Religion, personality traits and the nature of entrepreneurial activities: insights from Scottish Muslim entrepreneurs

Rahman, MZ, Ullah, F and Thompson, P ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1961-7441, 2024. Religion, personality traits and the nature of entrepreneurial activities: insights from Scottish Muslim entrepreneurs. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research. ISSN 1355-2554

Preview

Text 1880278_Thompson.pdf - Post-print Download (703kB) | Preview

Abstract

Purpose– Previous studies have shown how the nature of businesses and the strategies pursued by their owners are affected by the personality traits of their owners. These personality traits can be formed in the early stages of life due to experiences and the surrounding context, where religion is a particularly important aspect of this context. This study aims to explore how religion affects entrepreneurial activities through the personality traits created.

Design/methodology/approach– This study uses interviews with 43 Muslim entrepreneurs in Scotland to examine the role played by religion. This ensures that the national institutional context is kept consistent but also allows an in-depth examination of relationships, which are likely to be interlinked and recursive.

Findings– The traits created influence the nature of the entrepreneurial activities undertaken with the potential to harm and support the entrepreneurial endeavours. It is the combination of personality traits that are formed which have the greatest effect. As such, it is found that Muslim entrepreneurs display less openness and creativity associated with new ideas, but this does not reflect risk aversion rather hard work in itself is valued, and patience combined with an external locus of control mean entrepreneurial behaviours are not altered to boost poorly performing business activities.

Originality/value– For Muslim entrepreneurs in Scotland, their traits explain why growth may not be a foremost consideration of these entrepreneurs rather they may value hard work and meeting the ideals of formal and informal institutions associated with religion. For those seeking to support minority groups through the promotion of entrepreneurship, either they must seek to overcome these ingrained traits or alter support to complement the different objectives held by Muslim entrepreneurs.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research
Creators:	Rahman, M.Z., Ullah, F. and Thompson, P.
Publisher:	Emerald
Date:	27 March 2024
ISSN:	1355-2554
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1108/ijebr-01-2023-0074 DOI 1880278 Other
Rights:	Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited. This AAM is provided for your own personal use only. It may not be used for resale, reprinting, systematic distribution, emailing, or for any other commercial purpose without the permission of the publisher.
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	27 Mar 2024 11:08
Last Modified:	27 Mar 2024 11:08
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/51181

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads