The Adhesive Effect of Corporate Spirituality on Organizational Internal-External Strategies and Sustainability

This particular study investigates the adhesive effect of corporate spirituality on Organizational internal-external strategies and its overall influence on Organizational sustainability. The study is governed and examined through the lens of organizational learning and also spirituality leadership theory. The research stems from the context of oil and gas firms from a developing Country (Nigeria) and it takes a quantitative approach, employing 30 pilot survey data from the research setting. The results found that corporate spirituality has a significant positive effect and it strengthens and moderates the relationship between Organizational internal-external strategies and the sustainability of Oil and Gas firms. Yet, the reality remains that even in leading Organizations that recognize the importance (directly or indirectly) of corporate spirituality and purpose, the concept seems to be slightly neglected and underappreciated. This study stands to enhance (with empirical evidence) the examined relationship, especially in Oil and Gas firms, which is a sector going through a turbulent phase globally in terms of sustainability. Ultimately, the study promotes corporate spirituality values among Organizations, which will subsequently result in the development of a suitable and resilient model towards sustainable performance.


Introduction
In the global business and economic world, the concept of 'sustainability' has solidified its place as a constant fixture which moves parallel and is synonymous with organizational success.As a result, incorporating sustainability as part of a Firm's corporate vision is an aspect of paramount importance and serves as the backbone in achieving the ultimate goal of being a 'Future Organization'.At the very least, it's safe to state that the idea of integrating sustainable initiatives and practices into one's business, aids in providing forward-thinking, adaptable and steadfast strategies, which subsequently translates to innovativeness, competitive edge and an overall impact along the triple bottom line (financial, social and environmental) as coined by Elkington in 1994.
That being said, the business environment/setting has however undergone major changes over the past decade.With industrialization and rapid positive growth, global economies are witnessing a significant boost in population, rural migration and urbanization.This phenomenon is also adversely followed by pollution, congestion, climate crisis and other environmental issues, particularly from a developing country context.There is a paradigm shift and it poses a threat to the way organizations and societies function as a whole.

