Spirituality and business: An interdisciplinary overview

Luk Bouckaert and László Zsolnai ()
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Luk Bouckaert: Catholic University of Leuven Leuven Belgium
László Zsolnai: Corvinus University of Budapest Business Ethics Center Budapest Hungary

Society and Economy, 2012, vol. 34, issue 3, 489-514

Abstract: The paper gives an interdisciplinary overview of the emerging field of spirituality and business. It uses insights from business ethics, theology, neuroscience, psychology, gender studies, and philosophy to economics, management, organizational science, and banking and refers to different religious convictions including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, the Baha’i faith, and the North-American aboriginal worldview. The authors argue that the materialistic management paradigm has failed. They explore new values for post-materialistic management: frugality, deep ecology, trust, reciprocity, responsibility for future generations, and authenticity. Within this framework profit and growth are no longer ultimate aims but elements in a wider set of values. Similarly, cost-benefit calculations are no longer the essence of management but are part of a broader concept of wisdom in leadership. Spirit-driven businesses require intrinsic motivation for serving the common good and using holistic evaluation schemes for measuring success. The Palgrave Handbook of Business and Spirituality, edited by the authors, is a response to developments that simultaneously challenge the “business as usual” mindset.

Keywords: religion and spirituality; spiritually inspired economics; spiritually-based leadership; business ethics; post-materialistic management; economic wisdom (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 M10 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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