When Does Christian Religion Matter for Entrepreneurial Activity? The Contingent Effect of a Country’s Investments into Knowledge

Abstract

This study furthers scholarship on the religion-entrepreneurship link by proposing that (1) aspects of a country's religious profile impact individual entrepreneurial activity differently and (2) that a country's level of investments in knowledge serves as a contingency factor in this milieu. Our cross-level analyses of data from 9,266 individuals and 27 predominantly Christian countries support the second, but not the first suggestion. The study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of religion's role for entrepreneurship and bridges the literatures on religion and knowledge-based entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the study provides evidence of the effects of religion above and beyond the effects of national culture.

Does religion influence entrepreneurial behaviour?

“…Each of these pillars may have significant theoretical implications for entrepreneurial activity (Bruton et al, 2010;Parboteeah et al 2015).…”

“…Social capital may arise from a variety of sources (Portes and Sensenbrenner, 1993), including value introjection (being born into a particular religious group identity), reciprocity exchange, bonded communality (shared experiences of common events which might be of a religious nature) and enforceable trust between those who are both co-religionists and partners in business activity. Recent research, albeit focused on developed economies, helpfully ties together the potential religion-entrepreneurship nexus across Scott's three dimensions: the cognitive aspect in which religion sanctifies personal goals; the normative aspect through which religion and religious networks promote values and behavioural norms; and the regulative aspect through which state and society may influence and encourage/discourage religious activity and its ability in turn to affect entrepreneurial activity (Parboteeah et al 2015). If state or society is able to discourage religious activity or favour one particular religion over others then this will also be manifest in a lower level of religious pluralism.…”

Belonging, believing, bonding, and behaving: the relationship between religion and business ownership at the country level

“…Heterogeneity is observed in terms of measures used for religiousness and entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurship measures used include early-stage entrepreneurship (Galbraith and Galbraith 2007; Henley 2014), self-employment (Parboteeah et al 2015) and entrepreneurial activity based on LinkedIn (Zelekha et al 2014). The latter authors use the social network site LinkedIn to compile a dataset measuring self-proclaimed entrepreneurs in mid- and high-technology sectors.…”

“…However, how this measure relates to more established measures of entrepreneurship remains unclear. For religiousness, some studies use a single dimension for religiousness, such as religious affiliation (Henley 2014; Zelekha et al 2014) whereas Parboteeah et al (2015) investigate three different dimensions of religion (i.e., cognitive, normative and regulative dimensions) separately, others combine dimensions into one measure (Galbraith and Galbraith 2007). In addition, the relative sizes of different religious groups are considered (Henley 2014) as well as a country’s religious majority (Zelekha et al 2014).…”

Employer-Employee Relationships in Islam: A Normative View from the Perspective of Orthodox Islamic Scholars

“…While a section of these studies investigated the influence and role of general religious beliefs on the practices of individuals in workplace settings, other studies tried to understand normative teachings of different religions regarding workplace related issues and investigated the impact of these teachings on the lives of the followers (e.g., Cui et al, 2015;Parboteeah et al, 2015;Carrascoso, 2014;Findley et al, 2014;Martin & Bateman, 2014;Ray et al, 2014;Suki et al, 2014;Cleveland et al, 2013;Wilson & Hollensen, 2013;Ismaeel & Blaim, 2012;Shu et al, 2012;Uygur, 2009;Brammer et al, 2007;Essoo & Dibb, 2004;Weaver & Agle, 2002;Vogel, 2001;Porter, 1998;Dorff, 1997). One prominent section of these studies consists of work carried out to understand the normative teachings of Islam and to understand the importance and influence of these teachings on the behavior of Muslims (e.g., Jusoh et al, 2015;Basah & Yusuf, 2013;William & Zinkin, 2010;Dusuki, 2008;Dusuki & Abdullah, 2007;Farook, 2007;Beekun & Badawi, 2005).…”