Sustainability and Global Oil & Gas Sector
In the wake of the current global pandemic, industries and economic sectors across the globe are all struggling to survive and stay afloat.In the United States alone, a whopping cost of $4 trillion was put into place by the Government standing as bail-out schemes, stimulus packages and financial aid, to revive industries and save jobs in the economy.As such, the impact of the current pandemic can never be overstated.Some of the most affected industries are illustrated below: Published by IDEAS SPREAD The diagram above (fig.1) illustrates the top five most affected industries in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, using the probability of default (PD) index.This simply means taking price movement and asset volatility into account as a unit of measure.Oil and Gas related industries are considered the second most affected at 22.5% after the Airline industry.It is important to note that the Oil and Gas industry has been going through a torrid period even prior to the arrival of the Covid pandemic.A major issue lies with the volatility of crude oil as a commodity and the ability to meet up and cater for global demand.In addition, the sector is extensively capital-intensive and coupled with a very high entry cost and operational risk.
According to Statista (2020), the price of crude was well over $100 per barrel in 2012 but has now declined all the way to a negative value at the end of the first quarter of 2020.The New York Times indicated that, prices plummeted so much that traders were paying buyers to take the oil off their hands' (Reed & Krauss, 2020).At some point, the storage cost was well above the cost of the commodity (crude) and it was cheaper to get rid of it than to store it.See fig. 2   The situation presented above is not the only dilemma faced by the Oil and Gas industry.Threats are looming large on crude markets at an alarming degree.One of the major threat manifests in the form of the war in Ukraine where the prices of Oil and Gas commodity has skyrocketed which has also led to the disruption of prices and supply of other commodities globally.According to Wiseman (2022), natural gas in Europe costs six times higher in price than what it was at the beginning of 2022.This was primarily due to Russia-Ukraine dispute, which led to a 20% rise in natural gas prices and subsequent rise in inflation and utility bills.Published by IDEAS SPREAD Also, the Asian powerhouse of China is the most populous Nation and one of the largest commodity markets in terms of sheer size and consumption capacity, particularly when it comes to energy resources.In terms of Oil and Gas consumption, the International Energy Agency estimated in 2014 that half of the global oil demand growth is likely to come from China, until 2035.These projections were made at a time when China was making a switch from coal, (as the main source of energy) to Crude Oil.In order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, China decided on ethanol as an alternative to fossil fuels and signed a net zero emission agenda, which cuts down demand for fossil fuels by 20%.'From a public and environmental health perspective, biofuels are part of China's longrun strategy to conserve resources, improve air quality, and reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels' (USDA FAS, 2018).Thomas & Strupczewski (2022) pointed out to the European Commission forecast which reveals that Covid-19 impact, supply chain limitations and an increase in energy prices could negatively affect the economic growth for all EU countries by 4.0% at the end of 2022'.This may also be lower following the event of the Russian-Ukraine war.
Similarly, these challenges and negative issues of the international Oil and Gas scene also trickle down and manifest themselves in the context of developing Countries like Nigeria, which is the 'sixth largest Oil producing Country in the World' (NNPC, 2020).With a relatively undiversified economy and an overreliance on crude oil, Nigeria faces serious challenges (both externally and internally) whenever a global crisis hits and prices become volatile.One of the highly profiled issues concerning Oil and Gas is the negative impact it has on the environment.Oil spill has been a constant fixture that plagues the oil-producing Niger Delta southern part of the Country.Local communities like Ikarama-Okordia have become inhabitable due to oil exploration and its detrimental effect of the environment.In 2018, Amnesty International described the Niger Delta as 'one of the most polluted places on Earth'.It is important to also note that the region was predominantly a farming and fishing (agricultural) community prior to the 'Oil boom discovery' of 1973.Ever since then, the livelihood of the indigenous population has been significantly altered as lands and rivers meant for agriculture are rendered infertile.See fig. 3   The above indicates the multiple oil spills by the oil exploration corporation operating in the Niger Delta region.The spills are reported where location data is recorded and available, as such some spills are unaccounted for.Unfortunately, these corporations and the Nigerian Government are barely taking responsibility for the situation at hand.According to Bloomberg Green (2020), 'the Government and oil companies have made promises to clean Published by IDEAS SPREAD up without doing so' thus, there is a pending case to sue the Royal Dutch Shell PLC in London on charges of environmental damages.
Moreover, the issue is not only limited to environmental degradation, but also health concerns and mortality rate.In a research study on the effect of oil spills on infant mortality in Nigeria, Bruederle and Hodler report that 'nearby oil spills that occur before conception increase neonatal mortality by 38.3 deaths per 1,000 live births, which corresponds to an increase of around 100% on the sample mean' (2019).A combination of these factors indicated are considered to be the root causes of the communal crisis that occurs daily in the Niger Delta region of the Country.
Another challenge involves the availability of skill and manpower within the Oil and Gas sector.A survey conducted on more than 17000 industry professionals revealed that 'the oil and gas sector is facing a skills crisis' (BBC, 2019).This survey affirms the previous report by the Global Energy Talent Index (2017) with states 'nearly three quarters (72%) of hiring managers believe that the oil and gas industry is facing a talent deficit'.The report further stipulates that loss of manpower due to ageing and retiring workforce (amongst other reasons) is to blame, particularly in Africa.See fig. 4   The respondents (hiring managers) believed that planning, innovative modification to retention and recruitment policies, 'as well as additional training and development was needed to bridge the gap'.BBC concludes that 'it expects the situation to worsen over the next five years, resulting in increased costs and less productivity' (2019).

