Foundational Research
E-Book, Englisch, Band 4, 312 Seiten
Reihe: Management, Spirituality and Religion
ISBN: 978-3-11-121658-4
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Autoren/Hrsg.
Fachgebiete
- Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologische Disziplinen Religionspsychologie
- Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionssoziologie und -psychologie, Spiritualität, Mystik
- Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Management
- Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Bereichsspezifisches Management Management: Führung & Motivation
Weitere Infos & Material
MSR foundational research: An anthology of JMSR best papers
Yochanan Altman Kathryn Pavlovich In this edited book, we provide a window to the current state of the field of Management, Spirituality and Religion1 (MSR). While it may have passed the stage of an ‘emergent’ field, MSR is yet to establish firm consensual conceptual and theoretical foundations, although we acknowledge that these will always change and be challenged over time – such as the notion of ‘opportunities’ in entrepreneurship or the ‘boundaries’ of diversity in diversity management. Here we wish to examine the current conceptual, theoretical and methodological foundations of MSR, inspired by the Best Papers from the 20-year-old Journal of Management, Spiritualty and Religion (JMSR) – considered the lead journal in this field of scholarship (Singh & Singh, 2022). The emergence and continuing evolvement of MSR is part of a growing interest in environmental, sustainability and responsible management movements that can be traced in various fields of management (e.g. ‘green’ HRM: Matthews et al., 2018; the SDGs: Howard-Grenville et al., 2019; well-being: Kong Man Ng, 2022). However, these tend to follow a linear path of empirical science assuming that there is a world “out there” to fix (Kumar 2013) through the pursuit of technocratic rationality (Giacalone & Promislo, 2019). The uniqueness of MSR, amongst other business and management domains, stands out as it advocates a narrative ‘beyond’ the present and material – whether it concerns our inner world (Manz 2015; Pavlovich, 2020; Tsao & Laszlo, 2019) or a transpersonal/ trans-communal consciousness (Palframan & Lancaster, 2019). Although we have evidenced over the past two decades MSR research increasingly being referred to in mainstream management scholarship, it is as yet not ‘mainstream’ and remains on the ‘fringe’. Surprising indeed, given that 84% of the world’s population identify themselves with some form of religious grouping (Sherwood, 2018). Also, religious institutions have been at the core of shaping of society and over time have been powerful initiators of social change (Pavlovich & Markman, 2022). We wonder whether some of the reluctance to integrate or refer to religious principles and spiritual beliefs in scholarly discourse may stem from a position of science-religion incompatibility or irreconcilability (Strauss, 1953), an economics/materialism focus (Smith, McMullen & Cardon, 2021), or from a perceived lack of adequate methodologies to capture the issues at hand (Marques, 2015). Furthermore, religion as a field of study does not avoid a wider social/political scrutiny – note for instance, the century long debate about laïcité (secularism) in France (Voynet-Fourboul, 2021); nor can it evade the implications for careers and well-being at work from parading one’s faith (Gebert et al., 2014). All of the above distance us from the pursuance of that elusive philosopher’s stone – the ‘truth’. To attend to the above concerns, JMSR has provided a platform encouraging divergent views on management through religion and spirituality. The best paper awards recognize outstanding scholarship for each year, with the following criteria used by the selection committee team in this process: Novelty of the research Research rigor Contributions to the MSR field Interest beyond MSR General readability The ten best papers from JMSR from 2013 to 2022, are by scholars at different career stages: from senior scholars (full professors) to early career academics (assistant professors); and in a variety of geographies: the USA, Canada, France, Sweden – representing a mix characteristic of the MSR community. Of the ten papers, seven emphasized a methodological perspective: conceptual, qualitative, quantitative methods, as well as one historical analysis – showing rigorous ways of capturing relevant aspects of management, organization and leadership. This reflects the significance judges attributed to the issue of methodology for the MSR field as a criterion of excellence; and the diversity of methodological approaches considered praiseworthy. Interestingly, our examination revealed two thought-provoking themes that the authors consistently noted: scholarship that endeavored to “influence” the domain of management at large through the lens of MSR. That is, how do religious/spiritual values and leadership shape workplaces – e.g. how servant leadership encourages a worldview that in turn influences the way a workplace is managed, or the influence of Paul of Tarsus on new venture creation processes. A second set of papers focused on “integrating” spiritual and religious practices into one’s general life, that extend to the workplace – for instance, how humility is manifested in workspaces, or how contemplative practices effect work routines. Clearly the authors of these papers believed that proving influence or demonstrating integration were important, and evidently the judges who picked up the best papers thought likewise. We argue that these two approaches to understanding how reference to or incorporation of a religious stand impacts organizational behavior and performance, has been essential for the validation of the field and provide an invaluable starting point in moving MSR forward. Other best papers provided ontological critiques, questioning the foundations of MSR and the need to bring alternative perspectives (i.e., placing relationships rather than technocratic and capitalist approaches) into the conversation. Several papers touched on the place and role of the feminine – such as connecting with the anima mundi – the soul world. Indigenous perspectives, ancient wisdoms and the nature of consciousness were also among the best papers, emphasizing alternative ontologies and ways of looking at the world of work. We have organized the book into three sections: Engagement with foundational contemporary management/organization issues; Workplace religion research informing mainstream management areas; and finally Approaches/methodologies of engaging core spiritual principles/practices. The following are brief summaries of these best papers, and how they contribute to the development of the field. Table 1 summarizes the ten papers key trajectories. Table 1:JMSR Best Papers 2013–2022. Year and name Title Challenging ontologies Workplace research Engaging spiritual practices Methods 2013?
Paquier Buying monastic products: revisiting the pro-anima gift Integrating a Middle Age gifting tradition into shopping behavior Qualitative 2014 Rozuel Calling to the anima mundi: on restoring soul within organizations Connecting with the anima mundi – the soul world Conceptual 2015 Almond The “Acts” of Paul: micro-processes and new institution creation. The influence of Paul of Tarsus on the micro-processes of NVC Historical analysis & grounded theory 2016 Scheitle & Adamczyk Divine callings: religious sensemaking in the organizational founding process A belief in a divine presence/God was singularly critical in the founding of the non-profit enterprise. Qualitative survey 2017 Lychnell When work becomes meditation: how managers use work as a tool for personal growth. How managers integrate insights from their spiritual development into their working life Qualitative participant observation 2018 Yang (Patel) & Fry The role of spiritual leadership in reducing healthcare worker burnout. Influence of spiritual leadership on burnout in a medical laboratory Quantitative survey ...
