Jonathan Bainbridge's research while affiliated with Northumbria University and other places

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which practices from the spiritual traditions—in our case, spiritual discernment—may offer opportunities for management innovation in non-religious organizations in designing collaborative and participative decision-making processes. We examine the case of a spiritual discernment practice associated with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the UK—known as the Quaker Business Method (QBM)—to help illuminate the opportunities of spiritual discernment in private limited companies. Given that the majority of non-religious, trading organizations are structured as private limited companies, our paper addresses the extent to which QBM can be utilized by such entities. Thus, we bring religion and corporate law into conversation to address this under-explored terrain. We find that embedding many elements of Quaker spiritual discernment in private limited companies pose non-trivial challenges. However, many of these challenges can be overcome so long as those involved in managing and owning organizations actively engage with corporate law, and specifically consider the benefits of adopting bespoke articles of association or entering into a separate shareholder agreement to reflect the practice of spiritual discernment. We necessarily adopt a practice-orientated perspective, and conclude by proposing new pathways for future research.

The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (‘MLR 2017’) came into force on 26 June 2017, further increasing anti-money laundering (AML) compliance obligations imposed upon financial institutions and others in the UK. Against this backdrop, this article will identify a growing trend of AML policy-making affecting the private sector; explore the correlation of legislative and regulatory measures taken in the UK with those in Europe and globally; and ask whether the measures represent a proportionate and effective response to the perceived threat of money laundering and terrorist financing to national security.