Green Employee Recruitment and Organizational Sustainability
According to Wehrmeyer 'employees are essential to a company's success or failure when it comes to taking a sustainable approach to its operations' (1996).After multiple decades, the statement remains relevant to this day.It is due to this relevance that concepts such as talent development, management and retention came to light and stand as a contributory factor and measure towards non-financial performance of an organization.Khan and Iqbal (2020) assert that non-financial or economic performance measurements might bolster a company's significance.Furthermore, research from a resource-based view indicates that organizational 'performance depends on its internal resources like human resources'.According to Umrani (2016), efficient and 'effective human resources are the basics upon which successful businesses are founded'.Therefore, the above are solid indicators of why it is of paramount importance that organizations identify, recruit and retain competent personnel in order to bolster growth.
Al-Hussaini (2019) stipulates that Talent Management is essential and key for Organizations to retain their competitiveness in a rapid and dynamic business setting.Talent Management, which includes the identification and recruitment process ensures a firm elevates itself from 'low to high performer by improving competitive advantage and sustainability together.(Behera & Mohapatra, 2020).Subsequently, the quest to achieve sustainability has generally prompted a high demand for talent and skilled labour, which unfortunately isn't being fulfilled.Mathew (2015) reports that 'the demand-supply gap of talented individuals is widening as it has been found that 35% of leading companies are facing the problem of talent shortage', more so in the Oil and Gas and other professional sectors across developing Countries and certainly, the Globe.There is also the imperative Published by IDEAS SPREAD adoption of green practices across the managerial board.Green recruitment and selection has never been more critical and is 'considered as the most principal component of Green Human Resource Management (G-HRM)' (Ahmad, 2015).Green recruitment represents a contemporary process and strategy in which Organizations attract and engage personnel 'with attitude, behaviour, knowledge and skills that adheres with managing the environment'.(Obaid & Alias, 2015).It involves being environmentally conscious and friendly in one's quest of achieving competitiveness and a sustainable position.H1: Green Employee Recruitment has significant impact on Organizational Sustainability of Oil & Gas Firms.

Eco-innovation and Organizational Sustainability
Previous research and literature have pointed out how vital and key innovation is when it comes to 'strengthening brand power and achieving success' (Betaraya et al., 2018) in a competitive global World.Above all, Afeltra et al. (2021) stipulate that innovation can aid in harmonizing and reconciling 'economic, social and environmental goals with win-win-win strategies towards sustainability' as propositioned by Elkington, 1994;Eccles et al., 2013.A major challenge for businesses and their activities these days manifests in the form of balancing the reduction of environmental footprint while still threading the path toward sustainability.This is particularly more apparent in the Oil and Gas Industry with reports evidently indicating the sector is (directly and indirectly) responsible for '42% of global emissions' (Beck et al., 2020).With this in mind, a handful of research suggests eco-innovation as a contemporary solution to the above dilemma.One of which is Thu et al. (2019) sequel to the authors' review of 40 articles from a knowledge-based view.

Corporate Spirituality & Organizational Sustainability
Corporate spirituality offers positivity to how businesses are run.Nonetheless, it must be crucially pointed out that there is a general misconception of attributing spirituality to religious value only.While the two might occasionally overlap, spiritual value and religious value as independent entities.Neck and Milliman (1994: pp. 9) suggested spirituality has to do with 'expressing our desires to find meaning and purpose in our lives and is a process of living out one's set of deeply held personal values'.With reference to the above definition, merging spirituality and Organizational practices will result to a business morally backed up with a higher purpose (i.e.corporate spirituality).It is generally believed that a Firm can attain spirituality by having the ability to see beyond the financial implication of its actions/investments, thus earning it the position of a sustainable Organization.Zawawi and Wahab (2019) argued 'having good managers or decision makers that possess corporate spirituality is essential as they are valuable intangible resources which contribute to the superior performance of the firm' (pp.402).
A survey conducted on CEOs of Fortune 500 Organizations indicated that only 7% deemed that their respective Firms should 'mainly focus on making profits and not be distracted by social goals' (Murray, 2019).This proves that sustainable companies have a bigger purpose that goes beyond Organizational benefits alone.Nonetheless, the importance of purpose is not only limited to the top of the hierarchy but runs down to the bottom ladder of a Firm.Rey, Velasco & Almandoz (2019) 'consider that the growing presence of purpose, both in companies and individuals, is an indicative sign of a new evolutionary logic of management' (pp.11).The authors also added that 'perhaps a new organizational theory will form, one that guides the development of the new logic of purpose within organizations' (pp.11).Ultimately, in order to achieve a sustainable Organization with respect to spirituality and purpose, the shift from a classical approach (particularly in Human resources) to a modern one is essential for all aspiring top-level managers.

