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Entrepreneurship as worship: A Malay Muslim perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2018

Farhana Sidek ,
Kathryn Pavlovich  and
Jenny Gibb
Farhana Sidek
Affiliation:
School of Management, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
Kathryn Pavlovich*
Affiliation:
Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Jenny Gibb
Affiliation:
Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
*
Corresponding author: kathryn.pavlovich@waikato.ac.nz
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Abstract

While Islam is the second largest religion in the world with 1.6 billion Muslims, there are variations in the interpretations of that law (i.e., Sharia). This diversity and variation may hold the key in explaining the different behaviours among Muslim entrepreneurs because of their views on the concept of work as worship. In this study, we examine how Malay entrepreneurs are guided in their sourcing and shaping of entrepreneurial opportunities through Shafii practice. Our contributions include identifying five central values that guided the participant’s sourcing of opportunities: Fardhu Kifayah (communal obligation), Wasatiyyah (balanced), Dakwah1 (the call of joining the good and forbidding the bad), Amanah (trust), and Barakah (blessings). We also contribute to the entrepreneurship literature by demonstrating how these macro-level values of worship gave the entrepreneurs confidence in creating their new ventures.

Keywords

entrepreneurshipspirituality and religionqualitative methodscultural values
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 24 , Special Issue 5: Contextualizing Diversity Within Islam , September 2018 , pp. 698 - 710
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2018 

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