IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v23y1998i1p71-86.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Religion and Enterprise: An Introductory Exploration

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah Drakopoulou Dodd
  • Paul Timothy Seaman

Abstract

This study argues that religion and enterprise enjoy a complex and interdependent relationship. Analyzing the relationship between society, religion, and enterprise illustrates that religion operates as an environmental munificence factor. Investigating the relationship between the individual religion and enterprise shows that religion affects believers’ entrepreneurial activity, influencing the decision to become an entrepreneur, enterprise management, and the entrepreneur's contact network. Turning to theory, enterprise, and religion, we note that the spectre of Weber still haunts some analyses of the entrepreneurial middle class, and the literature does not clarify the extent of religiosity among entrepreneurs. Using quantitative techniques to study the level of religiosity among a sample of British entrepreneurs we found it to be similar to that of non-entrepreneurial samples. The low levels of religious belief and practice in Britain suggests that religion may not be a significant environmental munificence factor for British entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Drakopoulou Dodd & Paul Timothy Seaman, 1998. "Religion and Enterprise: An Introductory Exploration," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 23(1), pages 71-86, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:23:y:1998:i:1:p:71-86
    DOI: 10.1177/104225879802300104
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/104225879802300104
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/104225879802300104?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McGrath, Rita Gunther & MacMillan, Ian C. & Yang, Elena Ai-Yuan & Tsai, William, 1992. "Does culture endure, or is it malleable? Issues for entrepreneurial economic development," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(6), pages 441-458, November.
    2. Gartner, William B., 1990. "What are we talking about when we talk about entrepreneurship?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 15-28, January.
    3. John Sawkins & Paul Seaman & Hector Williams, 1997. "Church attendance in Great Britain: An ordered logit approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(2), pages 125-134.
    4. Sood, James & Nasu, Yukio, 1995. "Religiosity and nationality : An exploratory study of their effect on consumer behavior in Japan and the United States," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-9, September.
    5. Howard E. Aldrich, 1990. "Using an Ecological Perspective to Study Organizational Founding Rates," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 14(3), pages 7-24, April.
    6. Reynolds, Paul & Miller, Brenda, 1992. "New firm gestation: Conception, birth, and implications for research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(5), pages 405-417, September.
    7. M. F. R. Kets De Vries, 1977. "The Entrepreneurial Personality: A Person At The Crossroads," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 34-57, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nuria Toledano, 2020. "Looking for God, meaning, physical fitness and beyond: the religious and spiritual space in sport entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 897-916, September.
    2. Brigitte Hoogendoorn & Cornelius A. Rietveld & André Stel, 2016. "Belonging, believing, bonding, and behaving: the relationship between religion and business ownership at the country level," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 519-550, July.
    3. Katherine Gundolf & Matthias Filser, 2013. "Management Research and Religion: A Citation Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(1), pages 177-185, January.
    4. Cornelius A. Rietveld & Brigitte Hoogendoorn, 2022. "The mediating role of values in the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1309-1335, March.
    5. Clare M D'Souza & Selena Lim & Ramya Hewarathna, 2000. "Gender Impact on Women Entrepreneurs: A Cultural Analysis," Working Papers 2000.09, School of Economics, La Trobe University.
    6. Ali Gümüsay, 2015. "Entrepreneurship from an Islamic Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 199-208, August.
    7. Bąkiewicz Anna & Kasuma Jati & Hermawan Asep, 2022. "Family Business and Religion – Research Agenda," Journal of Intercultural Management, Sciendo, vol. 14(2), pages 4-40, December.
    8. Friederike Welter, 2011. "Contextualizing Entrepreneurship—Conceptual Challenges and Ways Forward," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(1), pages 165-184, January.
    9. Ahmad Isa Abdullahi & Fakhrul Anwar Zainol, 2016. "The Impact of Socio-cultural Business Environment on Entrepreneurial Intention: A Conceptual Approach," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 6(2), pages 80-94, February.
    10. McIntyre, Nancy & Silva Quaye, Emmanuel & Anning-Dorson, Thomas & Lanivich, Stephen & Adomako, Samuel, 2023. "Investigating the impact of religiosity on entrepreneurial intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    11. Alamad, Samir & Hidayah, Nunung Nurul & Lowe, Alan, 2021. "A shared boundary object: Financial innovation and engineering in Islamic financial institutions," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    12. K. Parboteeah & Sascha Walter & Jörn Block, 2015. "When Does Christian Religion Matter for Entrepreneurial Activity? The Contingent Effect of a Country’s Investments into Knowledge," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 447-465, August.
    13. Zhiyang Liu & Zuhui Xu & Zhao Zhou & Yong Li, 2019. "Buddhist entrepreneurs and new venture performance: the mediating role of entrepreneurial risk-taking," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 713-727, March.
    14. Corrie Mazereeuw-van der Duijn Schouten & Johan Graafland & Muel Kaptein, 2014. "Religiosity, CSR Attitudes, and CSR Behavior: An Empirical Study of Executives’ Religiosity and CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 437-459, September.
    15. Younis, Heba & Dimitratos, Pavlos & Elbanna, Said, 2022. "International entrepreneurial SMEs in the muslim world: The role of religion in the GCC countries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5).
