The article under consideration, “The Creation, the Kingdom of God, and a Theory of the Faithful Corporation,” was written by Stephen N. Bretsen, Associate Professor of Business and Law at Wheaton College. It presents the author’s perspective on present-day faithful corporations and their role in the least developed parts of the world (Bretsen, 2008). Therefore, the research question is related to the attempts to demonstrate their impact when emerging in various countries and their overall importance. The article’s thesis highlights the need for the theoretical underpinning of the current business processes from the Christian perspective.
The study provides extensive information on the history of the issue and various concepts applicable to the case. Hence, Bretsen’s major argument is that the nature of corporations developed due to economic activity expansion is connected to private and public interests. Meanwhile, this dichotomy is insufficient to demonstrate the core principles of faithful enterprises since they state that the profits are not the target of such companies. This approach implies “maximizing societal wealth through efficiency” rather than the matter’s financial aspect (Bretsen, 2008, p. 134). It is refuted by “shareholders’ purpose in investing in the corporation” presented by the natural entity theory (Bretsen, 2008, p. 125). In other words, the author claims that the orientation on profits is incorrect for the context of a faithful business.
This stance can be criticized by the fact that the initial motivation of business owners is still profits. From this perspective, the study’s implied use, which is the change in perceptions, is impossible when excluding financial considerations. The raised research question, which is the need to find a suitable method for transformation, is also invalid regarding its impracticality. In contrast to other scholars’ theories, this initiative does not seem reasonable since the combination of faith and business should have a more solid ground. Thus, the author’s idealistic stance does not incorporate the required orientation on actions.
Reference
Bretsen, S. N. (2008). The creation, the kingdom of God, and a theory of the faithful corporation. Christian Scholar’s Review, 38(1), 115-154.