Capitalism at the Crossroads- Perspectives on the Future of Business

Abstract

Capitalism is at a crossroads and the challenges for management in the 21st century are manifold. From climate change, to increasing inequity, social exclusion, poverty and decreasing social trust in business, many agree that managers are witnessing a perfect storm. While many scholars posit that business needs to be rethought and reenacted, in this panel we wish to highlight some of the proposed solutions. From sustainable business, to inclusive business, to humanistic business, we wish to highlight the variety of approaches taken to highlight how business can become a part of the solution and contribute to the common good. After a short introduction, Stuart Hart will outline the challenges for traditional business institutions to become environmentally and socially sustainable. Anil Gupta will present his thinking how business can become more inclusive by being more embedded in communities they operate in e.g. reaching out to indigenous innovators. Kim Cameron will further outline how organizations can become more life-conducive presenting lessons learned from positive organizational scholarship. Finally, Bob Quinn will outline how leadership needs to be rethought from an ontological perspective, the role of deep change, and the power of shared leadership to solve the current problems. Andre Habisch will discuss the contributions and suggest how management practice could adapt and be serving the common good.