AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!
(PERFECT FOR GROUP/CLASSROOM USE)
Dyck, B. (2013). Management and the Gospel:
Luke’s Radical Message for the First and
Twenty-First Centuries. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan.
This cross-disciplinary book, which was more than five years in the making, provides a reader-friendly yet scholarly examination of what the Gospel of Luke says about management, based on an understanding of the meaning and trends and key debates about management in the first century, and draws out implications for contemporary management.
Click here to download a sample chapter.
Click here for the link to the book on Google Books, and here for Amazon's "Look Inside" feature.
Click here to see ebook on Springer, and here to visit the book's web-page at Palgrave.
Scroll down for book reviews of "Management and the Gospel"
Research
Dyck, B. (2022). Sin and missing the mark in management: A Lukan perspective. Journal
of Management, Spirituality and Religion, 19(1), 45-72.
This paper analyzes teachings about sin in the Gospel of Luke in their socio-economic and biblical context. Findings call for the development of management theory and practices that: liberate relationship (vs promote patron-client relationships); de-marginalize the poor and oppressed (vs widen gaps between rich and poor); promote positive deviance (vs stigmatize diversity); provide fresh ways of thinking; and facilitate interconnectedness with others/nature/sacred.
Dyck, B., & Caza, A. (2021). An exploratory study of corporate singing: Relationships of
rhythm, melody, and harmony with culture. Journal of Management, Spirituality and
Religion, 18(2): 74-99.
This study examines the difference between corporate singing versus listening to music, and looks at the relationships between corporate singing and the four types of organizational culture in the competing values conceptual framework. The study tests whether chanting is related to the hierarchy culture, singing in unison is related to the market culture, singing in harmony is related to the clan culture, and a combination of types of singing is related to the adhocracy culture.
Dyck, B. (2020). "Organization and management." In S. Schwarzkopf (Ed.) The Routledge
Handbook of Economic Theology (pp. 195-202).
This article describes how ideas and concepts historically grounded in theology have informed and shaped Organization and Management Theory.
Dyck, B., & Purser, R. (2019). Faith, theoria and OMT: A Christian and a Buddhist
walk into a business school. Academy of Management Perspectives. 3(3): 264-279.
This article describes how insights from faith can and have served as a source of ideas for building management theory.
Dyck, B. (2014). “God on management: Five leading world religions, the ‘theological turn’,
and organizational and management theory and practice.” Research in the Sociology of
Organizations, 41:23-62.
This article provides a literature review of religious research in secular management journals, and shows that studies examining what the five leading world religions say about management tend to conclude either: (1) religious teachings support mainstream management theory and practice (this includes about half the articles that draw on sacred religious writings), or (2) religious teachings support a radical (non-mainstream) approach to management (this includes about half the articles that draw on sacred religious writings, and all the empirical studies of managers who practice religious spiritual disciplines).
Dyck, B. (2015). “Spirituality, virtue and management: Theory and evidence.” In
Grassl, W. (section ed.) “Virtues and Workplace Spirituality,” in Sison, A.J.G. (editor-in-chief)
Handbook of Virtue Ethics in Business and Management (part of International Handbooks in
Business Ethics series). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag GmbH.
Consistent with Max Weber's speculation, this review of the literature suggests that "there is a strong link between spirituality and virtue, and also that spirituality often gives rise to an alternative form of management that may enable escape from the materialist-individualist type. This “radical” form of management is typically associated with virtue ethics and counterposes the utilitarian assumptions of “conventional” management. Management guided by spirituality is often presented as pointing to a new paradigm in business."
Dodd, S.D., & Dyck, B. (2015). "Agency, stewardship, and the universal-family firm: A qualitative historical analysis." Family Business Review, 28(4): 312-331.
This paper draws implications from analyses of oikos in the Gospel of Luke for the contemporary agency-stewardship debate in the family business literature.
Dyck, B. (2013). "A proven way to incorporate Catholic Social Thought in business school
curricula: Teaching two approaches to management in the classroom." Journal of Catholic
Higher Education, 32(1): 145-163.
