A Buddhist approach to consumption

ABSTRACT

Typically we think of consumption in terms of material objects however consumption can be understood on many levels. In the vijananavada or Mind Only school of Buddhist Psychology, which underpins much of the currently popular practice of ‘mindfulness’, consumption is considered within a much broader framework of material objects, sensory input, motivation – as well as consciousness itself. Once a basic understanding of these four aspects of consumption is achieved, we begin to notice how we nurture certain states of being within ourselves and others and become cognizant of the capacity to be able to selectively choose what to nurture. This understanding is then a concrete and transformative mindfulness method.     

Mindfulness,socioemotional wealth,and environmental strategy of family businesses

The study advances knowledge in the field of business strategy and the environment by incorporating mindfulness theory into the research on socioemotional wealth (SEW) and its environmental consequences in family businesses. Using an integrative model, the paper investigates the relationship between mindfulness SEW dimensions and family firms' environmental strategies, specifically in developing sustainable products and processes. This study also proposes the firm's capabilities as a mediator in this relationship, while market turbulence is a moderator in the relationship between the firm's capabilities and sustainable products and processes. The empirical results show that in protecting SEW, specifically in the identification of family members with the firm and binding social ties, mindfulness provides a rich endowment that develops appropriate capabilities to produce sustainable products and processes. While the moderating role of market turbulence is insignificant, we can infer that irrespective of how turbulent (or not) the market is, the firm's capabilities are a key determinant of sustainable products and processes. Our findings offer theoretical and managerial implications for sustainable practices in the family business context.     

Consumers' processing of mindful commercial car sharing

Commercial car sharing offers a form of market‐mediated, access‐based consumption with a markedly lower impact on the natural environment than that of car ownership. Consumers adopting such alternative transportation modes are manifesting a marketplace behavior that can be said to be mindful because of the innovative and sustainable nature of car sharing. This study employs behavioral reasoning theory to examine how consumers' value orientations, as well as reasons for and against car sharing, might be used in consumers' processing of mindful commercial car‐sharing adoption. Findings suggest that subjective norms (thoughts of important others for consumers, such as co‐workers) serve an important mediating role for both consumers' value orientations and reasons for car sharing in their relationship with car‐sharing behavior. These results provide marketing researchers important knowledge about green consumption and suggest that practitioners would do well to emphasize the social dimension when marketing environmentally oriented services, such as car sharing.     

Are your students absent,not absent,or present? Mindfulness and student performance

The concept of mindfulness has received significant attention in recent years as the effects of ubiquitous distractions become more apparent in the workplace and in education. This study examines the relationship between three measures of mindfulness and student performance among a sample of 922 students in introductory economics classes from two large public universities. The authors’ measures of mindfulness include general dispositional mindfulness levels, frequency of mobile device usage during class as a measure of classroom mindfulness, and frequency of test anxiety as a measure of assessment mindfulness. The results show a positive association between all three measures of mindfulness and overall performance. The association between dispositional mindfulness and performance was greater for female students and students with lower grade point averages.     

Mindful tourist experiences: A Buddhist perspective

This paper distinguishes between the concepts of socio-cognitive mindfulness applied in a number of tourism studies and meditative mindfulness derived from a Buddhist philosophy. An operational definition of meditative mindful tourist experiences is proposed based on forty-three semi-structured interviews involving 77 episodes of meditative mindful experiences. The paper also proposes a framework of meditative mindfulness in tourism. The framework identifies a number of antecedents to meditative mindful experience episodes and reveals several psychological and physical benefits including mental ease and response flexibility. This is the first paper to examine meditative mindful tourist experiences in tourism contexts and to explore their antecedents and consequences.     

