Religion, the Scottish work ethic and the spirit of entreprise.

Smith, Robert

Abstract

Using a historical approach, this paper revisits Max Webers Protestant ethic, addressing in particular a variant form of it “ the Scottish work ethic. It examines that ethic as both a collective and individuated theological drive that helped shape the proto-entrepreneurial proclivity of the Scottish people. The Scottish work ethic is a secularized drive peculiar to Scotland with its strong Calvinistic religious heritage and emphasis on hard work, thrift and education. From an academic perspective, although much has been written about the Protestant ethic and Webers thesis, the same cannot be said of the Scottish work ethic. This paper fills this gap in the literature while extending consideration of the nature of the work ethic to include the power of religion and theological drives in the creation of the prevalent spirit of enterprise within a people.

Citation

SMITH, R. 2009. Religion, the Scottish work ethic and the spirit of entreprise. International journal of entrepreneurship and innovation [online], 10(2), pages 111-124. Available from: https://doi.org/10.5367/000000009788161299

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 1, 2009
• Online Publication Date: May 1, 2009
• Publication Date: May 31, 2009
• Deposit Date: Nov 30, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 30, 2009
• Journal: International journal of entrepreneurship and innovation
• Print ISSN: 1465-7503
• Electronic ISSN: 2043-6882
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 111-124
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5367/000000009788161299
• Keywords: Entrepreneurial culture; Religion; Entrepreneurial drives; Theological drives; Scottish work ethic; Protestant work ethic
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/442