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2nd Development Studies Workshop 

Organized by the

Burgundy School of Business (Dijon, France)

In collaboration with

Fortune Institute of International Business (New Delhi, India)

With sponsorship from

Sahulat Microfinance

Date: Saturday, 24^th March, 2018

Venue: FIIB, Plot No. 5, Rao Tula Ram Marg, Opposite Army R&R Hospital, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi 11005

Theme: Spirituality, Entrepreneurship and Development

There is increasing concern to develop the world in a more sustainable manner. Harmony with nature, ethics, morality and spirituality is being sought at an individual level, at an organizational level and at the macro level, while continuing the focus on development and making life worth living for all our fellow human-beings. At this juncture, more and more academics and practitioners are turning towards religion to see if some spiritual lessons can be incorporated for an enhanced work-life.

Globalization and global corporations have increased the interest in understanding people from difficult backgrounds. The cultural diversity within an organization gives rises to diverse and conflicting logics which could stimulate change and innovation. For this a culture of experimentation is required.

The rapid technological advances in recent years are likely to lead to massive unemployment or new work models with fewer salaried workers and more entrepreneurs. A part of these entrepreneurs may be motivated by the lottery phenomena: a chance of making it big along the lines of Bill Gates or Jacques Ma. Others would play safe and invest in small survival enterprises such as Mom and Pop shops. The spiritual values of these entrepreneurs may be different and have been understudied.

Spiritual capital is important. There is a growing interest in spiritual entrepreneurs such as Abbé Pierre in France or Baba Ramdev in India. This movement allows tapping the spiritual capital of common beliefs that permit an organization to offer products that seem authentic and socially desired to the people.

A research workshop's primary aim is to help each other improve our papers so that we can publish in high ranked international journals and specialized books on a topic. For this, we would like to bring together a large diversity of researchers from different backgrounds to focus on a relevant and interesting theme, which is meaningful to the present moment.

Topics: While papers in any of these individual themes is welcome, papers combining two or more elements of spirituality, entrepreneurship and development would be preferred.

Examples of possible topics combining the themes (not exclusive, not exhaustive) to spark your thoughts:

1.      Spirituality and Entrepreneurship

a.      Corporate transformation through religion (what makes a hospital Catholic or Ayurvedic?)

b.      Using religious values in brand marketing

c.      Microfinance and Religion (Islamic Finance, Christian, Hindu experiments)

2.      Entrepreneurship and Development

a.      Developing of Big business ideas

b.      Survival entrepreneurship

c.      Social entrepreneurship

3.      Spirituality and Development

a.      Spiritual tourism (Jerusalem, Mecca, Varanasi)

b.      Leadership and sustainable development (e.g. Gandhism, Slow Money)

c.      Organization Leadership and community development

The reference list at the end of this call covers some of these elements.

Please send abstracts by January 31st, 2018 to arvind.ashta@bsb-education.com

Guidelines for Abstracts (150 to 300 words)

Title of the paper

Author Information: Names, designations and affiliations, current locations (city, country).

Research purpose

Theoretical Background

Research design/methodology/approach

Key results

Impact: (on new research or on new practices, policies)

Value added/ Originality

Research Agenda: We hope to have eight to twelve working papers from presenters. Each full paper will have discussants. Those who submit abstracts only will not have discussants. In case of competition for limited space, full paper authors will be given priority.

The discussants would be provided a paper or two to review and they would make their comments in public. The participants would not have a paper to review but should participate in the discussion after a paper is presented.

Abstracts will be selected based on conformity to the theme and diversity of origins.

A few people whose abstract is not accepted or who don't have ideas can opt for being discussants or participants, subject to place availability.

Publication Possibilities

If the conference produces interesting high quality papers, a book or a journal publication will be proposed. This will be further discussed during the conference. Papers of 4000 to 6000 words related to Entrepreneurial Finance or to strategy and innovation can be considered for Strategic Change (Wiley). This journal is especially interested in papers on China and India. Papers of about 3000 words related to cost management or performance management or similar themes can be considered for Cost Management (Thomson Reuters). The FIIB publishes its own journal too: the FIIB Business Review and this could be a third possibility.

The Sahulat Award for Best Paper on Spirituality and Development Research

A best paper award has been earmarked as part of the sponsorship of this workshop. A committee with one representative each from BSB, FIIB, Sa-Dhan and Sahulat will look after this process.

In the first stage, it will choose and shortlist the papers. Preference will be given to those papers that have a spiritual exploration.

In a second stage, the presentation of the shortlisted papers would also be considered in the overall evaluation process including factors such as respect for time, esthetics of the powerpoints, delivery.

Deadlines:

Jan 31, 2017: Deadline for Abstracts (see guidelines above on how to write an abstract)

Feb 10, 2017: Acceptances

Feb 20: Deadline for early bird fee payment to FIIB.

