Title: Religious beliefs and entrepreneurship among Dutch protestants

Authors: Cornelius A. Rietveld; Elco Van Burg

Addresses: Department of Applied Economics, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands ' Department of Management and Organization, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract: Religious beliefs are known to correlate with a wide range of socio-economic behaviours. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between religious beliefs and entrepreneurship. Empirical evidence that entrepreneurship rates differ among religions suggests that religious beliefs influence the pursuit of entrepreneurship. However, how and which specific religious beliefs play a role in this relationship remains unknown. Therefore, we study the relation between two key religious beliefs and entrepreneurship within one specific branch of Christianity, namely, Protestantism. Using a unique sample of 756 Christian protestant entrepreneurs and employees from the Netherlands, we show that protestant entrepreneurs have a stronger belief than comparable protestant employees that their work is a calling from God and that protestant entrepreneurs are more likely to perceive a duty to add value to society through their occupational work.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; religion; Protestantism; Christianity; religious beliefs; The Netherlands; socioeconomic behaviour; protestant entrepreneurs; entrepreneurial behaviour; social duties.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2014.065515

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2014 Vol.23 No.3, pp.279 - 295

Received: 26 Feb 2014
Accepted: 27 Feb 2014
Published online: 07 Nov 2014 *

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