The Impact of Islamic Religion on Women's Entrepreneurship

The role of entrepreneurship in economic development is undeniable, and the countries' growth progress is owing to their human resources' capital. As population is constituted of men and women, gender is considered in the mainstream researches. Although the number of women entrepreneurs have been increasing, researches focusing on the relationship that links women to entrepreneurship are still studying the question of religion, specifically Islamic religion, and its impact on entrepreneurship. Indeed, along this chapter, the authors try to re-examine the relationship that links entrepreneurship to culture since religion is a major component of culture. Then, they attempt to present the essence of their research, which is entrepreneurship and religion. And finally, they explore factors that may influence women's entrepreneurship performance as family support, education, government, and personal determinants like motivation and eventual efforts.

Entrepreneur and Religion

Research on the psychological traits of the entrepreneur did not establish an absolute psychological profile of the entrepreneur or predict entrepreneurial behaviors because this approach neglects the influence of the environment on the entrepreneur. It is from this observation that the authors have outlined their research question. Their main objective is to study the behavior of the entrepreneur in interaction with his local context. Therefore, this research is rooted in the context of Tunisia, a Muslim Arab country with its cultural peculiarities. The research question is: How does religion interact with entrepreneurial behavior? This interpretativists research, which gives context to its whole dimension, mobilizes the approach of traits in a comprehensive and exploratory aim through a qualitative methodology. The object studied is the career path of four Tunisian entrepreneurs through the technique of life stories.

Entrepreneurial Intention

Entrepreneurial intention presumes that new business formation is a deliberately designed behavior and is the first step in new business formation. What is the basis of these intentions? In this review chapter, the authors consider spirituality has been seen as a strong predictor of a successful entrepreneur, who bases the company on personal values, that is, economic values are not the most important. If we consider spirituality as a form of intelligence that can be developed, it can be seen as a coping mechanism in the field of entrepreneurship, especially in decision making. A spiritual and resilient entrepreneur has the key to personal fulfillment and sustainable lifelong performance at extraordinary levels.

The Islamic and Cultural Ethos of Hadhrami Businessmen

This chapter is intended to shed some light on a group of businessmen (known as the Hadhramis) who achieved commercial success outside and inside Yemen (their country of origin) and to gain insights into the factors behind this success. Very little has been written about these people. Moreover, most of what has been said about them was written by Western academics, historians, or politicians. As such, very important Hadhrami characteristics were missing from those writings. This chapter focuses on some of those characteristics. Most interestingly, it draws, in the authors' view, important conclusions of their implications for the success that many Hadhramis were able to achieve in business in some of the countries to which they migrated. The chapter takes a historical perspective by relying on secondary literature to record stories of Hadhrami commercial achievements as well as a small case study involving three highly successful Saudi businessmen of Hadhrami origin.

The Contribution of Islam to Entrepreneurial Activity in Cameroon

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Islam on entrepreneurial initiative in Cameroon. In order to achieve this objective, the authors used data collected from 504 individuals in Douala and Yaoundé cities by the Laboratory for Research in Fundamental and Applied Economics (LAREFA) of the University of Dschang. Using the binary probit model and the bivariate probit model, the following results were obtained: 1) although not significant, the probability for a Muslim to start his own business decreases by 0.8% as compared to individuals of other religious denominations; 2) although not also significant, for an entrepreneur (or manager) to be a Muslim increases by about 8% his probability to become a well-established entrepreneur (or manager).

Women Entrepreneurship in a Muslim Environment

Environmental barriers and socio-cultural constraints in Algeria as in all the MENA Region have hindered women entrepreneurs but—without doubt—motivated them to meet the challenges through the adoption of some innovative managerial practices. The culture of a male society is the source of several socio-cultural problems of women entrepreneurs in Algeria. The purpose of the chapter is to point out the impact of local culture influenced by Islam on women entrepreneurship in Algeria and in MENA Region in general. A field research was carried out using a questionnaire to investigate the impact of local culture on managerial practices of women entrepreneurs. Data from a sample of 65 women entrepreneurs were analyzed and results were discussed: the psychological characteristics, their managerial competences, and the socio-cultural constraints they meet in the Algerian environment. The women's abilities to face the different socio-cultural obstacles are outlined.

Is Islam Associated With Business Success?

Does religion have an impact on the decision making of the business owner? Is religion a driver of successful business owners? Does a relationship exist between the practice of moral virtues and the sake of maximizing profits? These research questions constitute the author's motivation of embarking on this investigation. The aim of this study is to determine whether there exists a correlation between religious values and entrepreneurship, which is measured in term of business ownership. More particularly, this chapter develops a greater understanding of how religion leads to productive entrepreneurial activity and business success. The analysis is based on a qualitative study. A life story interview method was used to collect data from a successful business owner (M. L.) who believes in Islam and worships it. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from 14 faithful Muslims subordinates who work for M. L. Data shows interesting information about the definition of key business success factors from Islamic beliefs, values, and practices.

The Relationship Between Christianity and Entrepreneurship

This chapter argues that the relationship that exists between the ethos of Christian (Protestants) leaders, which enables them to formulate highly demanding religious programmes and activities strike the code of entrepreneurship. However, the work of pastors and leaders of the church has not been seriously considered to be compatible with some features of entrepreneurship and should be included in their curriculum for training. Narrative historical analysis is used for the study to investigate the relationship between the features of entrepreneurship and the work of pastors and the need to design a leadership entrepreneurial course to be part of undergraduate programmes for the training of pastors in Africa.

Mix Marketing

The objective of this work is to contribute to the decompartmentalization of knowledge resulting from practitioners' experiences in religious marketing. Through an exploratory survey among six leaders of new churches and 90 of their worshippers, the authors tried to provide the basis for a reflection on the relevance of the use of religious marketing in a context of poverty. For this purpose, they use a thematic content analysis and a descriptive analysis. Results show that the religious field is just a field of social life experimentation, characterized by the expression of economic interests. This work provides a model for understanding church followers.

Male and Female Successors' Support

Despite substantial research on business success, female succession, its associated process, the encountered difficulties within the succession process, and the suitable support are theoretically ignored. The low attention of this subject is preconditioned by some cultural factors essentially religion and habits favorable to man. Successors face some difficulties like acceptance, integration, insertion, and management. It differs from the context and the successors' identities. Some countries support men more than women; others support women than men while some countries refuse this distinction. Using 20 successors, this study aims to understand how religion interferes in supporting successors within the succession process. Muslim countries offer to contextually support and assure business continuity and business cohesion.