Awareness of God, Intrinsic Religious Motivation, Calling, and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy: A Quantitative Evaluation of Entrepreneurial Intention and Alertness to Entrepreneurial Opportunity
Awareness of God, Intrinsic Religious Motivation, Calling, and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy: A Quantitative Evaluation of Entrepreneurial Intention and Alertness to Entrepreneurial Opportunity
Deloris Sterling Thomas | 2018
Abstract
The connection between religious beliefs and economic activity dates back to the writings of Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations and Max Weber’s seminal work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Scholars have examined the role of religious affiliation and activity to measure the effects on economic activity and found a distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic religious motivations. Researchers have found a positive relationship between intrinsic religiosity and economic growth, particularly in entrepreneurship. However, the dearth of empirical and quantitative research to determine the predictive variables that measure intrinsic religious motivations in relation to entrepreneurial activity calls for future research opportunities. The current research used a quantitative method and employed the following instruments: Spiritual Assessment Inventory (SAI) awareness of God subscale, Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ) presence-transcendent summons subscale, a Validated Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale (VIRMS), Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Scale (ESE) developing new product and market opportunities subscale, Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (EIQ) entrepreneurial intention subscale, and Alertness to Entrepreneurial Opportunities Scale (AEO) association and connection subscale. These instruments were used to examine the connection between SAI-awareness of God, CVQ presence-transcendent summons, validated intrinsic religious motivation, and ESE-developing new product and market opportunities to EIQ-entrepreneurial intention and AEO-association and connection. The GPower 3 calculator computed a minimum sample size of 89 participants assuming power at 0.80, effect size at 0.15, and probability level at .05. SurveyMonkey was used to collect data from a population sample of 155 participants. The results revealed that SAI-awareness of God predicts AEO-association and connection. Validated intrinsic religious motivation and ESE-developing new product and market opportunities showed significance in predicting both EIQ-entrepreneurial intention and AEO-association and connection. Researchers must consider future studies to elucidate the relationship between spirituality and entrepreneurial activity.