On the Role of Faith in Sustainability Management: A Conceptual Model and Research Agenda

Abstract

The objective of this article is to develop a faith development perspective on corporate sustainability. A firm's management of sustainability is arguably determined by the way decision-makers relate to the other and the natural environment, and this relationship is fundamentally shaped by faith. This study advances theoretical understanding of the approach managers take on sustainability issues by explaining how four distinct phases of faith development-improvidence, obedience, irreverence and providence-determine a manager's disposition towards sustainability. Combining insights from intentional and relational faith development theories, the analysis reveals that a manager's faith disposition can be measured according to four interrelated process criteria: (1) connectivity as a measure of a manager's actual engagement and activities aimed at relating to sustainability; (2) inclusivity as a measure of who and what is included or excluded in a manager's moral consideration; (3) emotional affinity as a measure of a manager's sensitivity and affection towards the well-being of others and ecological welfare; and (4) reciprocity as a measure of the degree to which a manager is rewarded for responding to the needs and concerns of 'Others', mainly in the form of a positive emotional (and relational) stimulus. The conceptual model consolidates earlier scholarly works on the psychological drivers of sustainability management by illuminating our search for a process of faith development that connects with an increasingly complex understanding of the role of business in society.

A review of consumer affinity research: recent advances and future directions

“…Empirical evidence have demonstrated the positive connection between affinity and business activities (e.g. the study by Chey, 2012, on direct foreign investment, or Martínez, 2019, on emotional affinity towards sustainability). Two terms have been coined from the perspective of relationship marketing: “affinity marketing” described as an “individual’s level of cohesiveness, social bonding, identification and conformity with the norms and standards of a particular reference group” (Macchiette and Roy, 1993, p. 55), and “cultural affinity” (or “cultural liking”), which has been shown to be a key element of perceived psychic distance between trading partners of different national backgrounds (Swift, 1999).…”

Vers un management durable ? État des lieux et perspective « supradisciplinaire »

“…C'est ainsi que des théories influentes dans les disciplines du management telles que la théorie des parties prenantes (Freeman, 1984), la théorie de l'agence (Eisenhardt, 1989), la théorie institutionnelle (Hoffman A.J., 1997) ou encore l'approche fondée sur les ressources de l'entreprise (Hart, 1995), ont toutes été soumises à des ajustements de leurs contenus au cours des dernières décennies, marquant une transition paradigmatique en développement. Cette transition représente en partie un effort de reconnaissance de l'importance grandissante d'éléments de nature normative (ou « constructiviste ») tels que la culture (Patel, 2016 ;Suddaby et al, 2010), la moralité (Hoffman W.M., 1986 ;Treviño et al, 2000), la spiritualité (Martinez, 2019 ;Miller et al, 2013), les valeurs personnelles (Fritzsche et Oz, 2007 ;Illies et Reiter-Palmon, 2008) et les émotions (Boudens, 2005 ;Kahn, 1990 ;Schwarz, 2000) qui influencent la pratique de la gestion responsable. Les techniques de gestion dites « conventionnelles » tendent à négliger ces éléments (Ghoshal, 2005 ;Roome, 2012) parce qu'ils ne s'intègrent pas de manière évidente à la culture d'une entreprise se focalisant sur son rendement économique.…”

Faith in the future: On a mission to integrate sustainability into management theory and practice

“…A further clue to the potential relevance of religious perspectives comes in the semantics of the CS debate. Language denoting an idea system as faith-based, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016328720301440 such as 'doctrine', 'dogma' or 'creed' tends to be used by proponents of one faith when talking about the other (Martinez, 2017). Leading thinkers on each side are referred to as 'gurus', and each side appears to believe they are the ones led by logic and evidence, whilst the other is driven by dogma.…”