As called for by many leading management thinkers, and consistent with other religious and non-religious moral traditions, Catholic Social Thought principles are consistent with approaches to management that place less emphasis on materialism and individualism than evident in the mainstream approach. This paper describes basic hallmarks of less materialistic, less individualistic approaches to: management (based on a new way to conceive of the four functions of management); accounting (based on rethinking GAAP); finance (based on recasting four axioms of finance); and marketing (based on reconsidering the four Ps of marketing).
Dyck, B., and E. Wiebe (2012). “Salvation, theology and organization theory across the
centuries." Organization, 19(3): 52-77.
This paper describes how key changes in the interpreted meaning of “salvation” over the past two millennia coincide with key changes in organizational theory and practice.
Dyck, B., F.A. Starke, & J. Weimer (2012). “Toward understanding management in first century
Palestine." Journal of Management History, 18(2): 137-165.
This paper introduces hallmarks of management thinking in the first century, and shows how this information suggests the Protestant ethic (as described by Weber) was not likely consistent with the ethic first century listeners would have associated with Jesus.
Driscoll, C., E. Wiebe and B. Dyck (2011). “Nature is prior to us: Applying Catholic Social
Thought and Anabaptist-Mennonite Theology to the ethics of stakeholder prioritization for
the natural environment environment.” Journal of Religion and Business Ethics, 3(1).
This article draws on theology to argue for seeing the natural environment as a stakeholder in organization and management theory.
Dyck, B. and K. Wong (2010). “Corporate spiritual disciplines and the quest for organizational
virtue.” Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, 7(1):7-29.
This paper describes four classic spiritual disciplines, and how putting them into practice can enhance virtue in organizations.
Dyck, B., Starke, F. & C. Dueck (2009) “Management, prophets and self-fulfilling prophecies."
Journal of Management Inquiry, 18(3): 184-196.
This paper shows how the “Parable of the Talents” has been interpreted to support the idea that using money to make money is commendable, and how it can be interpreted to support the idea that it is commendable to prevent the use of money to widen the gap between rich and poor.
Dyck, B., M. Neubert & K. Wong (2008), “Unchaining the iron cage: A look at what managers
can do." Christian Scholars Review, 38(1): 41-60.
This paper draws on organizational learning theory and differing interpretations of biblical principles to describe how managers can help their organizations to escape the materialistic-individualistic iron cage.
Dyck, B., Starke, F. & C. Dueck (2006). ”Just what was Jesus saying?: Two interpretations of
the parable of the shrewd manager.” Journal of Biblical Integration in Business. Fall: 111-
140.
This paper shows how the “Parable of the Shrewd Manager” has been interpreted to support the idea that managers should not seek their self-interests with their masters’ money, and how it can be interpreted to support the idea that it is commendable to use of money to reduce the gap between rich and poor.
Dyck, B., & J. M. Weber (2006). “Conventional and radical moral agents: An exploratory look
at Weber’s moral-points-of-view and virtues.” Organization Studies 27(3): 429-450.
This paper provides empirical support for the idea that managers’ materialism and individualism is associated with their views about how to manage, and that managers with lower materialism-individualism scores tend to practice spiritual disciplines more often.
Dyck, B. & F. Starke (2005). “Looking back and looking ahead: A review of the most
frequently cited biblical texts in the first decade of The JBIB.” Journal of Biblical
Integration in Business, Fall, 134-153.
This review article finds that the most common biblical passages that scholars apply to business studies typically call for the development of more radical approaches to management.
Dyck, B. & D. Schroeder (2005). “Management, theology and moral points of view: Towards
an alternative to the conventional materialist-individualist ideal-type of management.”
Journal of Management Studies, 42 (4): 705-735.
This paper shows that one’s moral-point-of-view influences how one interprets scriptural texts, and that the biblical text can be interpreted in a way to lend support to conventional management (consistent with how Weber described in the Protestant ethic) or to support radical management.
Dyck, B., F. Starke, H. Harder & T. Hecht. (2005) “Do the structures of religious organizations
reflect their statements-of-faith? An exploratory study.” Review of Religious Research,
47(1): 51-69.
