Abstract:

The present time are characterised by the search for harmony. The last century belongs to the era of quantity. The era of quantity is slowly being replaced by the era of quality. The harmony has three dimensions: harmony with ourselves, other people and with the environment. Numerous pages have been written about profitability and the ways how to achieve it, on the one side, and lot of ink was used to describe sustainability and its importance, on the other side. Profitability encompasses a mono-dimensional perspective, monetary goals and a short term view, ignoring the consequences for society and the environment. Sustainability, on the other hand, is based on a holistic perspective, multi-dimensional goals and a long-term view, accepting impacts of business activities on people and the planet. In this paper we want to explore the role of business between two opposite approaches, profitability and sustainability. With the results of empirical research we want to adduce the state of the art in companies in Croatia and stimulate wider research that could contribute to a shift in perspective from a mechanistic to a holistic paradigm.