Sustainability for Centuries – Monastic Governance of Austrian Benedictine Abbeys

This paper expands an inital empirical study of Inauen and Frey of 2008 on the lifespan and reasons for dissolution of all Benedictine abbeys that have ever existed in selected German-speaking regions. Based on additional data from Austrian Benedictine abbeys, we draw the conclusion that Benedictine monasteries can be regarded as extraordinary long-lasting and stable institutions. Benedictine's elaborate governance mechanisms have played a substantial role in their steadiness. However, the Austrian history of sovereigns' influence on the survival of monasteries indicates that the long lifespan cannot serve as clear empirical evidence for the efficiency of alternative “Benedictine” governance mechanisms. Furthermore, we are very critical when it comes to the transferability of monastic governance instruments to present-day economic organizations