IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-04325701.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurial identity threats to persist : The countervailing force of a relational identity with God

Author

Listed:
  • Brett Smith

    (MU - Miami University [Ohio])

  • Amanda Lawson

    (MU - Miami University [Ohio])

  • Saulo Dubard Barbosa

    (EM - EMLyon Business School)

  • Jessica Jones

    (UTC - University of Tennessee [Chattanooga])

Abstract

"While an economic paradigm has been productive for entrepreneurship, religion has been proposed as an alternative rationality to advance research in our field. To extend a theological turn in entrepreneurship and identity research, our study inductively develops a conceptual model that explains how individuals navigate entrepreneurial identity threats based on the interaction between a relational identity with God (RIG) and an entrepreneurial identity to persist in entrepreneurial action. Our study suggests this can happen when entrepreneurs engage in inter-identity work mechanisms - affirming and humbling - to mitigate these identity threats. Specifically, a relational identity with God acts as a countervailing force to an entrepreneurial identity during times of identity threats to generate inter-identity meaning change, resulting in interidentity stability and entrepreneurial persistence. Through our study, we advance knowledge on the theological turn in entrepreneurship and identity by inductively developing theory on a new religious identity construct (RIG), elaborating theory of inter-identity work by shifting the focus from structural to content changes, and extending theory on entrepreneurial action, persistence, and well-being based on theological rather than economic considerations."