This study examines the faith statements of a variety of world religions and compares them with their organizational practices: it turns out religions do in fact practice what they preach.
Dyck, B. (2003). “Exploring congregational clans: Playing the ‘Mennonite Game’ in Winnipeg.”
Journal of Mennonite Studies, 21: 137-155.
This paper uses research on human families, and considers social imprinting effects, to see if similar principles are evident among the organizational lineage of sister and parent congregations.
Dyck, B., & F. Starke (1999). “The formation of breakaway organizations: Observations and a
process model.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 44 (4): 792-822. (Note: This article forms
basis for “Research Brief” by Litz, R. (2000) “Group Exit: How breakaway organizations
happen,” Academy of Management Executive, 14(4): 144-146; and for a practitioner-
oriented book by Whitesel, B. (2003) “Staying power: Why people leave the church
over change (and what you can do about it),” Nashville: Abingdon Press.)
This paper draws on EVLN theory to develop a process model that helps to explain why some congregational conflicts result in mass exit behavior, and in other conflicts such an outcome is averted.
Dyck, B. (1997). “Understanding configuration and transformation through a multiple
rationalities approach.” Journal of Management Studies, 34: 793-823.
This examination of a Christian college looks at why some transformational change attempts succeed when most fail.
Dyck, B. (1997). “Exploring organizational family trees: A multi-generational approach for
studying organizational births.” Journal of Management Inquiry, 6: 223-234.
This paper uses research on human families to examine whether similar patterns of behavior across generations are evident among parent congregations and their offspring. The results show that, for both, an "only child" is likely to have more offspring, and the level of conflict is likely to be higher between parents and their oldest offspring.
Dyck, B., S. Bruning and L. Driedger (1996). “Potential conflict, conflict stimulus, and
organizational performance: An empirical test.” The International Journal of Conflict
Management, 7: 295-313.
This empirical study examines the hypothesized curvilinear relationship between conflict and performance in congregations (i.e., a moderate amount of conflict leads to optimal performance, whereas too little conflict leads to complacency, and too much conflict leads to chaos). Findings suggest that conflict may improve group-based performance measures (e.g., inspired by worship), and decrease individual-based performance measures (financial giving).
Starke, F. and Dyck, B. (1996). “Upheavals in congregations: The causes and outcomes of
splits.” Review of Religious Research, 38: 159-174.
This study suggests that governance and doctrinal issues are primary reasons for congregations to split apart. Members who remain at the parent congregation are more likely to perceive the conflict as authority-based, while those who leave are more likely to perceive the conflict as doctrinally-based.
Dyck, B. (1996). “The role of crises and opportunities in organizational change: A look at a
nonprofit religious college.” Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 25: 321-346.
This study suggests that when members perceive heightened opportunity levels for organizational change it increases members’ openness to change, but has no affect on the number of changes attempts or implemented. In contrast, when members perceive heightened crisis intensity, it decreases members’ openness to change, but increases the number of changes attempted and implemented.
Book reviews of "Management and the Gospel":
Fernández-Fernández, J.L. (2019). "Book Review: Management and the Gospel." Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 16(4): 391-95.
"I begin by unreservedly recommending it to anyone interested in an innovative approach to company and organizational management, complementary to the traditional approach. ... The book, in short, offers a novel reading of the New Testament and attempts to provide moral foundations for modern business and organizational practices."
Phillips, T.E. (2016). "Book Reviews: Management and the Gospel." Religious Studies Review, 42(3): 210.
"This ambitious volume engages in an interdisciplinary dialogue between the Gospel of Luke and contemporary management theory. ... The volume is far more sophisticated than most books in the “business meets the Bible” genre."
Boers, A. (2015) "Book reviews: Management and the Gospel." Journal of Religious Leadership, 14(1): 132-133.
"[Dyck] convincingly demonstrates that Luke has much to say about management, organizations, finances and various forms of relationships. Furthermore, he asserts that Luke's message was then and remains now highly countercultural … One would be hard-pressed to find anything comparable to this work."
Stansbury, J. (2014) "Book reviews: Management and the Gospel." Business Ethics Quarterly, 24(2): 291-294.
