The Caring Attitude of Christian and Buddhist Entrepreneurs

Abstract

The paper analyzes the way a spiritual value orientation influences entrepreneurs to develop a caring attitude in business. It presents the results of an explorative study about Christian and Buddhist entrepreneurs working in Hungary. Christian and Buddhist entrepreneurs have different ontological beliefs. Christianity is an anthropocentric tradition, while Buddhism emphasizes the intrinsic value of all sentient beings (human and non-human). Nevertheless, caring for others is of major relevance in both spiritual traditions. It is expressed as solidarity in the practice of Christian entrepreneurs, and as compassion in the practice of Buddhist ones. Caring appears in different but intertwined fields of business, and is realized through the similar business practices of Christian and Buddhist entrepreneurs. The observable shared features are as follows: (i) such entrepreneurs take into account the interests of their employees to a great extent; (ii) they treat their stakeholders equally, as they award the same importance to suppliers and all other partners in business as they do their customers; (iii) they pay attention to preserving culture and the natural environment; (iv) they have a long-term orientation, and aim to achieve a sate of long-term sustainability; and (v) they define the goals of business more broadly than profit-maximization.