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Implicit Wisdom Theories from Around the World and Their Implications for Wise Business and Management

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Abstract

After briefly clarifying the difference between implicit and explicit wisdom theories, this chapter synthesizes implicit wisdom theories derived from nine rating studies into cognitive, reflective, compassionate, mature, spiritual, and other wisdom characteristics. We then use the 23 items of the Foundational Values Scale (FVS) to examine gender, age group, and national, differences in implicit wisdom descriptions in a sample of 601 participants from six countries (the United States, Canada, Serbia, Ukraine, Iran, and China) and two age groups (20–33 years old and 59–99 years old). We conducted a three-way univariate ANCOVA on each individual FVS item with gender, age group, and nation as the between-person factors, controlling for highest level of education. Results showed few significant gender and age group differences but several significant differences by nation. Not surprisingly, the least difference was found between the United States and Canada. The most significant differences occurred between residents of Iran and residents of all other nations except Ukraine. We conclude by discussing implications for multinational business and management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Monika Ardelt & Wanlu Shi

  2. Department of Applied Psychology & Human Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Michel Ferrari

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  1. Monika Ardelt
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  2. Michel Ferrari
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  3. Wanlu Shi
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Correspondence to Monika Ardelt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, Oakland, CA, USA

    Barry Schwartz

  2. IESE Business School, Barcelona, Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Caleb Bernacchio

  3. CUNEF (Centro Universitario de Estudios Financieros), Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, Spain

    César González-Cantón

  4. Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Angus Robson

Section Editor information

  1. Henley Business School, University of Reading, Reading, UK

    Kleio Akrivou

  2. Institute of Culture and Society (ICS) University of Navarra, Navarre, Spain

    José Víctor Orón

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Ardelt, M., Ferrari, M., Shi, W. (2020). Implicit Wisdom Theories from Around the World and Their Implications for Wise Business and Management. In: Schwartz, B., Bernacchio, C., González-Cantón, C., Robson, A. (eds) Handbook of Practical Wisdom in Business and Management. International Handbooks in Business Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00140-7_1-1

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