A summary of the most important issues, approaches and models in the field
of spirituality in business, economics and society. The Handbook of Spirituality
andBusiness presents a comprehensive pluralistic view covering all the major religious
and spiritual traditions.
It is a response to three developments that challenge the business-as-usual mindset.
Firstly, in response to a growing interest in spirituality applied to models of
transformational leadership, in theories of social capital and in practices of
values-driven management, it explores the emerging field of business spirituality—its
main concepts, models and practices.
Secondly, there is a growing awareness that the world is unsustainable without a
strong commitment to frugality and self-restriction, and that material resources such as
clean air and water, as well as non-material resources such as trust, compassion and
peace, are fragile. Managing our vital resources will not succeed without good management
of our spiritual resources. Therefore, this handbook aims to elucidate some of the
conditions for a transformation towards a post-capitalist, values-driven global economy.
And thirdly, although the interest in spiritually-driven entrepreneurship and governance
is increasing, spirituality remains a vague and confusing concept that needs intellectual
clarification. Hence, it seeks to clarify the concept of spirituality in the field of
business and economics.
Heuristic in style and content it explores new ideas on the frontier of the discipline
which will appeal to scholars and practitioners looking for up-to-date and insightful
knowledge.
This handbook is structured in five parts:
• the nature of spirituality;
• spiritually inspired economics;
• socioeconomic problems in spiritual perspective;
• business spirituality; and
• good practices and working models.
LUK BOUCKAERT is Professor Emeritus at the Catholic University of
Leuven, Belgium. He is director of the SPES (Spirituality in Economics and Society)
Academy and President of the European SPES Forum in Leuven.
LASZLO ZSOLNAI is Professor and Director of the Business Ethics Center at
the Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary. He is chairman of the Business Ethics
Faculty Group of CEMS - the global alliance of academic and corporate institutions; and a
fellow associate at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Spirituality and Business; L.Bouckaert & L.Zsolnai
PART I: THE NATURE OF SPIRITUALITY
Religion and Spirituality in Doing Business; P.De Blot
Spirituality and Rationality; L.Bouckaert
Neuroscience of Spirituality; A.Newberg
Transpersonal Psychology; J.Drew
Moral Agency and Spiritual Intelligence; L.Zsolnai
Gender and Spirituality; V.Draulans
Critique as a Notion of Spirituality; S.Langenberg
PART II: SPIRITUALLY INSPIRED ECONOMICS
Aristotle and Economics; R.Allinson
Indian Management Philosophy; S.Mukherjee
Buddhist Economics; L.Zsolnai
Confucianism and Taoism; R.Allinson
Budo Philosophy; H.Oosterling
Jewish Ethical Perspective on Income and Wealth Distribution; M.Pava
Catholic Social Teaching; D.Mele
Protestant Economic Principles and Practices; J.Wiersma
Islamic Economics; F.Khan
Quakers Spirituality and the Economy; L.Michaelis
Personalism; L.Bouckaert
Liberation Theology; E.van den Dool
Schumacher's People Centered Economics; H.Opdebeeck
Baha'i Perspective on Business and Organization; M.Lips-Wiersma
Teaching of the Elders and its Relevance for Modern Organization; M.Bell
PART III: SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IN SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE
Spiritual Meaning of the Economic Crisis; C.Hoevel
Materialistic Value-orientation; T.Kasser
Avarice; S.Zamagni
Globalization; J.J.Rosé & F.Lépineux
Deep Ecology; K.Ims
Climate Change and Spirituality; L.Michaelis
Ecological Sustainability and Organizational Functioning; J.Adams
Responsibility for Future Generations; L.Zsolnai
Authenticity; D.Boyle
Frugality; L.Bouckaert, H.Opdebeeck & L.Zsolnai
Civil Economy; S.Zamagni
PART IV: BUSINESS SPIRITUALITY
Spiritually-based Leadership; P.Pruzan
Deep Leadership and Spirit-driven Business Organizations; G.Broekstra &
P.De Blot
Transformation Management; R.Lessem & A.Schieffer
Mindfulness in Business; S.Nandram & M.E.Borden
Voicing Meaningfulness at Work; M.Lips-Wiersma & L.Morris
Multinational Companies and the Common Good; F.Lépineux & J.J.Rosé
Corporate Conscience; K.E.Goodpaster
PART V: GOOD PRACTICES AND WORKING MODELS
The New Role of Business in Society; O.F.Williams
Self-assessment and Improvement Process for Organizations; T.Dean Maines
Edgewalker Organizations; J.Neal
The Economy of Communion; L.Bruni & T.Hejj
Ethical Branding; M.Thompson
Fair Trade Movement; Z.Boda
Ethical Banking; F.de Clerck
448 pages, Hardcover
