This study examines how transformational leadership fosters Karma-Yoga a spiritual work orientation rooted in the Bhagavad Gita’s nishkama karma (duty without attachment to outcomes) through the psychological mechanism of self-expansion. Self-expansion is the process by which followers internalize leaders’ values and broaden their self-concept to include collective purpose and ethical responsibility. Using survey data from 342 employees in an Indian R&D organization, PLS - SEM shows that self-expansion mediates the link between transformational leadership and Karma-Yoga. Findings highlight an identity-based pathway whereby leaders not only enhance performance but also cultivate followers’ moral and spiritual orientation toward duty, service, and integrity.The study contributes in three ways. Theoretically, it integrates self-expansion theory with indigenous spiritual constructs, showing how leadership fosters moral interiority rather than compliance. Empirically, it validates Karma-Yoga as a distinct outcome of leadership influence. Practically, it underscores leaders’ role in nurturing ethical-spiritual cultures where employees embody integrity and accountability.
This article examines the role of religion in explaining the gender gap in entrepreneurship in Russia —an often-overlooked variable. Using data from 16,684 individuals (2016–2022), this research employs a longitudinal decomposition analysis of levels and changes (extensions of the Kitagawa-Oaxaca-Blinder method). Remarkably, participation in Orthodox religious events is positively associated with entrepreneurship and plays a relevant role in reducing gender gaps —through its effects on social capital. These results remain significant after controlling for an extensive set of variables, including marital status, number of children, education, age, health status, physical activity, trust, migration background, ethnicity, and residency in major cities such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Additionally, the study distinguishes between necessity-based (self-employment) and opportunity-based entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the findings indicate that significant progress has been made in narrowing the gender gap in entrepreneurship in Russia, offering insights that may inform comparative scholarly work on context-sensitive entrepreneurial entry.
The ancient Greek admonition to “Know Thyself” refers to knowing and acting in accordance with one’s spiritual, greater Self, and can be promoted by transcending the boundaries imposed by the ego-dominated, lesser self. The present paper applies this idea to leadership in the form of what we refer to as self-transcendent leadership and self-transcendent leadership development. Self-transcendent leaders surmount their lesser selves and act in alignment with their greater Selves, which ultimately involves promoting love and positive changes that can help to address the sundry challenges of the modern world. The present paper extends the literature on spiritual leadership by building on Wilber’s (2001) model of transcending boundaries as a basis for self-transcendent leadership development which supports leaders in connecting with their greater Selves. Implications for leadership, leadership development, and future research are discussed.
Based on a spooky first encounter with ChatGPT, I argue that AI is not an alien intelligence, but a machine-like mirror that reflects back our own limited ways of knowing. I draw upon Paul Kingsnorth's metaphor of “the Machine” and Shannon Vallor's “AI Mirror,” as well as the ancient Buddhist Yogācāra philosophy and Tarthang Tulku's Time, Space, and Knowledge vision. Through the lens of these resources, I argue that generative AI is what the Yogācārins refer to as prapañca, an automated form of conceptual proliferation that is now being accelerated at digital machine speeds. I illustrate the remarkable parallels between the Yogācārin and Tarthang Tulku's understanding of conceptual proliferation and “lower knowledge,” and how we have come to misunderstand the term Artificial Intelligence, equating pattern matching for deep understanding and wisdom. In addition, I pose a warning to contemplative traditions: that in this cultural moment we must be wary of contemporary forms of mindfulness and other contemplative approaches being co-opted by the tech elite. I present the notion of an ideal type, “the contemplative dissident,” which entails a fierce commitment to preserving forms of knowing that the Machine can never touch. Our task is to see clearly through the reflections of the AI mirror, and to recognize that the AI alignment problem is not technical but contemplative.
Addressing the predominantly secular and utilitarian discourse on competence, which lacks transcendent purpose, this study reconceptualizes competence through an Islamic lens. Through qualitative content analysis of the Qur’ān and hadiths (the recorded traditions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), this study explores Islamic primary sources on quality work (khair al-‘amal). The analysis reveals a tripartite framework of competent work: al-itqān (precision & excellence), al-dawām (consistency & timeliness), and al-anfa‘ (beneficence & utility). These findings are systematically compared with contemporary Western competence literature, highlighting points of convergence and divergence. The study offers a holistic, ethically-grounded, teleologically-oriented framework for competence, reinforcing work-oriented 'competence' (vs. human-oriented 'competency') and providing a spiritually anchored (motivated by divine purpose) and ethically grounded perspective for global HRD, particularly for Muslim contexts. This framework also speaks to leadership and management practices oriented toward the flourishing of life, work, and society.