Organizational Learning Theory (OLT)
Organizational Learning Theory (OLT) involves the prioritization of learning and knowledge sharing within an Organization.The theory proposes a mindset of interaction, communication and flow of information, which in turn shapes the culture around the entire working environment.This is the parent form of the knowledge-based view approach and presents the acquisition and transfer of knowledge as a collective responsibility/process of all.Argyris & Schön (1996) see this as a product of organizational inquiry.Nevertheless, one can take the comprehensive definition of Organizational learning 'as a dynamic process of creation, acquisition and integration of knowledge aimed at the development of resources and capabilities that contribute to better organizational Published by IDEAS SPREAD performance' (Lopez et al., 2005: pp. 228).The importance of Organizational learning as an entity has to do with its versatility.Dodgson (1993) states that 'conceptions of Organizational learning are ubiquitous' (pp.375).As such, learning as an adapted fundamental brings about a lot of possibilities and evolution.
The global World is in constant transformation into a fast-paced atmosphere where the flow and transfer of information sit at the apex of the mountain.Never have we, (as a whole) been closer to the manifestation of Sir Francis Bacon's renowned quote 'knowledge is power', than today.Past researchers such as Peters & Waterman (1982), Kanter (1989) and Senge (1990), are in agreement that the concept of a learning Organization is vital and popular due to the fact that it offers a platform that breeds Organizational adaptability and responsiveness amidst the turbulent global world of business prone to changes and instability.Basically, the learning process has to be continuous in order to anticipate and counter unexpected events.Unexpected change can manifest itself in the forms of technological, environmental, policy, production or process changes.Garratt (1987) also affirms that learning is a key to competitiveness.Feasibly, in order to function, it is of utmost importance to adopt learning and continuously sustain it as a prevailing system.A combination of these aspects as identified by Attwood & Beer (1988) creates the perfect scenario for organizational learning to manifest itself.Overall, fig 2.3 above illustrates a paradigm shift away from traditional management and individualistic consideration alone, to a more learner-centric approach as a collective responsibility for the whole Organization and its transformation agenda.Achieving a learning Organization can only progressively be present if the direction taken adopts the latter two factors.Prahalad & Hamel (1990) pointed out that to be competitive, an Organization has to fuel its core competencies, which can be in form of collective learning, technology, value delivery, communication, human involvement and deep commitment to operating further than Organizational boundaries.Ultimately, whichever pattern adopted towards knowledge, innovation and progress, it is necessary to be able to sustain it.Only then can benefits be reaped from such decisions in the long run.Published by IDEAS SPREAD

Spiritual Leadership Theory (SLT)
According to Fry (2003), spiritual leadership is a theory 'developed within an intrinsic motivation model that incorporates vision, hope/faith, and altruistic love, theories of workplace spirituality, and spiritual survival' (pp.693).Despite the cliché, from a layman's perspective, this theory encompasses mind body and soul.Past studies from the likes of Fleischman (1994) and Maddock & Fulton (1998) presented two aspects with regard to workplace spirituality.The first is that spirituality at work has to do with 'a sense of calling and transcendence'.Secondly, workplace spirituality also involves a need for social connection or membership.These two dimensions are paramount in the achievement and sustenance of spiritual well-being within an Organization.
Additionally, Pfeffer (2003), also supports this stance by stipulating that a lot of individuals not only seek personal benefit, mastery and specialization of expertise from the workplace but also want their effort to possess some value and meaning towards Society.This portrays that there is a deeper factor and need at play that exists beyond what is generally perceived on the surface level.This need stands in the form of spiritual enlightenment and the state of being at peace with existing elements in the surroundings.Fry (2003) caps all these by stating that: spiritual leadership is necessary for the transformation and continued success of learning organizations.
Another basic proposition of spiritual leadership theory is that learning organizations can be a source for spiritual survival and must primarily motivate workers intrinsically through vision, hope/faith, altruistic love, task involvement, and goal identification.(pp.717).
Consequently, this translates to SLT (as a theory) being in cohorts with existing motivational theories in literature and most importantly, also moves alongside Organization Learning theory (OLT).

