Business miracles

Abstract

Drawing on the concepts of the miraculous in theology and philosophy, this paper makes a distinction between transcendent miracles, human miracles, and immanent miracles. The first find their origin in a deity that resides above our world, the second arise from the interactions of people, and the third emerge from an earth that constantly reinvents itself against its own laws. The paper starts off by showing how these three concepts of the miraculous manifest themselves in business literature on creativity and innovation. Next, it discusses different possible reasons for the importance of the miraculous within business texts. The paper suggests that business authors often ‘miraculate’ their object of study, that is they attribute mysterious powers to much less mysterious phenomena. The paper concludes by suggesting that miraculation does not have to be negative: it might well be a necessary road to successful business knowledge. This would explain why so much of what counts as business science today is based on the mixed methods of objectification and miraculation.

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