The role of religious beliefs in productive entrepreneurship and personal social responsibility: insights from a non-WEIRD nation
研究伊朗390名企业家数据，发现宗教信仰通过增强个人社会责任促进生产性创业，且能抵消生存型创业对社会责任的负面影响。
What channels entrepreneurial effort towards activities that generate broad social and economic value, rather than towards rent-seeking or destructive pursuits, remains a critical question for developing nations. This study investigates whether and how religious beliefs steer entrepreneurs towards productive outcomes. Employing Upper Echelons Theory as a lens, we argue that religious beliefs shape productive entrepreneurship through the mediating mechanism of personal social responsibility (PSR), and that this process is influenced by the entrepreneur’s entry mode (necessity versus opportunity). Data from 390 entrepreneurs in Iran, analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), reveal that religious beliefs do bolster productive entrepreneurship. However, this relationship is fully mediated by PSR, i.e. religious faith increases productive entrepreneurship primarily by fostering a sense of social and ethical duty. Furthermore, while necessity-driven entry typically weakens PSR, strong religious commitment effectively neutralizes this negative effect. These findings highlight the role of internal value systems as a foundation for ethical venturing, offering valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to foster productive entrepreneurship and advance social welfare.