March 15: Deadline for Full paper

Contact: Arvind.ashta@bsb-education.com

Website: http://fiib.edu.in/pdf/2nd_Development_Studies_Workshop_Brochure.pdf

Registration Fee: (For Presenters, Discussants and Participants).

The registration fee includes coffee breaks and lunch during conference and covers all the administrative expenses.

Travelling and Accommodation costs are to be borne by each person (presenter, discussant, and participant) themselves.

Registration fee can be remitted through Demand Draft/ Cheque drawn in favour of "Fortune Institute of International Business" and payable at New Delhi. Participants paying registration fees through NEFT/ Online Transfer should use the following information:

Beneficiary Name:                   Fortune Institute of International Business

Account Number:                    03362090000059

Bank Name:                            HDFC Bank Ltd

Branch Address                      C-17, Anand Niketan, New Delhi - 110021

RTGS/ NEFT IFSC Code:       HDFC0000336

Beneficiary Name

Account Number

Beneficiary Bank

Branch Address

RTGS/ NEFT IFSC Code

Accommodation:

·        There are many good hotels in New Delhi at all price ranges.

·        Taxis are easily available in New Delhi, as well as UBER and OLA.

Administrative note:

Please opt for a "tourist" visa. This reduces our paperwork and therefore time and costs.

Some references to spark your thinking

Ashta, A., 2014. An Introduction to Slow Money and its Gandhian Roots. Journal of Human Values 20, 209-225.

Ashta, A., Hannam, M., 2014. Hinduism and microcredit. Journal of Management Development 33, 891-904.

Ashta, A., Sinapi, C., 2017. The Greek Crisis: A Gandhian Perspective. Challenge 60, 189-222.

Attuel-Mendes, L. 2011. Microcrédit et religion : complémentarité ou incompatibilité ?", in Daniel Bachet and Philippe Naszalyi ed. L'autre finance, Existe-t-il des alternatives à la banque capitaliste? Croquant, y p. 223-244

Balog, A. M., Baker, L. T. & Walker, A. G. 2014. Religiosity and spirituality in entrepreneurship: a review and research agenda. Journal of management, spirituality & religion, 11, 159-186.

Essoo, N., Dibb, S., 2004. Religious Influences on Shopping Behaviour: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Marketing Management 20, 683-712.

Estapé-Dubreuil, G., Ashta, A., HEDOU, J.-P., 2016. Micro-equity for Sustainable Development: selection, monitoring and exit strategies of micro-angels. Ecological Economics 130, 117–129.

Hannam, M., Ashta, A., 2017. Learning from Gandhi: Addressing the current dilemmas in microfinance. Strategic Change 26, 527-541.

Heath, W.C., Waters, M.S., Watson, J.K., 1995. Religion and economic welfare: An empirical analysis of state per capita income. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 27, 129-142.

Helble, M., 2007. Is God Good for Trade? Kyklos 60, 385-413.

Jayashankar, P., Ashta, A., Rasmussen, M., 2015. Slow money in an age of fiduciary capitalism. Ecological Economics 116, 322–329.

Kauanui, S. K., Thomas, K. D., Rubens, A. & Sherman, C. L. 2010. Entrepreneurship and spirituality: A comparative analysis of entrepreneurs' motivation. Journal of small business & entrepreneurship, 23, 621-635.

Lybbert, T.J., 2008. Exploring the Role of Spiritual Capital in Poverty Traps and Microfinance. Faith and Economics, 57-79.

Mair, J., Marti, I., 2009. Entrepreneurship in and around institutional voids: A case study from Bangladesh. Journal of Business Venturing 24, 419-435.

Malloch, T.R., 2014. Practical wisdom in management: business across spiritual traditions. Greenleaf Publishing.

Mersland, R., D'Espallier, B., Supphellen, M., 2013. The Effects of Religion on Development Efforts: Evidence from the Microfinance Industry and a Research Agenda. World Development 41, 145-156.

Mews, C.J., Abraham, I., 2007. Usury and Just Compensation; Religious and Financial Ethics in Historical Perspective. Journal of Business Ethics 72, 1-15.

Noland, M., 2005. Religion and economic performance. World Development 33, 1215-1232.

Shahinpoor, N., 2009. The Link between Islamic Banking and Microfinancing. International Journal of Social Economics 36, 996-1007.

Sharma, S., 2007. Management in new age: Western windows Eastern doors. New Age International.

Weber, M., 1916 [1958, 2007]. The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism... Translated and Edited by Hans H. Gerth and Don Martindale. The Free Press, Indian edition2007, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi, India.

Workshop Chairs

Prof (Dr.) Arvind Ashta, BSB

Prof (Dr. Anil Kumar Sinha, FIIB