The influence of religion on the humane orientation of entrepreneurs

ABSTRACT

This study examines the impact of religion on the humane orientation of entrepreneurs. Embracing a holistic view of humane entrepreneurship (HumEnt), we conducted qualitative semistructured interviews with 16 entrepreneurs across four of India’s major religions: Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and Sikhism. We examined to what extent HumEnt manifests among entrepreneurs across the four religious groups and whether a specific religion influences different dimensions of HumEnt. Our results indicate that HumEnt matters in entrepreneurial ventures, and across industries. We found deep connections between HumEnt and religion, with entrepreneurs indicating a pervasive influence of religion on all dimensions of the HumEnt construct. Yet, we also noticed significant differences across the four religious groups (Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, and Jains) as regards the impact of religion on different dimensions of HumEnt. While religion had the highest impact on the sustainability orientation (SO) dimension of HumEnt, its impact on the other two dimensions, entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and humane resource orientation (HRO), were far more nuanced. Our study contributes to the emerging literature on HumEnt, especially at the intersection of religion, entrepreneurship, and strategic orientations.

KEYWORDS:

• Humane entrepreneurship
• religion
• India
• entrepreneurship

Notes

¹ https://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/General%20Note.pdf.

² Authors’ calculation based on the Indian Census, 2011 (https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/Religion_PCA.html).

³ The four major castes are brahmins: priests, advisors, and learned scholars; kshatriyas: warriors and kings; vaishya: traders and businessmen; and shudra: artisans (Medhora, 1965). Each caste came with a specific set of enforceable duties.

⁴ For EO ($\alpha =10percent)$.

⁵ For EO ($\alpha =10percent)$.