How Spirituality Shapes the Formation of Entrepreneurial Venture: The Case of Malay Muslim Entrepreneurs
type: CreativeWork
description: Studies have shown that spirituality in the workplace can positively impact the performance of individuals, work units, and organisations. What once was thought to be just a short-lived trend has now grown into an established field of study. The establishment of the special interest group for Management, Spirituality, and Religion by the Academy of Management for instance shows that spirituality is more than just a passing fad. While research on spirituality and management continue to flourish, one particular area of study that has been given less attention to spirituality is entrepreneurship. Spirituality is less likely to be considered by the traditional entrepreneurship literature in driving the behaviours of entrepreneurs. Rather, the current literature has focused on wealth creation as the entrepreneur’s driving force. Hence, researchers have turned to various approaches such as economics, personality psychology, and strategy in attempt to understand the relationship between entrepreneurs and new venture creation, which have been less successful in dealing with the more micro question of ‘how’ and ‘why’. This warrants for new approaches that can explain the relationship between the entrepreneur and new venture formation, which spirituality can offer. The purpose of this study is to examine and understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurial venture creation from the perspective of Muslim entrepreneurs. As the second largest religion in the world, Islam is often subject to stereotyping and misunderstanding due to its approximately 1.6 billion followers globally with wide ranging levels of religious commitment and practice. The complexity of the relationship between religious values and cultural values further complicates the explanation of the behaviours of Muslim entrepreneurs. In addition to the sparsity of research on the diversity and forms of values and spirituality in organisations, most spirituality studies are currently based on the Western value systems; h…
abstract: Studies have shown that spirituality in the workplace can positively impact the performance of individuals, work units, and organisations. What once was thought to be just a short-lived trend has now grown into an established field of study. The establishment of the special interest group for Management, Spirituality, and Religion by the Academy of Management for instance shows that spirituality is more than just a passing fad. While research on spirituality and management continue to flourish, one particular area of study that has been given less attention to spirituality is entrepreneurship. Spirituality is less likely to be considered by the traditional entrepreneurship literature in driving the behaviours of entrepreneurs. Rather, the current literature has focused on wealth creation as the entrepreneur’s driving force. Hence, researchers have turned to various approaches such as economics, personality psychology, and strategy in attempt to understand the relationship between entrepreneurs and new venture creation, which have been less successful in dealing with the more micro question of ‘how’ and ‘why’. This warrants for new approaches that can explain the relationship between the entrepreneur and new venture formation, which spirituality can offer. The purpose of this study is to examine and understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurial venture creation from the perspective of Muslim entrepreneurs. As the second largest religion in the world, Islam is often subject to stereotyping and misunderstanding due to its approximately 1.6 billion followers globally with wide ranging levels of religious commitment and practice. The complexity of the relationship between religious values and cultural values further complicates the explanation of the behaviours of Muslim entrepreneurs. In addition to the sparsity of research on the diversity and forms of values and spirituality in organisations, most spirituality studies are currently based on the Western value systems; h…
author: Sidek, Farhana
keywords: Entrepreneurship, Spirituality
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/6824206f-6d6c-415c-b092-4905766ec714/download
date published: 2016
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:24Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Waikato