Espiritualidade nas organizações em contextos de diversidade: Vivências e práticas em micro, pequenas e médias empresas em Juazeiro do Norte e Barbalha - CE

Abstract

Spirituality in organizations has established itself as an emerging field of research within the field of management, particularly given the need to understand how spiritual values, meanings, and practices are articulated in diverse work contexts. Despite theoretical and methodological advances, there are still few studies analyzing spiritual and religious diversity in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises located in regional contexts in Brazil, particularly outside major urban centers. In light of this gap, this study set as its general objective to understand how spirituality manifests and is managed in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises based on the experiences of managers working in the municipalities of Juazeiro do Norte and Barbalha, which are part of the Cariri Metropolitan Region in Ceará. Specifically, the study sought to: (a) map, within the scientific literature, how spirituality in organizations is conceptualized and addressed, considering religious and spiritual diversity; (b) analyze how spirituality is perceived and narrated in the organizational daily routine based on the experiences of managers from the studied companies; (c) to examine how these manifestations are interpreted and managed by managers in the context of organizational management. The study adopted a qualitative and exploratory approach, employing a multiple-case study methodology based on Stake (2009), with data collected through semi-structured interviews with managers and analyzed in accordance with Bardin (2016). The results indicated that spirituality in the studied context is a multifaceted phenomenon, articulating subjective, relational, and organizational dimensions, and manifests as a structuring element of managers’ identity, influencing decisions, relationships, and perceptions of purpose at work. In these contexts, spirituality also acts as a language of meaning and organizational cohesion. It was observed that personal values and spiritual beliefs spill over into management and organizational culture, assuming, in some cases, a normative character and operating as an informal regulatory mechanism, particularly in organizational contexts marked by personalism, while in others, they are expressed more openly and dialogically in the face of religious diversity. It was also found that the management of spirituality occurs predominantly in an organic manner and is centered on the figure of the leader, revealing both potential for fostering a sense of meaning and belonging, as well as tensions related to the plurality of beliefs and the lack of technical preparation to deal with this diversity. As a contribution, the study broadens the understanding of spirituality in regional organizational contexts by unveiling its plural, contextual nature, which is fraught with ambiguities, pointing to implications for management that is more sensitive to diversity. As a limitation, the empirical scope is restricted to two municipalities in the Cariri region of Ceará, and the analysis focuses exclusively on the managers’ perspective.