Building, #3006
June 13, 2025, 01:00 PM to 03:00 PM

Abstract:

This dissertation investigates the concept of “social license”—the public’s approval of an entity’s operations—and its application to the fossil fuel industry amid the climate crisis. A strong social license allows an industry to operate freely with minimal regulatory, legal, or reputational risk, while a weak one restricts its freedom and profitability. Given the fossil fuel industry’s central role in causing climate change, its social license is increasingly under scrutiny. Prior research suggests that fossil fuel companies have long used strategic and often deceptive communication tactics to strengthen their social license. However, scholarly attention to this issue has been 
limited.

This dissertation consists of three studies that explored how the fossil fuel industry uses strategic communication to strengthen its social license. Study 1 is a scoping review of 40 years (1983 and 2023) of peer-reviewed literature on fossil fuel industry communication strategies and public responses. Despite the industry’s vast communication efforts, only 57 studies qualified, revealing a major research gap. Six recurring strategies were identified: economic benefits, greenwashing, technological optimism, doubt-mongering, identity cooptation, and individualized 
responsibility. Public responses varied widely, often shaped by existing beliefs, highlighting the need for greater inquiry into how these messages influence climate attitudes.

In Study 2, I formally explicate the social license concept, develop a novel method to 
assess it using survey questions, and propose a conceptual model of how social license operates.  To test the proposed conceptual model and assess the current strength of the fossil fuel industry’s social license in America, I conducted a representative survey of U.S. adults (N=900). Results show that the perceptions of the fossil fuel industry’s performance and transparency increased public trust and strengthened its social license. This, in turn, shaped behaviors that support the 
industry’s profitability, media favorability, and reduced regulatory risk. This research increases understanding of the fossil fuel industry’s social license and its implications for climate risk. 

In Study 3, I experimentally test the impact of four common fossil fuel industry 
communication strategies—economic benefits, greenwashing, technological optimism, and identity cooptation—on public approval of the fossil fuel industry. In a randomized experiment with 339 participants, exposure to fossil fuel ads did not significantly shift social license perceptions, suggesting skepticism among young adults. However, the limited impact of brief 
messaging does not rule out the potential effectiveness of industry communication under different conditions. 

Overall, through this program of research, I have contributed to a deeper understanding of social license theory and how communication strategies shape public attitudes towards the social license of the fossil fuel industry.

ZOOM LINK: https://gmu.zoom.us/j/2904205342