Conceptual Framework
The particular research proposes a model which integrates the relationships between relevant identified independent variables/dimensions and the dependent variable.The conceptual framework is depicted in Fig. 6 below: Figure 6.Conceptual Framework The independent (predictor) variables are represented by dimensions of Organizational internal and external strategies namely; Green Employee Recruitment (GER) and Eco-Innovation (EI), respectively.The dependent (outcome) variable stands as Organizational Sustainability (OS) while moderating the independent and dependent variable is the concept of Corporate Spirituality (CS).Moreover, the two underlying theories governing this particular research are Organisational Learning theory (OLT) and Spiritual Leadership theory (SLT) as identified through the above literature.

Research Methodology
This paper stands as a pilot study conducted in the Oil and Gas sector within Nigeria.The paper is quantitative in nature with Organizations representing the unit of analysis.Survey questionnaires were the main instrument for data collection of which 35 sets of data were obtained from responding Organizations.According to Hair et al. (2006), a 4-30 sample size of similar characteristics is adequate for a pilot study.The list of registered major Gas Supply Facilities and Retail outlets in oil-producing states in Nigeria was obtained from the Department of Petroleum Resources (Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry Annual Report).The questionnaires were distributed to leaders and top management of the companies, including the Chief executive officer (CEO), Managing director, General manager, Senior manager and Human Resource supervisors.
The questionnaire is broken down into phases and starts with a personalized demographic section.This is subsequently followed by a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).This is to enable an accurate representation of respondents' views on the subject matter.The measurements for Green Employee Recruitment (GER) were adapted from Tang et al. (2018) and Dumont et al. (2017) while Eco-Innovation (EI) was adapted from Tumelero et al, (2019).The measurements for Corporate Spirituality (CS) were adapted from Keyes (2005) and finally, Organizational Sustainability (OS) measurements was adapted from Cella-De-Oliveira (2013).The survey had a total of 24 questions.Ultimately, the data acquired was analysed using SPSS ver.29.0.1 and tables reported in APA format.

Descriptive Analysis
The tables below illustrate demographic analysis and frequencies for respondents.Over 80% of respondents were male and 20% was represented by Female respondents.Also, most of the respondents were senior managers (60%) of their respective companies.Majority of respondents had a Bachelor's Degree (53.3%) and 40% were Master's degree holders.Since majority of respondents had 2 to 10 years of experience in both company and current job, these have made their answers very valuable for this research.Finally, the Downstream and Upstream company operations recorded the two highest responses with 40% and 33.3% respectively.4 Organizations were involved in all operations across the oil and sector representing 13.3% of responses.See table 1.1-1.5 below;

Reliability Analysis
The most commonly used measure of reliability of scale is the Cronbach's Alpha.Cronbach's alpha is the estimate of the internal consistency associated with the scores that can be derived from a scale or composite score.This consistency translates to reliability and reliability is important because in its absence, validity of the scale in relation to the items being measured becomes non-existent.
When it comes to the Cronbach's alpha, there have been multiple contentions as regard to the acceptable limit.Lance, Butts and Michels (2006), claimed the generally accepted 0.70 limit popularized by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994) is actually misleading.Whilst the latter authors stated that '0.70 may be an acceptable minimum for a scale that is newly developed.By contrast, basic research should rely upon scales that yield scores with a minimum reliability of 0.80' (Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994).Ultimately, the reliability is best as the Cronbach's Alpha approaches 1.0.
In relation to this paper, it is necessary to conduct a reliability test for the variables.The measurements for Green Employee Recruitment (GER) adapted from Tang et al. (2018) and Dumont et al. (2017), Eco-Innovation (EI) adapted from Tumelero et al, (2019), Corporate Spirituality (CS) adapted from Keyes (2005) and finally, Organizational Sustainability (OS) measurements adapted from Cella-De-Oliveira (2013).
Summarily illustrated below (Table 6) in APA format are the results of reliability test on the four variables (Green Employee Recruitment, Eco-Innovation, Corporate Spirituality and Organizational Sustainability).

