Sub-Saharan African cultural belief system and entrepreneurial activities: A Ghanaian perspective

Abstract

This article seeks to advance our understanding of the culture-entrepreneurship relationship from an African perspective by examining how six African traditional beliefs either promote or hinder entrepreneurial activities. These six traditional Ghanaian cultural beliefs (i.e. belief in godliness, belief in paranormal activities, belief in a social hierarchical structure, belief in familism, belief in communal social orientation, and belief in patriarchism) are directly linked to entrepreneurial behavior. We argue that this belief system differs from those of other cultural contexts and provides the underpinnings for understanding African culture and entrepreneurship. We derive propositions of how this belief system relates to the entrepreneurial eco-system. These propositions suggest the following: Belief in familism, belief in communal social orientation and belief in patriarchism are likely to have, depending on the circumstances, a positive or a negative relationship with entrepreneurship. Belief in paranormal activities and belief in a social hierarchical structure are bound to influence entrepreneurial behavior negatively. At the same time, belief in godliness will influence entrepreneurial activities positively. Following these inferences, the article concludes that Ghanaian culture, and African culture as a whole, frame entrepreneurial activities. However, the cultural belief system suggests that the culture-entrepreneurship relationship is more complex than previously envisaged.

KEYWORDS:

• African belief system
• culture
• entrepreneurial activities
• Ghana

Acknowledgment

We express our sincerest gratitude to Professor Bruce T. Lamont, Senior Associate Editor of Africa Journal of Management for his guidelines and encouragement throughout the review process. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their close reading and constructive criticisms during the review process.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Dr. William K. Darley is Professor Emeritus at the University of Toledo and recently served as Professor of Marketing at King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia. He obtained his MBA from University of Notre Dame, South Bend and holds a PhD in Business Administration from Indiana University-Bloomington, USA. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM). His research interests include management education and development, as well as marketing communications, tourism and entrepreneurship. Professor Darley’s research has appeared in Academy of Management Learning & Education, Journal of Marketing, Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of African Business, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and elsewhere.

Dr. Charles Blankson is a Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing, Logistics, and Operations Management, G. Brint Ryan College of Business, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. His current research interests include marketing strategy – positioning and brand management, industrial marketing, small business marketing, rural and urban poverty reduction, marketing practices in sub-Saharan Africa, and international/multicultural marketing. His research has appeared in Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, European Journal of Marketing, Africa Journal of Management, Journal of African Business and many others.