"[Dyck's] exegesis is impressive in its depth, drawing on historical, linguistic, and textual analysis sources and insights .... Altogether, this book is a valuable resource for scholars interested in the intersection of Biblical interpretation and business ethics."
Long, D.S. (2014). "Book review: Management and the Gospel." Direction: A Mennonite Brethren Forum, 43 (Spring).
"Dyck's book is a must-read for every business and management school in Anabaptist, Protestant, or Catholic institutions. It should also be read by Scripture scholars. He provides solid historical evidence for his claims and does not offer superficial remedies. Having begun the book with suspicions, I left convinced that he has made an important contribution."
Gotsis, G. (2013). "Book reviews: Management and the Gospel." History of Economic Ideas, 21(3): 149-152.
"In this fascinating book Bruno Dyck advances the state of the art on the theology and spirituality of management by elaborating an integrative framework of New Testament theology, organizational behavior and business ethics in a scholarly, yet accessible, challenging and reader-friendly way."
Savage, D. (2013). "Reviews: Management and the Gospel." Journal of Markets & Morality, 16(2): 682-84.
"In fact, management scholars such as Hamel, C. K. Prahald, Peter Senge, and others have called for a wholesale reconstruction of the philosophical foundations of management, even noting the importance of drawing lessons from the field of theology. With Management and the Gospel, Professor Dyck offers us a comprehensive, carefully researched, and arguably paradigmatic shift in our grasp of what this 'radical vision' of management might entail."
Smith, Y. (2013). "Book Review: Management and the Gospel." M@n@gement, 16(3): 341-48.
"This book is a masterful analysis of Jesus' radical ideas regarding managers and management. These ideas, when understood in the context of the Greco-Roman management system, present transformational possibilities for 21st century managers."
Barentsen, J. (2013) "Review: Management and the Gospel." Review of Biblical Literature.
"It is a welcome interdisciplinary study that bridges biblical studies and management theory ... Biblical scholars can benefit by considering not just the alternative approaches to the biblical text, but also how biblical studies can connect with modern disciplines to create powerful perspectives on Christian practice today."
Salgado, L. (2013). "Book Review: Management and the Gospel." Journal of Biblical Integration in Business, 16(2): 90-91.
"The book is also a fine example of thorough and scholarly biblical integration and would be excellent to use in graduate classes. Most importantly, I agree with Dr. Dyck that this book may help us break away from what Max Weber called the 'iron cage'--our materialist-individualist management ethic paradigm."
Hinnenkamp, C. (2013). "Reviews: Bruno Dyck. Management and the Gospel." Christian Scholar's Review, 43(1): 83-87.
"In summary, Dyck's accomplishment with this book serves as a significant contribution to the growing body of literature calling for the serious consideration of nonconventional forms of business and management. His quality and depth of research as well as his strong voice make this a credible piece of work in the academic arena. However, although Dyck's scholarship and research evidenced in this work is impressive, it was the detailed real-world applications of the concepts, often missing in similar academic works, which makes this publication stand out."
Smith, Y. (2104) "Book Review: Luke's Radical Message for the First and Twenty-First Centuries." Christian Business Academy Review, 9 (1): 11-12.
"The purpose of Management and the Gospel is 'to describe what management theory and practice looked like in the first century and to use this as a lens' (p. 3) through which to explore what Jesus said about management and how His perspective could be applied to contemporary business. This goal is ambitious, but it is achieved with authority."
Wiebe, E. (2013). "A first-century 'lens' for modern managers." The Marketplace, 43(4): 18-19.
"This book is meaty, well-researched and deeply thoughtful. But don't let that scare you off--it is still very accessible. The author has crafted the book in digestible chunks with frequent brief summaries that will help readers move through and connect the ideas."
Lehman, G. (2013). "A kingdom of God management primer." Canadian Mennonite, 17(2): 18.
"I loved how Dyck approached Jesus' parables in Management and the Gospel. ... For example, I was struck by how the Parable of the Talents can be turned on its head if understood through a first-century lens."
Related newspaper article:
Dyck, B. (2012). “Management and the Gospel.” Business World OnLine (July 11).