Research on love in leadership highlights its importance across spiritual, servant, and humanistic traditions, emphasizing compassion, dignity, and flourishing. However, existing work largely treats love as a positive virtue, with limited attention to its tensions in practice. This paper develops a paradoxical framework of love in leadership, demonstrating how its enactment within organizational contexts simultaneously enables and constrains leadership processes.Drawing on paradox theory, we identify three interrelated tensions—care versus control, inclusion versus exclusion, and empowerment versus dependency—that explain how expressions of love generate both beneficial and unintended outcomes. We introduce the concept of reflexive love, defined as leaders’ capacity to recognize and navigate these tensions in context. Rather than viewing love as inherently problematic, we argue that its dual effects emerge through its enactment within relational and structural conditions.By conceptualizing love as an enacted and paradoxical process, this paper extends paradox theory into relational and affective domains and offers a mid-range framework with testable propositions. Overall, the study contributes to leadership research by reframing love as a context-dependent resource and by providing a structured explanation of how its enabling and constraining effects arise in organizational life.
This paper introduces Human Field Theory (HFT) as a wisdom-based framework for leadership that bridges Indic and Western paradigms to cultivate inner presence and spiritual capital in organizations. Building on Kurt Lewin’s field theory and the Vedāntic distinction between kṣetra–kṣetrajña (field and knower of the field), HFT reframes leadership as the alignment of consciousness, emotion, and ethical intention. The model identifies four progressive fields—Entropic, Enlivening, Coherent, and Generative—through which awareness evolves from reactivity to selfless service. Drawing on classical concepts such as qualities of nature (guṇa), dispositional states (bhāva), and principles (tattva), HFT also recognizes four intrinsic powers of consciousness—awareness (cit śakti), insight (jñāna śakti), intention (icchā śakti), and action (kriyā śakti)—as dimensions of wise engagement. Illustrations from organizational practice demonstrate how field coherence fosters trust, creativity, and flourishing. HFT extends existing spiritual and being-centered leadership approaches by offering an ontological model for cultivating wisdom and coherence in leadership.
For diversity-equity-inclusion discourses in managerial and organizational contexts, it helps to understand what spirituality means to LGBTQ persons. This article reports a cross-sectional survey of LGBTQ youth across contexts to understand their views on spirituality as enabling ‘coming out’, identity assertion and imagining and living in newer family forms. For the majority, spirituality meant harmonious relations with self and others and a sense of peace, unconditional love and compassion. A higher proportion of LGBTQ youth suggested that spirituality deconstructs the normative by aiding generosity in one’s thinking; aids rewriting family norms and forms through contentions of soul union and divine cohabitation; gives the scope to imagine totally new ways of living the family; and, helps in reconfiguring the family institution. Higher formal education, belonging to the middle class and Christian religion were strong predictors of respondents’ views.
Humanity faces existential challenges that require transformative responses in organisational leadership. Leaders’ minds are crucial to this transformation. The study uses insights from Eastern Inner Science, specifically the Unity in Duality view, as a resource to rethink leadership. It explores how leaders could use different minds and states of consciousness as pivotal inner levers to experience and act from an increasing sense of connectedness and unity (ontology), a lived experience of a more holistic knowing through intuition and wisdom (epistemology) and an increasing ability to care for the whole compassionately (axiology). Connecting to systems thinking, this study shows how these insights could support leaders in the transformation of their organisation’s structures and underlying paradigms. Finally, it explores applications and implications for leadership. The theoretical insights of this paper have the potential to contribute to a paradigm shift by adding new aspects to the discourse on consciousness-based leadership.
This paper examines Spiritual Advantage in Business as a leadership capacity increasingly essential in times of technological acceleration, social fragmentation, and organizational complexity. Using a qualitative Delphi methodology, the study draws on an international panel of 30 senior business leaders, nonprofit leaders, consultants, and scholar-practitioners to develop expert consensus on how spirituality is understood in organizational settings and how practices of connectedness strengthen leadership capabilities. Findings indicate that spirituality is most consistently conceptualized in experiential and relational terms, including connection, interdependence, and alignment between inner values and outward action, rather than through religious doctrine. Practices such as reflection, deep listening, stillness, nature immersion, and embodied awareness are associated with personal regulation, empathy, broader perspective, and relational leadership capacity. The study identifies a felt sense of interconnection as the central mechanism linking these practices to expanded awareness of consequences, ethical sensitivity, stewardship, and enduring value creation. The findings suggest that Spiritual Advantage operates not as a direct driver of performance, but as a mediated and context-dependent capability that strengthens the conditions for sustainable organizational flourishing.
