The influence of Christian identity on SME owner-managers' conceptualisations of business practice

Article


Werner, A. 2008. The influence of Christian identity on SME owner-managers' conceptualisations of business practice. Journal of Business Ethics. 82 (2), pp. 449-462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9896-8
TypeArticle
TitleThe influence of Christian identity on SME owner-managers' conceptualisations of business practice
AuthorsWerner, A.
Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study to understand how active adherence to the Christian faith influences the way SME owner–managers conceptualise their business practices. The study was based on in-depth interviews with 21 Christian SME owner–managers in Germany and the UK. Using a sociopsychological approach, the data analysis yielded a range of linguistic and conceptual resources that are peculiar to Christian discourse and that have the potential to influence business activity in rather distinctive ways. This paper particularly focuses on those Christian concepts that could be regarded as distinct ‘frames’ for action. It outlines what effect these concepts had on the respondents and how they were related to business practices. The paper also discusses how this study could inform further research into the influence of other socio-cultural forms of identity on economic actors’ conceptualisations of their own practice.

Keywordsbusiness practice; Christianity; discursive framing; Germany; small- to medium-sized enterprises; social psychology; socio-cultural identity; UK
Research GroupCorporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics group
PublisherSpringer
JournalJournal of Business Ethics
ISSN0167-4544
Electronic1573-0697
Publication dates
Online26 Aug 2008
PrintOct 2008
Publication process dates
Deposited06 Feb 2009
Accepted01 Jun 2008
Submitted01 Jan 2008
Output statusPublished
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9896-8
Web of Science identifierWOS:000259910600013
LanguageEnglish
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