Title: Unravelling the link between creativity and individual entrepreneurial behaviour: the moderating role of Islamic Work Ethics

Authors: Waleed Omri; Audrey Becuwe; Kathleen Randerson

Addresses: EDC Paris Business School, OCRE Laboratory, 70 galeries des damiers, Paris La Défense 1, 92415 Courbevoie, France ' University of Limoges, CREOP-EA 4332, 3 Rue François Mitterrand, 87031 Limoges Cedex, France ' EDC Paris Business School, 70 Galerie des Damiers, Paris La Défense 1, 92415 Courbevoie, France

Abstract: As an intriguing concept, entrepreneurial behaviour has attracted much attention from disciplines such as economics, sociology, psychology as well as geography. However, these fields have not systematically examined the role and relative impact of creative abilities on individual entrepreneurial behaviour in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to investigate: 1) the role of creativity in predicting entrepreneurial behaviour; 2) the direct and moderating effects of religious work ethics on this relationship. Using a sample of 289 owner-managers in a Muslim country - Tunisia, the results from structural equation modelling support the hypotheses put forward. Overall, the research findings herein shed light on a new channel of ethical and spiritual knowledge transfer, at least in the context of emerging markets, not investigated by prior research. Several practical implications are extracted and directions for future research provided.

Keywords: entrepreneurial behaviour; creativity; religion; Islamic work ethics; IWE; culture; individual behaviour; religious work ethics; Islam; Muslims; Tunisia; structural equation modelling; SEM; ethical knowledge transfer; spiritual knowledge transfer; emerging markets; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2017.082916

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2017 Vol.30 No.4, pp.567 - 589

Received: 24 Dec 2015
Accepted: 03 Apr 2016
Published online: 15 Mar 2017 *

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