The Quakers: Pioneers of Responsible Management

Burton, Nicholas; Turnbull, Richard

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04034-5_1

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…While Raistrick avoided the use of the term 'networks', a tripartite network model of religion, kinship, and mercantile networks was suggested by Winchester (1991). Subsequent work has emphasized additional connections within the Quaker organisation, including education, apprenticeship, social and finance, all of which enabled members to take advantage of appropriate opportunities across the Religious Society of Friends nationally and internationally (Burton and Turnbull 2019, Sahle, 2018, Fincham, 2017.…”

Section: Network Religion and Quakersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We were particularly interested in uncovering the relationship between the theology and wider normative commitments of a religious groupthe Quakers -and network formation and development. We hope that by doing so we are able to provide (counter) evidence for the claim that Quakers were one of the pioneers of responsible business (Burton and Turnbull, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Religion and social network analysis: the discipline of early modern quakers

Fincham

Burton

2020

JMH

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Purpose The importance of networks has been established in the development of commerce and capitalism, with key concepts reflecting both the dynamic and permeable characteristics of networks. Such attributes are exemplified by religious networks, which have been typically dismissed in terms of economic contribution as being both risk-averse and bounded by ethical barriers imposed by theology. This paper aims to examine the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the long 18th century to evidence the multi-plexity and density of connections and suggest that adherence to the Quaker discipline acted as a trust-based attribute and substituted for repeated iteration. Design/methodology/approach The archival investigation centres upon an analysis of “The Catalogue of Quaker Writing” and a close re-reading of the seminal text “Quakers in Science and Industry”, an authoritative account of Quaker firms and families in industry and commerce. By identifying multiple possible social network connections in Raistrick’s work, this paper reviewed and analysed The Catalogue of Quaker Writing to examine the presence or absence of these connections in the Quaker network in the long 18th century. Findings This paper shows how the Quaker network was an unusually dense network that benefited co-religionists by enabling commerce through its unique topography. In a period characterized by the absence of formal institutional mechanisms to regulate behaviour, Quaker discipline acted as a quasi-regulatory mechanism to regulate membership of the network and to govern member moral behaviour. Originality/value The Quakers offer an opportunity to examine an early modern network to gain important insights into key aspects of network topography. By using social network analysis, this paper shows how Quakers performed a multiplicity of roles, which encouraged multiple modes of contact between members of the society in a dense network of contexts, which, in turn, provided high levels of connectedness between individuals. This unique range of roles, shared among a relatively small group of individuals, ensured that the degrees of separation between roles were very few; similarly, the plethora of connections resulted in a density, which not only allowed for multiple ways to engage with other individuals but also ensured no individual would become a bottle-neck or indeed a gateway that would prevent access. This unique topography was also highly unusual in that it was permeable to any aspirant member upon acceptance of the discipline – neither poverty nor lack of social status was barriers to membership. This unusual network offered atypical commercial advantages for its members.

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Section: Network Religion and Quakersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion and social network analysis: the discipline of early modern quakers

Fincham

Burton

2020

JMH

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“…The economic and social contribution of Quakers businesses in the UK throughout the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries has recently attracted scholarly interest from management scholars, theologians and historians (e.g., Burton and Hope, 2018;Burton and Turnbull, 2019;Dandelion and Angell, 2017;King, 2014;Walvin, 1997;Windsor, 1980). For example, Burton and Hope (2018) highlight the importance of corporate responsibility and ethics to the Quaker logic of business, and draw parallels with contemporary movements, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and B-corporation accreditation, that seem, at least in part, to replicate Quaker concerns.…”

Section: The Quakersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Burton and Hope (2018) highlight the importance of corporate responsibility and ethics to the Quaker logic of business, and draw parallels with contemporary movements, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and B-corporation accreditation, that seem, at least in part, to replicate Quaker concerns. Similarly, King (2014) argues that 'Quakernomics' is a distinctive form of ethical capitalism that deserves renewed attention, while Burton and Turnbull (2019) emphasise the complex inter-relationships between the cooperative and social behaviours of Quakers and religion, as well as the power of the Quaker kinship and network ties, that underpinned the success of many Quaker businesses.…”

Section: The Quakersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quakers explicitly drew upon their religious principles and ethics in the organization of their ventures (Fincham, 2017;Tracey, 2012), and they also pioneered socio-economic objectives such as the provision of employee welfare benefits, 1 Given that the Acts were implemented to provide investment opportunities for the investor class and stimulate economic growth (Harris, 2013), our paper analyzes the effects of the Acts jointly. pension schemes, and subsidized housing for employees (e.g., Burton and Turnbull, 2019;Walvin, 1997).…”

Section: Religion Organization and Company Law -A Case Study Of A Quaker Business Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Religion, organization and company law – a case study of a Quaker business

Burton

Kavanagh

Brigham

2019

Management & Organizational History

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This paper examines the effect of changes in corporate law in the mid-nineteenth centuryincorporation and limited liabilityon the ownership, control and socio-economic objectives of a Quaker family firm between 1841 and 1972. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) were wellknown for adhering to internalized quasi-legal rules and self-governance, and had a strong reputation, which persists today, for trust, integrity and honesty in all business dealings. We read existing archival research on Quaker firm Huntley & Palmer (the biscuit manufacturer) against the grain to trace how incorporation and limited liability fundamentally changed its capital structure and the family's control of the firm and which, in turn, led to a gradual weakening of its social ambitions.We argue that changes to the law are akin to changing the rules of the game within which players' play, and we show how Quaker quasi-legal rules became subordinate to corporate law resulting in unexpected and non-trivial impacts that play out over long, longitudinal periods of time.

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The Quakers: Pioneers of Responsible Management

Cited by 2 publications

References 3 publications

Religion and social network analysis: the discipline of early modern quakers

Religion and social network analysis: the discipline of early modern quakers

Religion, organization and company law – a case study of a Quaker business

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