Suggested Citation

  • Brett Smith & Amanda Lawson & Saulo Dubard Barbosa & Jessica Jones, 2023. "Navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurial identity threats to persist : The countervailing force of a relational identity with God," Post-Print hal-04325701, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04325701
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2023.106317
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04325701v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-04325701v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2023.106317?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lahti, Tom & Halko, Marja-Liisa & Karagozoglu, Necmi & Wincent, Joakim, 2019. "Why and how do founding entrepreneurs bond with their ventures? Neural correlates of entrepreneurial and parental bonding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 368-388.
    2. Brett Smith & Moriah Meyskens & Fiona Wilson, 2014. "Should We Stay or Should We Go? 'Organizational' Relational Identity and Identification in Social Venture Strategic Alliances," Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 295-317, November.
    3. Héliot, YingFei & Gleibs, Ilka H. & Coyle, A & Rousseau, D & Rojon, C, 2020. "Religious identity in the workplace: a systematic review, research agenda, and practical implications," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100950, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Shepherd, Dean & Haynie, J. Michael, 2009. "Birds of a feather don't always flock together: Identity management in entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 316-337, July.
    5. Mark Schwartz, 2006. "God as a Managerial Stakeholder?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 291-306, June.
    6. Brett R. Smith & Amanda Lawson & Jessica Jones & Tim Holcomb & Aimee Minnich, 2022. "Trying to Serve Two Masters is Easy, Compared to Three: Identity Multiplicity Work by Christian Impact Investors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1053-1070, September.
    7. Patzelt, Holger & Shepherd, Dean A., 2011. "Negative emotions of an entrepreneurial career: Self-employment and regulatory coping behaviors," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 226-238, March.
    8. Dennis A. Gioia & James B. Thomas & Shawn M. Clark & Kumar Chittipeddi, 1994. "Symbolism and Strategic Change in Academia: The Dynamics of Sensemaking and Influence," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(3), pages 363-383, August.
    9. Cardon, Melissa S. & Zietsma, Charlene & Saparito, Patrick & Matherne, Brett P. & Davis, Carolyn, 2005. "A tale of passion: New insights into entrepreneurship from a parenthood metaphor," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 23-45, January.
    10. Shepherd, Dean A. & Saade, Fouad Philippe & Wincent, Joakim, 2020. "How to circumvent adversity? Refugee-entrepreneurs' resilience in the face of substantial and persistent adversity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(4).
    11. Jeffery S. McMullen & D. Ray Bagby & Leslie E. Palich, 2008. "Economic Freedom and the Motivation to Engage in Entrepreneurial Action," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(5), pages 875-895, September.
    12. Mathias, Blake D. & Williams, David W., 2018. "Giving up the hats? Entrepreneurs' role transitions and venture growth," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 261-277.
    13. Katalin Takacs Haynes & Michael A. Hitt & Joanna Tochman Campbell, 2015. "The Dark Side of Leadership: Towards a Mid-Range Theory of Hubris and Greed in Entrepreneurial Contexts," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 479-505, June.
    14. McMullen, Jeffery S., 2019. "A wakeup call for the field of entrepreneurship and its evaluators," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 413-417.
    15. Smith, Brett R. & Bergman, Brian J. & Kreiner, Glen E., 2021. "When the beacon goes dark: Legitimacy repair work by subsequent actors in an emerging market category," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(5).
    16. Suzanne Chan-Serafin & Arthur P. Brief & Jennifer M. George, 2013. "PERSPECTIVE —How Does Religion Matter and Why? Religion and the Organizational Sciences," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(5), pages 1585-1600, October.
    17. Jain, Sanjay & George, Gerard & Maltarich, Mark, 2009. "Academics or entrepreneurs? Investigating role identity modification of university scientists involved in commercialization activity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 922-935, July.
    18. Liu, Yiran & Li, Yong & Hao, Xiling & Zhang, Yuli, 2019. "Narcissism and learning from entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 496-512.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shantz, Angelique Slade & McMullen, Jeffery S., 2024. "Journal of business venturing 2023 year in review: The year of the whole-person entrepreneur," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(6).
    2. Jessica Jones & Christina Hymer & Ashley Roccapriore & Brett Smith, 2024. "Does religion matter to angels? Exploring the influence of religion in entrepreneurial investor decision-making," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1337-1360, April.
    3. Alemayehu, Binyam Zewde & Steffens, Paul & Gordon, Scott R., 2023. "The formation and role of religious social capital in driving entrepreneurial action," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    4. Marcus Dejardin & Brigitte Hoogendoorn & Frank Janssen & Cornelius A. Rietveld & Elco Burg, 2024. "Coupling engagement with analytical rigor: advancing research on religion and entrepreneurship using a mechanism-based approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1273-1284, April.
    5. Pidduck, Robert J. & Townsend, David M. & Busenitz, Lowell W., 2024. "Non-probabilistic reasoning in navigating entrepreneurial uncertainty: A psychology of religious faith lens," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(4).
    6. Saulo Dubard Barbosa & Brett R. Smith, 2024. "Specifying the role of religion in entrepreneurial action: a cognitive perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1315-1336, April.
    7. Smith, Brett & Gümüsay, Ali Aslan & Townsend, David M., 2023. "Bridging worlds: The intersection of religion and entrepreneurship as meaningful heterodoxy," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Smith, Brett R. & Lawson, Amanda & Dubard Barbosa, Saulo & Jones, Jessica, 2023. "Navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurial identity threats to persist: The countervailing force of a relational identity with God," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4).
    2. Brett R. Smith & Amanda Lawson & Jessica Jones & Tim Holcomb & Aimee Minnich, 2022. "Trying to Serve Two Masters is Easy, Compared to Three: Identity Multiplicity Work by Christian Impact Investors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1053-1070, September.
    3. Warnick, Benjamin J. & Kier, Alexander S. & LaFrance, Emily M. & Cuttler, Carrie, 2021. "Head in the clouds? Cannabis users' creativity in new venture ideation depends on their entrepreneurial passion and experience," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(2).
    4. Fisch, Christian & Block, Jörn H., 2021. "How does entrepreneurial failure change an entrepreneur's digital identity? Evidence from Twitter data," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    5. O'Neil, Isobel & Ucbasaran, Deniz & York, Jeffrey G., 2022. "The evolution of founder identity as an authenticity work process," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(1).
    6. Huyghe, Annelore & Knockaert, Mirjam & Obschonka, Martin, 2016. "Unraveling the “passion orchestra” in academia," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 344-364.
    7. Carlos Poblete & Felipe Rifo & Joana Huaman, 2021. "The Role of Circular Business Modeling in the Entrepreneurial Identity-Construction Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-25, December.
    8. Norin Arshed & Graeme Martin & Stephen Knox, 2023. "Ties That Bind or Blind? The Role of Identity and Place in Understanding Women Entrepreneurs’ Support Needs," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(6), pages 2205-2232, November.
    9. Dong, Jing & Xu, Wanyu & Cha, Jun, 2021. "Rural entrepreneurship and job creation: the hybrid identity of village-cadre-entrepreneurs," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    10. Jeffery S. McMullen & Katrina M. Brownell & Joel Adams, 2021. "What Makes an Entrepreneurship Study Entrepreneurial? Toward A Unified Theory of Entrepreneurial Agency," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(5), pages 1197-1238, September.
    11. Shepherd, Dean A. & Patzelt, Holger, 2015. "The “heart” of entrepreneurship: The impact of entrepreneurial action on health and health on entrepreneurial action," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 4(C), pages 22-29.
    12. Wagenschwanz, Anna M. & Grimes, Matthew G., 2021. "Navigating compromise: How founder authenticity affects venture identification amidst organizational hybridity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(2).
    13. Davide Hahn, 2020. "The psychological well-being of student entrepreneurs: a social identity perspective," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 467-499, June.
    14. Jackson Musona & Kaisu Puumalainen & Helena Sjögrén & Anna Vuorio, 2021. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship at the Bottom of the Pyramid: An Identity-Based Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-37, January.
    15. Kollmann, Tobias & Stöckmann, Christoph & Kensbock, Julia M., 2017. "Fear of failure as a mediator of the relationship between obstacles and nascent entrepreneurial activity—An experimental approach," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 280-301.
    16. Kollmann, Tobias & Stöckmann, Christoph & Kensbock, Julia M., 2019. "I can't get no sleep—The differential impact of entrepreneurial stressors on work-home interference and insomnia among experienced versus novice entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 692-708.
    17. Omri, Anis & Afi, Hatem, 2020. "How can entrepreneurship and educational capital lead to environmental sustainability?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-10.
    18. Yu, Wei & Li, Zhuyi Angelina & Foo, Maw-Der & Sun, Shuhua, 2022. "Perceived social undermining keeps entrepreneurs up at night and disengaged the next day: The mediating role of sleep quality and the buffering role of trait resilience," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2).
    19. Mathias, Blake D. & Wang, Stephanie, 2023. "Not so silent partners: Exploring the interconnected roles of entrepreneurs and their spouses," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4).
    20. Hundera, Mulu, 2019. "Role conflict, coping strategies and female entrepreneurial success in sub-Saharan Africa," Other publications TiSEM 3e263b0c-3bf3-474a-8a20-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04325701. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.