Social license to operate (SLO) has become a catchcry with which to motivate the strategy and actions of private and public organizations alike. However, it is not clear that there is a common understanding of what SLO is or when to act on it. That makes it difficult to assess whether strategies and actions to gain or maintain SLO are effective and value for money. Various models have been advanced to describe how SLO relates to market, legal, and social/political constructs that shape (and are shaped by) concepts of social acceptability. This chapter applies an economic and legal lens to see investments in SLO as distinct alternatives to regulatory and market instruments to manage the interactions between people, businesses, and communities. It illustrates this with reference to the aviation sector in Aotearoa New Zealand, which faces particular challenges in maintaining community trust and confidence.