Examination of Relationships between Religiosity and Marketing Perceptions in Family Businesses Based on Practice Theory

The aim of this study is to examine the interactions between religious values and marketing in family businesses through the lens of practice theory. In this context, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with seven participants who currently hold or have previously held managerial positions within family businesses. The documents obtained from the interviews were subjected to content analysis. As a result of this analysis, three distinct themes were identified: meaning, material, and competence. The categories of long-term business relationships and Islamic business ethics are associated with the dimension of meaning; the materiality dimension relates to practices concerning business ethics; and the categories of the commercial competence of non-Muslims, cunningness and immorality, and the religion-politics-commerce nexus are associated with the dimension of competence. It was concluded that the interactions between Islam and the marketing perspectives of family businesses do not give rise to a singular practice but rather to a bundle of practices, and that this bundle is guided by a dimension of meaning particularly shaped by Islamic business ethics. Future researchers may investigate this practice-based approach within a specific sector or conduct a case study on a religious family business that has become a significant actor in commercial life.