FAITH IN THE BALANCE SHEET: RECONCILING PROFIT MOTIVE AND MORALITY

Abstract

Reconciling the Profit Motive and Moral Responsibility of a Business is practically problematic. Christian business leaders often struggle to combine the two objectives in their businesses. Using Max Weber’s analysis of the Protestant work ethic, contemporary stewardship theory, this study explores the impact of a Christian business perspective on business decision making, organizational culture, and sustainability. By employing The Integration Profile (TIP) scale and the Faith at Work Scale (FWS), we focused on eight dimensions of faith-work integration and their impact on business outcomes such as employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and sustainable profit. Through analysis and discussions, we argued that faith-work integration and business outcomes are mutually supportive of the performance of an organization. This suggests that Christian business ethics if based on the principle of stewardship provide a viable model for integrating profit and morality. This study has implications for business education, corporate policy, and entrepreneurship.