Correlation Analysis
For this particular paper, the Pearson correlation was the employed method of analysis.The correlation analysis indicates the level of relationship (positively or negatively) that exists the variables.This could vary between -1.0 to +1.0 and a value of p= 0.05 indicates significance and is acceptable.Ideally, the closer the value of r is to 1, the better as it indicates very high correlation.See table 7 below: The pearson correlation of Green Employee Recruitment (GER) and Organizational Sustainability (OS) indicates moderately positive relationship and significance at .671, p < .001.This means that the null hypotheses H 0 was rejected and alternate hypotheses H 1 was supported, which indicates that Green Employee Recruitment has significant impact on Organizational Sustainability of Oil & Gas Firms.Furthermore, the pearson's correlation of Eco-Innovation (EI) and Organizational Sustainability (OS) indicates a highly positive relationship and significance level at 0.724, p < .001.This translates to the rejection of the null hypotheses H 0 and the adoption of the alternate hypotheses H 2 , which states that Eco-Innovation has significant impact on Organizational Sustainability of Oil & Gas Firms.

Moderation Analysis
This study gauged the moderating function of CS on the relationship between the two independent variable (GER & EI) and the dependent variable.The result of the analysis indicated a significant and moderating effect present as both the GER and EI p < 0.05 (0.027 and 0.005 respectively) and t values of GER and EI are greater than ±1.96 (2.358 and -3.077 respectively).See table 8 below: Corporate Spirituality significantly moderates Supported the relationships between the independent variables (H 1 & H 2 ) and Organizational Sustainability of Oil & Gas Firms.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper has examined the role of corporate spirituality in moderating factors on Organizations' internal and external strategies which fosters organizational sustainability.The findings highlight the significance of incorporating spiritual values and practices within corporate settings to enhance sustainability outcomes.By embracing spirituality, organizations can foster a sense of purpose, meaning, and interconnectedness among employees, leading to improved well-being, ethical behavior, and environmental stewardship.Published by IDEAS SPREAD However, further research is needed to explore the mediation effects of corporate spirituality on determinants of organizational sustainability.Understanding the underlying mechanisms through which spirituality influences sustainability can provide valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers seeking to promote sustainable practices within organizations.By investigating how spiritual values and practices mediate the relationship between different organizational factors and sustainability outcomes, future studies can offer a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon.
Additionally, it is crucial to emphasize the importance of utilizing a large sample size in future research endeavours.A larger sample allows for increased statistical power and generalizability of findings, enabling researchers to draw robust conclusions and make broader recommendations.By expanding the scope of the study population, future investigations can provide a more accurate representation of the relationship between corporate spirituality, organizational sustainability, and the mediation effects at play.In summary, this paper contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the intersection of spirituality and organizational sustainability.By recognizing the potential of corporate spirituality as a moderator of sustainability factors, organizations can cultivate environments that promote both individual and collective well-being while striving towards long-term ecological, social, and economic viability.Further research exploring the mediation effects of spirituality and utilizing larger sample sizes will enhance our understanding of this complex relationship and enable the development of practical strategies for sustainable organizational practices.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Illustration of the negative crude price fall of April 2020 Source: The New York Times.(2020) below.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Oil spillage by Exploration Companies operating in Niger Delta Source: National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency.(2020) below.

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Skill shortage and loss of manpower in Oil and Gas due to ageing and retiring workforce by location Source: Global Energy Talent Index.(2017).

Table 1 .
Gender of respondents

Table 6 .
Cronbach's Alpha of four variables