Conference Report Business, Ethics and Spirituality: Europe–Asia views Laszlo Zsolnai n The Business Ethics Center of the Corvinus University of Budapest organized the ‘Europe– Asia Dialogue on Business, Ethics and Spiritual- ity’, which took place 30 June–2 July, 2006 in Budapest, Hungary. The conference was a con- tinuation of the dialogue between European and Asian scholars and practitioners presented in the book Spirituality and Ethics in Management (edited by Laszlo Zsolnai, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004). The 2006 Europe–Asia conference was co- organized by the European SPES Forum located in Leuven, Belgium. The mission of the European SPES Forum is to open up spirituality as a vital resource in social and economic life. ‘SPES’ is an acronym for ‘SPirituality in Economics and Society’, but it is also the Latin word for Hope, the virtue that sustains our belief in a better future. The European SPES Forum has a focus on experience-based spirituality that succeeds in making a connection between day-to-day activ- ities and the inner, pluriform quest for meaning (www.eurospes.be). Forty academics, businessmen and NGO people participated in the Europe–Asia conference in Budapest representing Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Sponsorship provided by MALEV Hungarian Airlines was greatly appre- ciated. The main themes and points of the conference are summarized below to stimulate the develop- ment of an agenda for Europe–Asia Dialogue on Business, Ethics and Spirituality. References to particular contributors are noted in parentheses; their presentations are then summarized in the appendix. Spirituality and business There is no inherent conflict between spirituality and business in the major Eastern and Western traditions. In the Hindu tradition, material accomplishments provide a strong and stable foundation in personal and organizational life while spiritual wisdom charges business with a higher purpose (Sanjoy Mukherjee). The Chris- tian tradition requires a three-dimensional goal- portfolio in which humans measure themselves on three layers: material (financial), intellectual and spiritual. Here, the stakeholder list becomes full: we not only care about and support our own employees and their environment but all who are in need (Tibor He´jj). However, recent studies explore the juxtaposi- tion between the material social structures and the structures of spirituality, which counter the ego-self. Approaches to ethics, accountability and sustainability, which are not rooted in an under- standing of spirituality, will lead to cynicism and a mere instrumental approach to ethics in business (Michael Thompson). There is a gap between personal spiritual orientation and the macro level n Professor, Business Ethics Center, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary. r 2007 The Authors Journal compilation r 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA 87 Business Ethics: A European Review Volume 16 Number 1 January 2007