The Interrelationships between Entrepreneurship and Religion

This article examines the interrelationships between religion and enterprise. The authors find that these are highly context-specific, and will vary markedly over time and social setting, mediated by other socio-cultural variables such as political structures and ideologies, and religious symbolism in the workplace. The individual elements making up an entrepreneur's belief matrix influence the entrepreneurial process. Where religious salience is high, entrepreneurs will tend to use religious criteria to inform their decision making, even if it harms their short-term commercial interests. Religious groups can also provide a resource for the generation of entrepreneurial social capital.