Reversing the Spirituality Lenses: Challenges and Opportunities for Strategy Research

Abstract

This paper examines the potential of integrating spirituality within the field of strategy. This integration is becoming increasingly desirable because of calls for broadening explanations of firm behavior and the use of more pluralistic perspectives in strategy research. Specifically, the paper identifies challenges and opportunities for viewing strategy through the lens of the Christian faith tradition. Challenges examined include gaps in organizational levels of and the reliance upon unobservables found in both Christian scripture and some streams of strategy research. Opportunities include broadening the conception of the firm to allow easier consideration of alliances and not-for-profit settings, examining theoretical perspectives of strategy that incorporate multiple levels of analysis, and considering fields that are related closely to strategy that reflect levels of analysis directly addressed in Christian Scripture. The paper concludes by identifying several potential starting points for integrating spirituality and the field of strategy.