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Practical Wisdom: Management’s No Longer Forgotten Virtue

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Abstract

The ancient virtue of practical wisdom has lately been enjoying a remarkable renaissance in management literature. The purpose of this article is to add clarity and bring synergy to the interdisciplinary debate. In a review of the wide-ranging field of the existing literature from a philosophical, theological, psychological, and managerial perspective, we show that, although different in terms of approach, methodologies, and justification, the distinct traditions of research on practical wisdom can indeed complement one another. We suggest a conciliatory conception of the various features of practical wisdom in management. This we take as a point of departure for a discussion of the significant implications of the subject for the theory and practice of management and for the direction of further research in the field.

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Notes

  1. In contrast to previous authors in the field (e.g., Baltes and Staudinger 2000; Birren and Fischer 1990; Birren and Svensson 2005; Jeste et al. 2010; Staudinger 2008; Ferrari et al. 2011), who explored the psychological research and literature of wisdom in general, our aim is more specific: We wish to identify the specific core issues of practical wisdom which have been exposed over the last decades in psychological research.

  2. There is other wisdom research in psychology which is explicitly or implicitly concerned with sophia (e.g., Trowbridge 2011; Walsh 2015). Although the distinction between phronesis and sophia has not always been clear cut in psychological research, we sideline this strand of sophia-oriented literature to focus on the specific core issues of practical wisdom.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Auf der Schanz 49, 85049, Ingolstadt, Germany

    Claudius Bachmann & André Habisch

  2. Weltethos-Institut (Global Ethic Institute), University of Tübingen, Hintere Grabenstr. 26, 2070, Tübingen, Germany

    Claus Dierksmeier

Authors
  1. Claudius Bachmann
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  2. André Habisch
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  3. Claus Dierksmeier
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Correspondence to Claudius Bachmann.

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Bachmann, C., Habisch, A. & Dierksmeier, C. Practical Wisdom: Management’s No Longer Forgotten Virtue. J Bus Ethics 153, 147–165 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3417-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3417-y

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