(PERFECT FOR GROUP/CLASSROOM USE)
Dyck, B. (2013). Management and the Gospel:
Luke’s Radical Message for the First and
Twenty-First Centuries. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan.
This cross-disciplinary book, which was more than five years in the making, provides a reader-friendly yet scholarly examination of what the Gospel of Luke says about management, based on an understanding of the meaning and trends and key debates about management in the first century, and draws out implications for contemporary management.
Click here to download a sample chapter.
Click here for the link to the book on Google Books, and here for Amazon's "Look Inside" feature.
Click here to see ebook on Springer, and here to visit the book's web-page at Palgrave.
Scroll down for book reviews of "Management and the Gospel"
Research
Dyck, B. (2022). Sin and missing the mark in management: A Lukan perspective. Journal
of Management, Spirituality and Religion, 19(1), 45-72.
This paper analyzes teachings about sin in the Gospel of Luke in their socio-economic and biblical context. Findings call for the development of management theory and practices that: liberate relationship (vs promote patron-client relationships); de-marginalize the poor and oppressed (vs widen gaps between rich and poor); promote positive deviance (vs stigmatize diversity); provide fresh ways of thinking; and facilitate interconnectedness with others/nature/sacred.
Dyck, B., & Caza, A. (2021). An exploratory study of corporate singing: Relationships of
rhythm, melody, and harmony with culture. Journal of Management, Spirituality and
Religion, 18(2): 74-99.
This study examines the difference between corporate singing versus listening to music, and looks at the relationships between corporate singing and the four types of organizational culture in the competing values conceptual framework. The study tests whether chanting is related to the hierarchy culture, singing in unison is related to the market culture, singing in harmony is related to the clan culture, and a combination of types of singing is related to the adhocracy culture.
Dyck, B. (2020). "Organization and management." In S. Schwarzkopf (Ed.) The Routledge
Handbook of Economic Theology (pp. 195-202).
This article describes how ideas and concepts historically grounded in theology have informed and shaped Organization and Management Theory.
Dyck, B., & Purser, R. (2019). Faith, theoria and OMT: A Christian and a Buddhist
walk into a business school. Academy of Management Perspectives. 3(3): 264-279.
This article describes how insights from faith can and have served as a source of ideas for building management theory.
Dyck, B. (2014). “God on management: Five leading world religions, the ‘theological turn’,
and organizational and management theory and practice.” Research in the Sociology of
Organizations, 41:23-62.
This article provides a literature review of religious research in secular management journals, and shows that studies examining what the five leading world religions say about management tend to conclude either: (1) religious teachings support mainstream management theory and practice (this includes about half the articles that draw on sacred religious writings), or (2) religious teachings support a radical (non-mainstream) approach to management (this includes about half the articles that draw on sacred religious writings, and all the empirical studies of managers who practice religious spiritual disciplines).
Dyck, B. (2015). “Spirituality, virtue and management: Theory and evidence.” In
Grassl, W. (section ed.) “Virtues and Workplace Spirituality,” in Sison, A.J.G. (editor-in-chief)
Handbook of Virtue Ethics in Business and Management (part of International Handbooks in
Business Ethics series). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag GmbH.
Consistent with Max Weber's speculation, this review of the literature suggests that "there is a strong link between spirituality and virtue, and also that spirituality often gives rise to an alternative form of management that may enable escape from the materialist-individualist type. This “radical” form of management is typically associated with virtue ethics and counterposes the utilitarian assumptions of “conventional” management. Management guided by spirituality is often presented as pointing to a new paradigm in business."
Dodd, S.D., & Dyck, B. (2015). "Agency, stewardship, and the universal-family firm: A qualitative historical analysis." Family Business Review, 28(4): 312-331.
This paper draws implications from analyses of oikos in the Gospel of Luke for the contemporary agency-stewardship debate in the family business literature.
Dyck, B. (2013). "A proven way to incorporate Catholic Social Thought in business school
curricula: Teaching two approaches to management in the classroom." Journal of Catholic
Higher Education, 32(1): 145-163.
