Phronesis in administration and organizations: A literature review and future research agenda

Abstract

Phronesis is essential for good decision-making and actions. This literature review shows how phronesis has been discussed and related to elements of the field of administration and organizations. A search in the database systems Scopus, EBSCO, Web of Science, and Scielo, based on eligibility criteria, resulted in 43 theoretical and 14 empirical works. The analysis of these studies showed the most significant empirical contributions, the most cited authors, methods, journals, and central themes addressed in studies on phronesis to understand ethics in business. From a virtue ethics perspective, we discuss the major theoretical and empirical contributions, as well as the implications of a restricted understanding of phronesis when it is treated apart from other elements of the virtue ethics framework. We present a synthesis of the concepts of phronesis, based on dimensions of magnitude and amplitude of the conceptions, ranging from formal to substantive phronesis, and covering individual, organizational, or societal levels of analysis. We argue that a substantive conception of phronesis within virtue ethics may improve our understanding of ethics because it assumes the interdependence of phronesis and moral virtues, integral anthropology, and the common good. We present a future research agenda, considering the study's limitations and findings.

Virtue and virtuousness in organizations: Guidelines for ascribing individual and organizational moral responsibility

“…To integrate inner aspects of virtue, such as character and reasons for action, theoretical and empirical research could take into account, for instance, issues related to individual motivations for ethical behavior in the workplace and see how these fit with the Aristotelian virtue ethics tradition. Furthermore, the role of phronesis in the individual and organizational conditions for moral responsibility needs to be investigated, given its central role in the virtue ethics tradition and its growing relevance for leadership decision‐making in business and organization studies (Akrivou & Scalzo, 2020; Ames et al., 2020; Bachmann et al., 2017; Ferrero & Sison, 2014; Ferrero et al., 2020; Diez Gómez & Rodriguez Córdoba, 2019). A robust account that connects the concepts of virtue and virtuousness with each other needs to integrate each of their characteristics without dismissing or losing their important features (Sison & Ferrero, 2015).…”

Wisdom capital: definitions, meaning and a two-level model

“…Table 1 depicts the major concerns of wisdom, according to the literature review. Additionally, it is important to point out that it simultaneously encompasses other pragmatic things that are conducive to a right course of Notes: Compiled from Srivastva and Cooperrider (1998); Srivastva and Saatçi@ glu (1998); Baltes and Freund (2002), Csikszentmihalyi and Nakamura (2005); Gioia (2007); Lombardo (2010), Sternberg et al (2019); Ames et al (2020) action, the ability to see beyond ordinary matters and an inner state that allows the individual to envisage new frontiers. Taken as a whole, there is no consensual view about what wisdom means.…”

Phronesis , Moral Judgment, and Ethical Decision Making: Experiences of Public Managers in the Area of Emergency Management

“…Despite several efforts, the word phronesis still does not have an exact and satisfactory translation into contemporary languages as it once had in the Greek world (Hermann, 2007). In the fields of philosophy, theology, psychology, and administration, expressions such as practical wisdom, prudence, common sense, prudent deliberation, and responsible reasoning can be possible translations of it (Ames, Serafim, & Zappellini, 2020;Bachmann et al 2018;Caitano & Serva, 2020;Hermann, 2007;Liszka, 2002). For the purposes of this article, we adopted the terms practical wisdom and prudence as complementary to the understanding of phronesis (Ames, Serafim, & Zappellini, 2017Corey, 2021).…”