Religion as a Macro Social Force Affecting Business: Concepts, Questions, and Future Research

Abstract

Religion has been in general neglected or even seen as a taboo subject in organizational research and management practice. This is a glaring omission in the business and society and business ethics literatures. As a source of moral norms and beliefs, religion has historically played a significant role in the vast majority of societies and continues to remain relevant in almost every society. More broadly, expectations for responsible business behavior are informed by regional, national, or indigenous cultures, which in many parts of the world are heavily influenced by religious belief systems and religious institutions. In this essay, we discuss examples of how religion has functioned as a macro social force affecting business and society, discuss some of the key questions and issues related to research in this domain, offer some observations about why religion may be problematic with regard to its effects on business, and conclude by summarizing the articles contained in the special issue.

Articulating Values Through Identity Work: Advancing Family Business Ethics Research

“…The identity work perspective suggests another way forward: better understanding the process of articulating ethical identities, which can clarify the underpinning values and how they might evolve. We suggest religion is a compelling source of values and ethical identity (Van Buren et al, 2019) and, in line with family business research, we call for a focus on the family leader who has significant discretion (Carney, 2005). Taking our inspiration from the identity work literature, we argue that family leader narratives are important (ethical) identity carriers for organizations.…”

“…What we know is that religion can be a source of moral norms offering affective experiences and ethical authority (Lam & Hung, 2005) shaping executive (Delbecq, 1999) and strategic leadership (Phipps, 2012). Religion is thus likely to impact personal and organizational approaches to ethics (Van Buren et al, 2019). Research on the actual effect of personal religiousness on business practices has however, resulted in ambiguous answers (see Calkins, 2000;Melé & Fontrodona, 2017;Weaver & Agle, 2002) with no clear association between high religiosity and high (or low) business ethics (Longenecker et al, 2004;Rashid & Ibrahim, 2008).…”

Laudato si’ – A Macromarketing Manifesto for a Just and Sustainable Environment

“…This diversity in focus also extends to organization theory Gumusay (2020). See also Van Buren, Syed, and Mir (2019) for a religion-business research agenda. However, the particular focus of this examination proceeds to consider the following: The theological framework provided by Catholic Social Thought (CST), particularly as it has evolved since the publication of Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum (“Of new things”) on the rights and duties of capital and labor.…”

“…As this paper explores the alignment between issues of interest in macromarketing and in LS , it seems necessary and useful to point out how the relationship between marketing and religion has been examined over the years, both in the macromarketing discipline and by a broader school of marketing scholars. First, the marketing-religion relationship has been increasingly studied in general terms (e.g., Kale 2004; Mittelstaedt 2002; Dann and Dann 2016; Drenten and McManus 2016; Van Buren, Syed, and Mir 2019). In the context of the social sciences, religion is usually viewed as a socio-cultural phenomenon (e.g., Putnam and Campbell 2010).…”

How can big data shape the field of non-religion studies? And why does it matter?

“…This is certainly a major point of concern for sociology of religion and non-religion studies-which can in turn accelerate its institutionalization within sociology of religion and further support its emerging theoretical interests through an increased big data usage. Nevertheless, the implications of an improvement in the scientific study of non-religion go beyond sector-specific theoretical interests: social and institutional trust, political participation, political orientation, civic engagement, business strategies, palliative care, general patient care, and social integration 89,90,[147][148][149][150][151][152][153][154] are, in fact, some of the research areas frequently associated with religious (non)affiliation. These fields can thus greatly benefit from an improvement in the parallel field of non-religion studies by further exploring empirical implications of a better understanding of religious nones.…”