Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2015, 23(5):24-44 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.484

Weber's "spirit of capitalism" thesis as a starting point for finding spiritual potentials in business and management environment

Dušan Kučera
Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, Fakulta podnikohospodářská (email: dusan.kucera@vse.cz).

The study is focused on identification of spiritual factors in entrepreneurship and management. The author uses Weber's thesis as a starting point for the processing of general spiritual concepts which have a major impact on the emergence, development and maintenance of the economic environment, business and management. The clarification of a fundamental understanding of the phenomenon of spirituality is followed by a description of spiritual factors in entrepreneurial and managerial activities looking for a "new spirit of capitalism" today. The practical part is devoted to provision of a proof of spiritual influences on business and economic developments in the world (selection of studies). The work culminates in original research into positive and negative spiritual factors and potentials of entrepreneurship and management among selected entrepreneurs and managers in the Czech Republic. The collected factors and potentials are summarised, evaluated and proposed for use in entrepreneurial and managerial practice or as an impulse for managerial training.

Keywords: spirituality, religion, innovation, management
JEL classification: A13, N00

Published: August 1, 2015  Show citation

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Kučera, D. (2015). Weber's "spirit of capitalism" thesis as a starting point for finding spiritual potentials in business and management environment. Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, 23(5), 24-44. doi: 10.18267/j.aop.484
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