As called for by many leading management thinkers, and consistent with other religious and non-religious moral traditions, Catholic Social Thought principles are consistent with approaches to management that place less emphasis on materialism and individualism than evident in the mainstream approach. This paper describes basic hallmarks of less materialistic, less individualistic approaches to: management (based on a new way to conceive of the four functions of management); accounting (based on rethinking GAAP); finance (based on recasting four axioms of finance); and marketing (based on reconsidering the four Ps of marketing).
Dyck, B., and E. Wiebe (2012). “Salvation, theology and organization theory across the
centuries." Organization, 19(3): 52-77.
This paper describes how key changes in the interpreted meaning of “salvation” over the past two millennia coincide with key changes in organizational theory and practice.
Dyck, B., F.A. Starke, & J. Weimer (2012). “Toward understanding management in first century
Palestine." Journal of Management History, 18(2): 137-165.
This paper introduces hallmarks of management thinking in the first century, and shows how this information suggests the Protestant ethic (as described by Weber) was not likely consistent with the ethic first century listeners would have associated with Jesus.
Driscoll, C., E. Wiebe and B. Dyck (2011). “Nature is prior to us: Applying Catholic Social
Thought and Anabaptist-Mennonite Theology to the ethics of stakeholder prioritization for
the natural environment environment.” Journal of Religion and Business Ethics, 3(1).
This article draws on theology to argue for seeing the natural environment as a stakeholder in organization and management theory.
Dyck, B. and K. Wong (2010). “Corporate spiritual disciplines and the quest for organizational
virtue.” Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, 7(1):7-29.
This paper describes four classic spiritual disciplines, and how putting them into practice can enhance virtue in organizations.
Dyck, B., Starke, F. & C. Dueck (2009) “Management, prophets and self-fulfilling prophecies."
Journal of Management Inquiry, 18(3): 184-196.
This paper shows how the “Parable of the Talents” has been interpreted to support the idea that using money to make money is commendable, and how it can be interpreted to support the idea that it is commendable to prevent the use of money to widen the gap between rich and poor.
Dyck, B., M. Neubert & K. Wong (2008), “Unchaining the iron cage: A look at what managers
can do." Christian Scholars Review, 38(1): 41-60.
This paper draws on organizational learning theory and differing interpretations of biblical principles to describe how managers can help their organizations to escape the materialistic-individualistic iron cage.
Dyck, B., Starke, F. & C. Dueck (2006). ”Just what was Jesus saying?: Two interpretations of
the parable of the shrewd manager.” Journal of Biblical Integration in Business. Fall: 111-
140.
This paper shows how the “Parable of the Shrewd Manager” has been interpreted to support the idea that managers should not seek their self-interests with their masters’ money, and how it can be interpreted to support the idea that it is commendable to use of money to reduce the gap between rich and poor.
Dyck, B., & J. M. Weber (2006). “Conventional and radical moral agents: An exploratory look
at Weber’s moral-points-of-view and virtues.” Organization Studies 27(3): 429-450.
This paper provides empirical support for the idea that managers’ materialism and individualism is associated with their views about how to manage, and that managers with lower materialism-individualism scores tend to practice spiritual disciplines more often.
Dyck, B. & F. Starke (2005). “Looking back and looking ahead: A review of the most
frequently cited biblical texts in the first decade of The JBIB.” Journal of Biblical
Integration in Business, Fall, 134-153.
This review article finds that the most common biblical passages that scholars apply to business studies typically call for the development of more radical approaches to management.
Dyck, B. & D. Schroeder (2005). “Management, theology and moral points of view: Towards
an alternative to the conventional materialist-individualist ideal-type of management.”
Journal of Management Studies, 42 (4): 705-735.
This paper shows that one’s moral-point-of-view influences how one interprets scriptural texts, and that the biblical text can be interpreted in a way to lend support to conventional management (consistent with how Weber described in the Protestant ethic) or to support radical management.
Dyck, B., F. Starke, H. Harder & T. Hecht. (2005) “Do the structures of religious organizations
reflect their statements-of-faith? An exploratory study.” Review of Religious Research,
47(1): 51-69.