Through a feminist constructivist grounded theory study of mid-career Protestant clergy women who have left active ministry due to violations of their interpersonal boundaries and psychological safety (Horan, 2024, 2025), this discussion presents the central theoretical proposition of the shadow side of servant-leadership in the context of feminized servanthood. Dimensional analysis of participant interviews revealed core dimensions of 1) experiencing feminized servanthood as dehumanizing and 2) experiencing feminized servanthood as abusive, revealing concrete ways in which self-sacrificial love and empathy in women’s leadership is systematically exploited through oppressive gendered narratives of self-emptying (Davis, 1993), altruism and selflessness (Reynolds, 2014), and sacrificial demand (Wray-Bliss & de Pater, 2025). The study findings expand the scope of previous servant-leadership theory and practice (Greenleaf, 2002) in both religious and non-religious leadership contexts, by calling for more liberative and decolonizing ways of conceptualizing compassionate love and empathy beyond harmful expectations of the self-sacrificial woman leader.
This study investigates the complex relationship between Taqwa-Oriented Ramadan Fasting (TORF) and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), a paradoxical form of misconduct intended to benefit the organization. Based on Social Cognitive Theory, it was hypothesized that TORF reduces UPB and that this effect is moderated by spiritual intelligence (SI). Based on survey data from 263 employees attending graduate programs in a private university in Egypt, our findings confirm a significant negative relationship between TORF and UPB. Moreover, this relationship is amplified for individuals with higher levels of SI, which we propose functions as a valuable psychological resource that enhances ethical resilience. The results suggest that religious practices can serve as a protective factor against UPB, particularly when individuals possess high spiritual intelligence. This study contributes to the ethics and organizational behavior literature by highlighting the unique roles of religious rituals and personal spiritual resources as antecedents of ethical conduct. We provide practical implications for leaders and HR practitioners to foster a culture of integrity by supporting employees' spiritual well-being.
This study develops an integrative theoretical framework connecting the Genesis creation narrative with entrepreneurial behavior. It proposes a new perspective that understands entrepreneurship not merely as economic activity, but as an expression of human nature as created in God’s image (Imago Dei). Through systematic integration of theological anthropology and entrepreneurship theory, this study identifies eight paired principles: Divine Vision/Opportunity Construction, Creative Word/Enactive Agency, Ordering Chaos/Venture Structuring, Divine Assessment/Value Creation, Imago Dei/Entrepreneurial Creativity, Stewardship Mandate/Responsible Entrepreneurship, Divine Providence/Entrepreneurial Adaptation, and Sabbath Principle/Entrepreneurial Renewal. A multiple case study analysis of Apple Inc., Grameen Bank, and Edison’s electric light system provides preliminary support for these principles across diverse entrepreneurial contexts. The framework contributes to entrepreneurial identity theory by demonstrating how theological worldviews shape entrepreneurial self-understanding and behavior, while advancing cross-disciplinary research methodology. Rather than imposing theological conclusions on entrepreneurship, this study suggests structural correspondences that may enrich both fields of scholarship.
Prior research positions workplace spirituality as a fixed or simultaneous construct. This orientation limits its applicability and impact in business settings because of a lack of understanding that spirituality is an evolving process that affect people, place, and policy. This study addresses such limitations by reconceptualizing workplace spirituality as a dynamic, developmental process that coincides with an ever-changing business environment. Drawing on parallels with religious spiritual development, the proposed model IP 165 215 212 10 On: T , 26 M posits that workplace spirituality originates in shared D livered y ngen values, particularly a mutual commitment between women and their organizations to cultivating a discrimination-free environment. This foundational value serves as a resource that facilitates the development of a sense of community, which in turn supports the emergence of meaningful work. Guided by Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this sequence of workplace spirituality represents a positive accumulative chain reaction of creating a positive resource that enhances women's emotional well-being. In contrast, when discrimination is present, women must devote their energy to coping with discrimination rather than building workplace spirituality and harms their emotional wellbeing.
It is well established that personal values significantly influence the purpose and direction of a new venture, particularly when the founder’s spiritual values are involved. While spirituality provides energy, passion, and meaning in both personal and professional life, the process through which these values transfer to the organisation remains unclear. Addressing this gap, my study asks: How do the founder’s spiritual values transfer to the venture? Guided by an interpretivist paradigm, the research adopts a qualitative case study approach, drawing on interviews with sixty founders and employees from Sri Lankan MSM social enterprises. The findings reveal that spiritual value transfer occurs through three processes: practising, fostering, and nurturing. These processes involve routine actions that align thoughts and behaviours with inner wellbeing. Sustained through empathy, collective engagement, and self-aware practices, this transfer transcends spatial and temporal boundaries, fostering inner growth and shaping behaviour, while offering a theoretical bridge between spirituality and management.
