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Labour Is Holy But Business Is Dangerous: Enterprise Values From The Church Fathers To The Reformation

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  • SARAH DRAKOPOULOU DODD

    (Athens Laboratory of Business Administration and Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, UK)

  • GEORGE GOTSIS

    (Department of the History and Philosophy of Science, University of Athens, Greece)

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the religious valuation of entrepreneurship during a long period of Western cultural history that covers transformations of religious thinking from the early Church Fathers to the Reformation. The paper focuses on theological contributions to conceptualizations of labour, property and wealth, that serves as a basis for assessing entrepreneurial motives and enterprise activities. In doing so, this approach highlights the interactions between work motivation and entrepreneurship in distinct cultural and historical contexts. Particular attention is devoted to understanding the religious sanctification of labour. The emergence and formation of secular enterprise values are discussed and interpreted as integral parts of these religious worldviews in which they were deeply embedded.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Drakopoulou Dodd & George Gotsis, 2007. "Labour Is Holy But Business Is Dangerous: Enterprise Values From The Church Fathers To The Reformation," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(02), pages 133-163.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:jecxxx:v:15:y:2007:i:02:n:s0218495807000083
    DOI: 10.1142/S0218495807000083
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Greif,Avner, 2006. "Institutions and the Path to the Modern Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521480444, September.
    2. Douglass C. North, 2005. "Introduction to Understanding the Process of Economic Change," Introductory Chapters, in: Understanding the Process of Economic Change, Princeton University Press.
    3. Langholm,Odd, 1998. "The Legacy of Scholasticism in Economic Thought," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521621595, September.
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