This study examines the faith statements of a variety of world religions and compares them with their organizational practices: it turns out religions do in fact practice what they preach.
Dyck, B. (2003). “Exploring congregational clans: Playing the ‘Mennonite Game’ in Winnipeg.”
Journal of Mennonite Studies, 21: 137-155.
This paper uses research on human families, and considers social imprinting effects, to see if similar principles are evident among the organizational lineage of sister and parent congregations.
Dyck, B., & F. Starke (1999). “The formation of breakaway organizations: Observations and a
process model.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 44 (4): 792-822. (Note: This article forms
basis for “Research Brief” by Litz, R. (2000) “Group Exit: How breakaway organizations
happen,” Academy of Management Executive, 14(4): 144-146; and for a practitioner-
oriented book by Whitesel, B. (2003) “Staying power: Why people leave the church
over change (and what you can do about it),” Nashville: Abingdon Press.)
This paper draws on EVLN theory to develop a process model that helps to explain why some congregational conflicts result in mass exit behavior, and in other conflicts such an outcome is averted.
Dyck, B. (1997). “Understanding configuration and transformation through a multiple
rationalities approach.” Journal of Management Studies, 34: 793-823.
This examination of a Christian college looks at why some transformational change attempts succeed when most fail.
Dyck, B. (1997). “Exploring organizational family trees: A multi-generational approach for
studying organizational births.” Journal of Management Inquiry, 6: 223-234.
This paper uses research on human families to examine whether similar patterns of behavior across generations are evident among parent congregations and their offspring. The results show that, for both, an "only child" is likely to have more offspring, and the level of conflict is likely to be higher between parents and their oldest offspring.
Dyck, B., S. Bruning and L. Driedger (1996). “Potential conflict, conflict stimulus, and
organizational performance: An empirical test.” The International Journal of Conflict
Management, 7: 295-313.
This empirical study examines the hypothesized curvilinear relationship between conflict and performance in congregations (i.e., a moderate amount of conflict leads to optimal performance, whereas too little conflict leads to complacency, and too much conflict leads to chaos). Findings suggest that conflict may improve group-based performance measures (e.g., inspired by worship), and decrease individual-based performance measures (financial giving).
Starke, F. and Dyck, B. (1996). “Upheavals in congregations: The causes and outcomes of
splits.” Review of Religious Research, 38: 159-174.
This study suggests that governance and doctrinal issues are primary reasons for congregations to split apart. Members who remain at the parent congregation are more likely to perceive the conflict as authority-based, while those who leave are more likely to perceive the conflict as doctrinally-based.
Dyck, B. (1996). “The role of crises and opportunities in organizational change: A look at a
nonprofit religious college.” Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 25: 321-346.
This study suggests that when members perceive heightened opportunity levels for organizational change it increases members’ openness to change, but has no affect on the number of changes attempts or implemented. In contrast, when members perceive heightened crisis intensity, it decreases members’ openness to change, but increases the number of changes attempted and implemented.
Book reviews of "Management and the Gospel":
Fernández-Fernández, J.L. (2019). "Book Review: Management and the Gospel." Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 16(4): 391-95.
"I begin by unreservedly recommending it to anyone interested in an innovative approach to company and organizational management, complementary to the traditional approach. ... The book, in short, offers a novel reading of the New Testament and attempts to provide moral foundations for modern business and organizational practices."
Phillips, T.E. (2016). "Book Reviews: Management and the Gospel." Religious Studies Review, 42(3): 210.
"This ambitious volume engages in an interdisciplinary dialogue between the Gospel of Luke and contemporary management theory. ... The volume is far more sophisticated than most books in the “business meets the Bible” genre."
Boers, A. (2015) "Book reviews: Management and the Gospel." Journal of Religious Leadership, 14(1): 132-133.
"[Dyck] convincingly demonstrates that Luke has much to say about management, organizations, finances and various forms of relationships. Furthermore, he asserts that Luke's message was then and remains now highly countercultural … One would be hard-pressed to find anything comparable to this work."
Stansbury, J. (2014) "Book reviews: Management and the Gospel." Business Ethics Quarterly, 24(2): 291-294.