This study uses urban papak & amacr;inga (modern M & amacr;ori housing), a sustainability-focused form of housing enterprise, as a case study to determine how spirituality guides leadership and decision-making around building processes. The perspectives of M & amacr;ori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) housing stakeholders (leaders) involved in urban papak & amacr;inga developments were investigated, to determine dimensions of wairuatanga (nature-focused, spirit-based, IP: 165 215 212 10 On Tue 26 business-oriented discernment) that enhance decision-Del vered by Ingen making process from a cultural perspective. Urban papak & amacr;inga stakeholders (N=20) participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews, which were thematically analysed. Three dimensions of wairuatanga were identified as culturally sound approaches to leadership decision-making and facilitators of sustainable housing enterprise: manahautanga (agency and conviction), whakaarotanga (collaborative planning and forethought), and ng & amacr;waritanga (flexibility-oriented approach). This study concluded that these dimensions support sound decision-making for leadership throughout housing process and constitute a culturally sound approach to achieve sustainable organisational outcomes for M & amacr;ori housing providers.
Catholic universities tend to share educational purposes of developing a sense of service, forming ethical leaders, fostering moral virtues and social justice, among others. However, as criticisms against capitalism and the role of business in addressing societal and environmental problems increase, business schools in Catholic universities can face the challenge of aligning their institutional mission and values with learning objectives often focused on maximizing wealth, outperforming competitors, P: 16 15.212 10 O Tue 26 M reinforcing consumerism, among others. Is there a D ivere b Ing n pedagogical tension between the principles of Catholic higher education and business education? If so, how can this tension be reconciled? This qualitative and exploratory study aims to illuminate these questions by interviewing business professors at Catholic universities. The study reveals divergent perspectives on the mission of Catholic universities, intriguing viewpoints about the presence of a pedagogical tension, and valuable suggestions to strengthen alignment between business learning goals and Catholic principles of education.
This study draws on two complementary frameworks to analyze employability from a spiritually informed viewpoint. The first is the protean career model, which emphasizes an individual-driven approach to career success, and focuses on personal fulfillment, adaptability, and self-directed growth. The second is rooted in a traditional Hindu philosophy: the Triguna framework, which provides an indigenous perspective on human qualities and spiritual tendencies. While employability is widely recognized as a key factor in career progression, extant research on careers has largely overlooked how an individual's belief system, shaped by spiritual orientation, affects their employability. In addressing this gap, the paper explores how spiritually informed values can play a crucial role in shaping both personal career growth and overall employability. We introduce and define the term "spiritual employability," which results from a balance between personal values and organizational values. This conceptual study is necessary to establish a theoretical foundation and dialogue on sustainable careers and spirituality by values and organizational dynamics.
Professionalism provides structure and fairness but often discourages emotional openness, limiting recognition and ethical connection at work. This article explores how professionals move through, and at times beyond, these constraints to experience transcendent moments - episodes of mutual recognition that suspend formal roles and enable authentic interpersonal connection. Drawing on Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition, we distinguish between ethical agency (value-driven moral courage) and spiritual agency (openness to transcendent connection and meaning) and show how their intersection enables transcendent moments. Using qualitative data from interviews, reflective diaries, and testimonials of middle managers, Executive MBA students, and undergraduates, we identify how professionals navigate tensions between detachment and vulnerability. Our findings highlight the role of inner struggle, relational risk, and mutual recognition in enabling these moments. The study advances workplace spirituality theory by framing transcendence as an embodied, relational achievement rather than an institutional program, and extends recognition theory by conceptualizing mutual recognition of vulnerability as a work-specific form of affective recognition.
Integral Human Development: Challenges to Sustainability and Democracy examines integral human development through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching (CST). Edited by Professor Jacquineau Az & eacute;tsop, S.J., the volume brings together diverse thinkers addressing challenges in ethics, technology, democracy, and cultural change. The book is organised around three themes: anthropological foundations, structural reforms for governance, and real-life case studies, with examples spanning global contexts. Contributors analyze how CST principles such as human dignity, solidarity, and care for creation can guide responses to contemporary crises, from technological advancements to environmental and social justice issues. The volume's richness lies in the variety of perspectives and practical insights shared. The review highlights the ongoing relevance of CST and suggests the book's contributions may inform future Church teachings on social development.
