Organizing for peace: The organizational behaviors of business amid conflict

Abstract

Business-and-peace research has explored the avenues by which organizations can engage in peacebuilding activity, yet little is known about the types of organizations that create peace or about how these differ compared to those that either ignore peace or enhance conflict. Peacebuilding organizations require distinct operating logics and capabilities that promote concord among social groups, and they can take the form of hybrid organizations—those that pursue profit in a commercial logic while also addressing social objectives. But not all hybrid organizations with social objectives, such as poverty reduction or equality, are able to promote peace. In this article, we identify the organizational capacity to fuse intergroup sensitivity into operations as a crucial factor that distinguishes hybrid organizations capable of peacebuilding from other organizational forms. The discussion provides guidance for practitioners on fostering such organizations, while warning against the assumptions found in business-and-peace literature that describes how ethical conduct and unguided social agendas can promote peace.