The Importance of Nudges & Bridges in an Increasingly Conflicted World

By Timothy L. Fort, PhD, JD, Eveleigh Professor of Business Ethics, Kelley School of Business at Indiana University

Wednesday August 31 2022

This iteration is an interview conducted by the CIBER Institute at the Kelley School of Business with Tim Fort that frames the notion of Nudges & Bridges, and the cultural artifacts that comprise them, in the context of the conflicted world in which we live in 2022. The interviewer poses both international and domestic questions of Professor Fort to elucidate the ways in which cultural artifacts both help us to make better decisions, especially collaborative ones, as well to act as bridges for people to find common ground with those they disagree.

A Kelley School of Business Center for International Business Education and Research Interview with Tim Fort

As part of the series of Nudges & Bridges, it is worth taking a step back from time to time to remember the main themes of the idea. Or maybe one could think of it as remembering the forest as the series works through the trees.

Watch the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/8J5fNl5rtpQ

Click here to watch further episodes in the Nudges and Bridges series

Editor’s Note:

Why might business contribute to peace?

This video podcast series with Tim Fort aims to help us build bridges with others in the pursuit of peace. The insights are applicable to all of us, including businesses. During past discussions held on Business and Peace in the Business Fights Poverty Forum, three main reasons were offered for why businesses might contribute to peace.

The first is that it is simply a morally good thing to do. Business people are, after all, just that: people. Human beings generally do fare better during times of peace and stability and, regardless of what the motivations are, there is a shared desire of businesses, people, and business people to live in an environment of peace and stability.

The second reason pertains to instrumental reasons. Companies will fare better if bombs are not dropping on office buildings and a company’s brand and reputation will likely be better off if associated with peace rather than violence.

Another insight in the discussion was that of timeline. A long term approach to business success might lend itself to an incremental, but strong contribution to peace. This might even occur without a business being aware of the impact of the actions it takes. If, for example, it is true as some have argued, that strong ethical conduct correlates with peace, then long-term, responsible conduct of a business may also influence peacebuilding.

As a result of these conversations, another insight offered was that the biggest impact business can make to peace is in those areas that are neither the most stable nor the least stable. There may be little a business can do in the midst of the chaos of war and, in a stable country, any given contribution is likely to be small and incremental. Yet is in the “in-between” kinds of societies that businesses may make the biggest contributions and this is particularly true in regional and intra-state conflicts rather than in conflagrations occurring across borders.

The insights in the Nudges and Bridges series aim to help everyone, including business people, understand how they can contribute to peace.

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