Public Administration Perspective

Studying The Concept of Organizational Spirituality in the Organization and Management Studies and Viewpoints about it

Document Type : Research Article (with quantitative approaches)

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate, Information Technology Management, Service Management & Technology Development, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

2 MSc. Student, Information Technology Management, Advanced Information Systems, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of Management, Research Institute of Hawzeh and University, Qom, Iran.

Abstract

purpose: Despite conducting various researches in the field of organizational spirituality, there is still no precise and acceptable definition of it and its dimensions and characteristics depend on the perspective used. Organizational spirituality is examined from three perspectives: individual spirituality, workplace spirituality and organizational spirituality. Spirituality can also be considered from a religious point of view. The present study identifies a comprehensive concept of organizational spirituality in the field of management based on the terms and concepts used in the literature in this field.
Design/Methodology/Approach: A systematic review of the literature using articles that use terms related to organizational spirituality in their titles, abstracts, or keywords was conducted at Scopus and Web of Science databases and respectively, 285 and 168 articles were found. Extracted articles were analyzed using VOSviewer software.
Research Findings: The results included two clusters: organizational spirituality and workplace spirituality. Cluster analysis shows that there is room for research on spirituality in the workplace and gaps in organizational spirituality studies in the field of management. The proposed concept for organizational spirituality is an organizational identity that derives from the values, practices and discourse that govern it, which consists of individual spirituality and spirituality in the workplace, is led by the leader and other members and is influenced by the environment, organizational culture and knowledge management. This spirituality produces social value and benefit that can be seen in the vision, mission and values of the organization.
Limitations & Consequences: The main limitation is related to the using method, especially software, search and scan options in databases and papers.
Practical Consequences: Defining spirituality in this way makes social value and benefit that can be seen in the image, vision, mission and values of the organization.
Innovation or value of the Article: This study categorizes the existing literature on organizational spirituality in a way that has not been used in papers in this field so far and offers a more complete concept of organizational spirituality.

Keywords

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Public Administration Perspective
Volume 12, Issue 2 - Serial Number 46
June 2021
Pages 148-162