Does self-esteem matter? A framework depicting role of self-esteem between dispositional mindfulness and impulsive buying

There is a continuum from ordinary to excessive impulsive buying tendencies (IBT), and low self-esteem appears to be one of the major underlying motivators of this behavior that needs to be explored and controlled. Based on the results of two independent studies, the present study makes a novel attempt to demonstrate the possible relation between mindfulness, self-esteem, IBT and impulse buying behavior. The present work emphasize on the beneficial effects of mindfulness in enhancing self-esteem, which can curb impulsive tendencies and behavior. The effect of mindfulness on self-esteem and IBT is corroborated with two studies (n = 344/n = 328). The results from study 1 revealed that dispositional mindfulness (measured with Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale–Revised scale) is related to IBT through self-esteem. The study 2 using serial mediation demonstrates that dispositional mindfulness (measured using Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale) relates to impulsive buying behavior through self-esteem and IBT. The findings of the present study highlight the importance of self-esteem in the relationship between mindfulness and impulse buying. This research offers a framework that can enable individuals to control their sudden urge to make impulsive purchases, using the positive effects of mindfulness and enhanced self-esteem.     

Buddhist approach to corporate sustainability

The win-win paradigm of corporate sustainability suggests that firms can transform sustainability issues into strategic opportunities, thereby creating shared values at the intersection of business and society. This study explores an alternate approach by delving into Buddhism and its meditative tradition. To deeply immerse myself into the monastic life of Buddhist monks and their meditation practice, I conducted a 5-year ethnographic fieldwork in 82 Buddhist temples across Asia. In the fieldwork process, I was even ordained as a Buddhist monk to internalize the practice. This level of immersion allowed me to investigate the nature of Buddhist meditative mindfulness and its role in reframing corporate sustainability. Drawing upon the findings and relevant literature, I suggest a Buddhist approach to corporate sustainability that offers a unique worldview on the interrelationships between economy, society, and environment. In conclusion, I compare the Buddhist approach to the win-win paradigm.     

怎样当好监理

本文就如何当好监理工程师的问题,从工作预见性,如何看待批评的问题,正确理解监理所处的管理位置等方面,说明了做为一个合格的监理工程师应具有一个怎样的心态的重要性。     

The heritage reader

Effective interpretation among visitors to heritage sites contributes towards achieving sustainable tourism. Mindful visitors are more likely to be interested in being educated and learning about a site; therefore, mindfulness can play a key role in the formation of effective interpretations. Diverse media communicates with visitors in different ways and has various effects which can improve mindfulness among heritage site visitors. This study aims to investigate the effects of three different media, namely exhibitions, guided tours (GT) and printed materials (PM) on enhancing mindfulness. A questionnaire was developed and administered to approximately 200 visitors at 6 heritage sites across Malacca City in Malaysia, which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Partial least-squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that PM were the most effective medium in improving mindfulness among visitors to the selected heritage sites, followed by exhibitions. The results also indicated that GT did not have any significant effect on improving visitor mindfulness. These findings can assist organisations responsible for the management of heritage sites to improve the mindfulness of visitors by identifying the most efficacious forms of media.     

Job demand stressors and employees’ creativity: a within-person approach to dealing with hindrance and challenge stressors at the airport environment

Given the competitiveness of twenty-first-century airport landscape, catalyzed by airports’ evolution toward multi-service, and market-driven firms, a thorough investigation into employees’ creativity and its antecedents at the airport environment is warranted. Adopting the two-dimensional job demand stressors – outcome relationships framework and the cognitive-relational theory of stress, the current study interrogated the challenge (i.e. workload and time pressure)/ hindrance (i.e. role conflict and role ambiguity) stressors – creativity curvilinear relationships, and the buffering effects of within-person resources – dispositional mindfulness, and core self-evaluation. Using multi-sourced, cross-sectional data from employees in three airports in Ghana, the research findings showed creativity to have a U-shaped relationship with role ambiguity and role conflict, but with time pressure the relationship was an inverted U-shape. Employees’ workload showed a near-linear relationship with creativity, flattening at high levels of workload. Core self-evaluation displayed itself as an effective buffering component on role ambiguity – and time pressure – creativity relations but not role conflict and workload. Dispositional mindfulness interacted with role ambiguity, role conflict and time pressure – creativity relations, but not workload. To optimize employees’ creative performance, the study findings make a strong case for attending to individual-level factors necessary for stressors management. Further implications and recommendations are discussed.