Papers

Eleanor O’Higgins, & Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Future of Business.’ , in Progressive Bsuiness Models: Creating Sustainable and Pro-social Enterprise, eds. Eleanor O’Higgins, and Laszlo Zsolnai, Palgrave-Macmillan, London, 2017. The papers argues that the future of business highly depends on its ability to renew its business models. The key problem is the nature, form and scale of business operations. The business models of today’s mainstream business do not fit in the reality of the biosphere. Business models vary but almost… Read More »Future of Business

Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Ecological Economics in the Anthropocene.’ Ecological Economics, 2017, vol. 139, pp. 158-159 This is a review of  the book “Ecological Economics for the Athropocene” (Peter G. Brown, Peter Timmerman (Eds.). Columbia University Press, New York, 2015). The book has developed a newand engaging vision and research program for ecological economics. Tones of work must still be done, but the ethical foundation the book proposes is robust. In fact, it is key to creating a more… Read More »Ecological Economics in the Anthropocene

Laszlo Zsolnai, & Katalin Illes ‘Spirituality-inspired Creativity in Business.’ International Journal of Social Economics, 2017, vol.44, no. 2, pp. 195-205 The paper investigates the relation of spirituality and creativity in business context. It  presents practical examples of spiritual-based creative business models in different faith traditions (Hinduism, Christianity and Anthroposophy).  The authors argue that spirituality and a deep sense of connectedness are essential to enhance creativity and care in business. Spirituality creates free space and openness to allow the… Read More »Spirituality-inspired Creativity in Business

Peter Kardos, Bernhard Leidner, Laszlo Zsolnai, & Emanuele Castano ‘The Effect of the Belief in Free Market Ideology on Redressing Corporate Injustice.’ European Journal of Social Psychology, 2016 Many people in the major Western economies (e.g., United States, UK, and Germany) subscribe to free market ideology (FMI),which claims that institutional oversight of the market is unnecessary for public reaction can force corporations to regulate their own behavior. The question then becomes how people’s belief in FMI affects… Read More »The Effect of the Belief in Free Market Ideology on Redressing Corporate Injustice

Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm and Live with Themselves by Albert Bandura.’ Business Ethics Quarterly, 2016 Bandura discovered a number of psycho-social mechanisms by which moral control can be selectively disengaged from detrimental conduct. These mechanisms of moral disengagement enable otherwise considerate people to commit transgressive acts without experiencing personal distress and guilt. People “fool themselves” in order to “fool others”. In his book Bandura extensively documents how moral disengagement mechanisms are at work… Read More »Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm and Live with Themselves by Albert Bandura

Madhumita Chatterji, & Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Questions and Themes in Ethics and Leadership.’ , in Ethical Leadership. Indian and European Spiritual Approaches., eds. Madhumita Chatterji, and Laszlo Zsolnai, Palgrave-Macmillan, 2016. The exchange of ideas between India and Europe about economics and politics dates back centuries. The most important figures in this regard include John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, Rabindranath Tagore and M.K. Gandhi. However, the modern India-Europe dialogue on the spiritual and ethical basis of management and leadership started in the late 20th century. The authors… Read More »Questions and Themes in Ethics and Leadership

Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Responsible Leadership and Reasonable Action.’ , in Ethical Leadership. Indian and European Spiritual Approaches , eds. Madhumita Chatterji, and Laszlo Zsolnai, Palgrave-Macmillan, 2016. Responsible leadership is a scarce resource in business and public administration today. Trust in leaders worldwide is dramatically decreasing as they are not able to prove that they are serving the common good. Rather, they are perceived by the public to be pursuing their own selfish goals and those of their organizations. The mainstream… Read More »Responsible Leadership and Reasonable Action

Laszlo Zsolnai, & Madhumita Chatterji ‘Lessons for the Future for India and Europe .’ , in Ethical Leadership. Indian and European Spiritual Approaches, eds. Madhumita Chatterji, and Laszlo Zsolnai, Palgrave-Macmillan, 2016. The authors are convinced that spirituality is not incompatible with rationality or real-world economic, social and environmental analysis. Ethical leaders can employ the best available scientific knowledge to execute their own spiritual-based plans and policies. India and Europe should embrace their own noble traditions and seek to… Read More »Lessons for the Future for India and Europe

Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Ethics Education of Business Leaders. Emotional Intelligence, Virtues, and Contemplative Learning.’ Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, 2016 How can business schools educate future business leaders to make ethical decisions? This is really a challenge as business schools focus on one-dimensional rationality and cognitive intelligence. They teach the “Homo oeconomicus” model and related theories (agency theory, profit, or shareholder maximization) which promote individual, selfinterested behavior. Not unsurprisingly business schools produce graduates who are more selfish… Read More »Ethics Education of Business Leaders. Emotional Intelligence, Virtues, and Contemplative Learning

Laszlo Zsolnai, & Doirean Wilson ‘Art-based Business.’ Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016, vol. 135, pp. 1534-1538 The paper argues that with its exclusive focus on profit-making, modern-day businesses tend to violate the integrity and diversity of natural ecosystems, the autonomy and culture of local communities and the chance that future generations will lead a decent life. The core of the metaphysics of modern-day business is what Martin Heidegger calls “calculative thinking”. It is contrasted with poetic thinking… Read More »Art-based Business