"[Dyck's] exegesis is impressive in its depth, drawing on historical, linguistic, and textual analysis sources and insights .... Altogether, this book is a valuable resource for scholars interested in the intersection of Biblical interpretation and business ethics."
Long, D.S. (2014). "Book review: Management and the Gospel." Direction: A Mennonite Brethren Forum, 43 (Spring).
"Dyck's book is a must-read for every business and management school in Anabaptist, Protestant, or Catholic institutions. It should also be read by Scripture scholars. He provides solid historical evidence for his claims and does not offer superficial remedies. Having begun the book with suspicions, I left convinced that he has made an important contribution."
Gotsis, G. (2013). "Book reviews: Management and the Gospel." History of Economic Ideas, 21(3): 149-152.
"In this fascinating book Bruno Dyck advances the state of the art on the theology and spirituality of management by elaborating an integrative framework of New Testament theology, organizational behavior and business ethics in a scholarly, yet accessible, challenging and reader-friendly way."
Savage, D. (2013). "Reviews: Management and the Gospel." Journal of Markets & Morality, 16(2): 682-84.
"In fact, management scholars such as Hamel, C. K. Prahald, Peter Senge, and others have called for a wholesale reconstruction of the philosophical foundations of management, even noting the importance of drawing lessons from the field of theology. With Management and the Gospel, Professor Dyck offers us a comprehensive, carefully researched, and arguably paradigmatic shift in our grasp of what this 'radical vision' of management might entail."
Smith, Y. (2013). "Book Review: Management and the Gospel." M@n@gement, 16(3): 341-48.
"This book is a masterful analysis of Jesus' radical ideas regarding managers and management. These ideas, when understood in the context of the Greco-Roman management system, present transformational possibilities for 21st century managers."
Barentsen, J. (2013) "Review: Management and the Gospel." Review of Biblical Literature.
"It is a welcome interdisciplinary study that bridges biblical studies and management theory ... Biblical scholars can benefit by considering not just the alternative approaches to the biblical text, but also how biblical studies can connect with modern disciplines to create powerful perspectives on Christian practice today."
Salgado, L. (2013). "Book Review: Management and the Gospel." Journal of Biblical Integration in Business, 16(2): 90-91.
"The book is also a fine example of thorough and scholarly biblical integration and would be excellent to use in graduate classes. Most importantly, I agree with Dr. Dyck that this book may help us break away from what Max Weber called the 'iron cage'--our materialist-individualist management ethic paradigm."
Hinnenkamp, C. (2013). "Reviews: Bruno Dyck. Management and the Gospel." Christian Scholar's Review, 43(1): 83-87.
"In summary, Dyck's accomplishment with this book serves as a significant contribution to the growing body of literature calling for the serious consideration of nonconventional forms of business and management. His quality and depth of research as well as his strong voice make this a credible piece of work in the academic arena. However, although Dyck's scholarship and research evidenced in this work is impressive, it was the detailed real-world applications of the concepts, often missing in similar academic works, which makes this publication stand out."
Smith, Y. (2104) "Book Review: Luke's Radical Message for the First and Twenty-First Centuries." Christian Business Academy Review, 9 (1): 11-12.
"The purpose of Management and the Gospel is 'to describe what management theory and practice looked like in the first century and to use this as a lens' (p. 3) through which to explore what Jesus said about management and how His perspective could be applied to contemporary business. This goal is ambitious, but it is achieved with authority."
Wiebe, E. (2013). "A first-century 'lens' for modern managers." The Marketplace, 43(4): 18-19.
"This book is meaty, well-researched and deeply thoughtful. But don't let that scare you off--it is still very accessible. The author has crafted the book in digestible chunks with frequent brief summaries that will help readers move through and connect the ideas."
Lehman, G. (2013). "A kingdom of God management primer." Canadian Mennonite, 17(2): 18.
"I loved how Dyck approached Jesus' parables in Management and the Gospel. ... For example, I was struck by how the Parable of the Talents can be turned on its head if understood through a first-century lens."
Related newspaper article:
Dyck, B. (2012). “Management and the Gospel.” Business World OnLine (July 11).