    16. Seongbae Lim & Sung Tae Kim, 2023. "The relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and success of foodservice business: effects of religion," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 17(1), pages 429-448, March.
    17. Jörn Block & Christian Fisch & Farooq Rehan, 2020. "Religion and entrepreneurship: a map of the field and a bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 70(4), pages 591-627, November.
    18. Yaron Zelekha & Gil Avnimelech & Eyal Sharabi, 2014. "Religious institutions and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 747-767, April.
    19. Feng Zhang & Haina Zhang & Geoffrey G. Bell, 2021. "Corporate religiosity and individual decision on conducting entrepreneurial activity: The contingent effects of institutional environments in China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 955-978, September.
    20. Gil Avnimelech & Yaron Zelekha, 2023. "Religion and the gender gap in entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 629-665, June.
    21. Dave Valliere, 2016. "Measuring Regional Variations of Entrepreneurial Intent in India," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 25(2), pages 111-128, September.
    22. Zuhui Xu & Zhiyang Liu & Jie Wu, 2022. "Buddhist entrepreneurs, charitable behaviors, and social entrepreneurship: evidence from China," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 1197-1217, October.
    23. Deller, Steven C. & Conroy, Tessa & Markeson, Bjorn, 2018. "Social capital, religion and small business activity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 365-381.
    24. Miao, Chao & Gast, Johanna & Laouiti, Rahma & Nakara, Walid, 2022. "Institutional factors, religiosity, and entrepreneurial activity: A quantitative examination across 85 countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gartner, William B. & Shane, Scott A., 1995. "Measuring entrepreneurship over time," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 283-301, July.
    2. Lowell W. Busenitz & Chung-Ming Lau, 1996. "A Cross-Cultural Cognitive Model of New Venture Creation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 20(4), pages 25-40, July.
    3. Minguzzi, Antonio & Passaro, Renato, 2001. "The network of relationships between the economic environment and the entrepreneurial culture in small firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 181-207, March.
    4. Andersson Fredrik O. & Ford Michael, 2017. "Entry Barriers and Nonprofit Founding Rates: An Examination of the Milwaukee Voucher School Population," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 71-90, January.
    5. Hoe Chin Goi & Jiro Kokuryo, 2016. "Design of a University-Based Venture Gestation Program (UVGP)," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(01), pages 1-35, March.
    6. Mehmet Ali Köseoglu & John A. Parnell & Melissa Yan Yee Yick, 2021. "Identifying influential studies and maturity level in intellectual structure of fields: evidence from strategic management," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1271-1309, February.
    7. Holt, David H., 1997. "A comparative study of values among Chinese and U.S. entrepreneurs: Pragmatic convergence between contrasting cultures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(6), pages 483-505, November.
    8. Henley, Andrew, 2014. "Is Religion Associated with Entrepreneurial Activity?," IZA Discussion Papers 8111, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. William B. Gartner, 2001. "Is There an Elephant in Entrepreneurship? Blind Assumptions in Theory Development," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(4), pages 27-39, July.
    10. Crawford, G. Christopher & Aguinis, Herman & Lichtenstein, Benyamin & Davidsson, Per & McKelvey, Bill, 2015. "Power law distributions in entrepreneurship: Implications for theory and research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 696-713.
    11. Lee, Soo Hoon & Wong, Poh Kam, 2004. "An exploratory study of technopreneurial intentions: a career anchor perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 7-28, January.
    12. Denis A. Grégoire & Martin X. Noël & Richard Déry & Jean–Pierre Béchard, 2006. "Is There Conceptual Convergence in Entrepreneurship Research? A Co–Citation Analysis of Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 1981–2004," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(3), pages 333-373, May.
    13. Marco Gelderen & Roy Thurik & Niels Bosma, 2006. "Success and Risk Factors in the Pre-Startup Phase," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 319-335, May.
    14. Mezias, Stephen J. & Kuperman, Jerome C., 2001. "The community dynamics of entrepreneurship: The birth of the american film industry, 1895-1929," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 209-233, May.
    15. Deniz Ucbasaran & Paul Westhead & Mike Wright, 2001. "The Focus of Entrepreneurial Research: Contextual and Process Issues," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(4), pages 57-80, July.
    16. Edmund R. Thompson, 2009. "Individual Entrepreneurial Intent: Construct Clarification and Development of an Internationally Reliable Metric," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(3), pages 669-694, May.
    17. Aragon-Mendoza, Juan & del Val, Manuela Pardo & Roig-Dobón, Salvador, 2016. "The influence of institutions development in venture creation decision: A cognitive view," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 4941-4946.
    18. Jing Yang & Jiatao Li, 2008. "The development of entrepreneurship in China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 335-359, June.
    19. Edelman, Linda F. & Manolova, Tatiana & Shirokova, Galina & Tsukanova, Tatyana, 2016. "The impact of family support on young entrepreneurs' start-up activities," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 428-448.
    20. Thomas M. Begley & Wee-Liang Tan & Herbert Schoch, 2005. "Politico–Economic Factors Associated with Interest in Starting a Business: A Multi–Country Study," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(1), pages 35-55, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:23:y:1998:i:1:p:71-86. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.