Spirituality and business: The story of European SPES Institute

Abstract

This paper reviews the past 20 years of activities of European SPES, an international collaborative network of scholars and practitioners located in Leuven, Belgium. European SPES is dedicated to promoting spirituality in economic and social life. It is the core belief of European SPES that spiritually motivated actors who define success in multidimensional, holistic terms may serve the common good of nature, future generations, and society. The paper argues that from a spiritual perspective, business can be approached in three ways . First, the functioning and the impacts of business can be evaluated from social, ethical, and environmental viewpoints, which have spiritual significance. Second, one can investigate how religious and spiritual values influence business functioning at the micro and macro levels. Third, research can examine the potential of spirituality to renew business and develop new business models that enable more ethical, ecological, and peaceful functioning. The paper presents the most important activities of European SPES from 2004 to 2024 and discusses their main outcomes. Finally, some future research directions are suggested.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 2026 · DOI ↗