Post-materialist Business ― Spiritual Value-orientation in Renewing Management

Post-Materialist Business presents a spiritual-based approach to business and management. It uses pluralistic view of spirituality and provides a number of inspiring cases of alternative organizations which go beyond the materialistic mindset of business and serve the common good of society, nature, and future generations. The cases cover different spiritual traditions (Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Anthroposophy, and Buddhism), different industries (banking, agriculture, health care, education) and regions (Europe, Latin America, North America, Africa, and Asia).

Post-materialistic business models activate the intrinsic motivation of the economic actors for serving the common good and suggest measuring success in a more holistic, multidimensional way. In these models profit and growth are not final ends any more but only elements of a broader set of material and non-material goals. Similarly, cost-benefit calculations are not the only means of business decisions but integrated into a more comprehensive scheme of wisdom-based management.

Laszlo Zsolnai is Professor and Director of the Business Ethics Center, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary. Laszlo is also president of the European SPES Institute in Leuven, Belgium and serves as chairman of the Business Ethics Faculty Group of the CEMS - The Global Alliance in Management Education.