Investigating the Convergence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Spirituality at Work

Abstract

Although Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Spirituality at Work (SAW) concern themselves with improving the moral climate of organisations, very few studies have explored the connections or divergences between the two concepts. The movement towards integrating spirit into the workplace is more recent than the debate on the social responsibilities of business; however both have raised important questions that could challenge the existing economic system and the fundamentals of contemporary business practice. Our aim in this paper is two-fold: firstly, we offer a critical review of the meaning and uses of CSR and SAW respectively, so as to explore the possible convergence of the constructs and examine how they contribute to more spiritually and ethically aware organisations. Secondly, we review the few models that have explicitly integrated CSR with SAW, and we propose an individual-based framework that could stimulate more sustainably the emergence of truly committed spiritual and moral organisations.