The formation and role of religious social capital in driving entrepreneurial action

Abstract

Spiritual capital serves as a unique resource that can contribute to entrepreneurial action. This paper develops the concept of religious social capital, as a distinct component of spiritual capital, and theorizes its role in motivating and supporting entrepreneurial action. This is important because individuals with religious affiliations are often deeply embedded within a religious community yielding strong and unique forms of social capital; and social capital in general is well established as a key driver of entrepreneurial action. The paper then elaborates the distinctive structural, cognitive and relational dimensions of religious social capital, and theorizes distinctive mechanisms by which these enable effective entrepreneurial action through community attention and community spanning.