Entrepreneurial orientation and religion: the Pastor as an entrepreneur

In recent decades Brazil has witnessed radical changes in its religious composition, with rapid expansion of Evangelical communities. Within these communities there exist various religious associations in which pastors play a key role. Using the theoretical framework of Entrepreneurial Orientation, and based on interviews with 20 Neopentecostal pastors in Belo Horizonte/Minas Gerais, this article shows that, in their work developing their churches, pastors exhibit characteristically entrepreneurial behavior (innovation, proactivity, competitive aggressiveness, risk-taking, autonomy). This study further demonstrates the importance and explanatory power of the Entrepreneurial Orientation theoretical framework and may open new research perspectives for social managers, social scholars and practitioners in related fields.

Keywords:
Entrepreneurial orientation; Entrepreneurship; Religion; Pastor; Independent Neopentecostal churches

Propositions\|Authors of interest		Evidence\|Empirical analyses
Religious organizations can be innovative and creative (Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.)	Confirmed	Neopentecostal churches, even small ones, can be innovative and creative.
Proactivity is negatively associated with the performance of churches. Its manifestation is interpreted as disrespectful to the tradition of the congregants. It is discouraged by religious institutions (Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.)	Reworked	Proactivity is positively associated with performance of churches examined. Its manifestation is not interpreted as disrespectful by the congregants. Pastoral proactivity is encouraged by Evangelical communities.
Competitive aggressiveness aids in expanding the market share of a given institution (Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.; Lumpkin & Dess, 1996Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 135-172., 2001Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (2001). Linking two dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to firm performance: The moderating role of environment and industry life cycle. Journal of Business Venturing, 16(5), 429-451.; Lyon et al., 2000Lyon, D. W., Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (2000). Enhancing entrepreneurial orientation research: Operationalizing and measuring a key strategic decision making process. Journal of Management, 26(5), 1055-1085.; Wang, 2008Wang, C. L. (2008). Entrepreneurial orientation, learning orientation, and firm performance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 32(4), 635-657.)	Confirmed + Extended	Competitive aggressiveness aids in expanding and also maintenance the market share of a given institution.
Churches adopt competitive practices to maintain and grow their membership. These practices range from subtle to overt (Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.)	Confirmed	The churches examined adopt competitive practices to maintain and grow their membership. These can be subtle, but are more often overt.
A pastor's ability to take risks can be increased by belief in divine glory. Risk-taking has the potential for exceptional results in settings where predictable behavior is the norm, such as in churches (Nwankwo & Gbadamosi, 2013Nwankwo, S., & Gbadamosi, A. (2013). Faith and entrepreneurship among the British African-Caribbean: Intersections between religious and entrepreneurial value. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 20(3), 618-633.; Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.)	Reworked	The pastors demonstrated the ability to take risks, although such behavior has not been encouraged by their belief in divine glory. They were certainly influenced by other factors, however, such as congregational competitiveness and their goal of church growth. Although risk-taking behavior has potential for eventually exceptional outcomes, these outcomes will not always derive from predictable configurations.
Autonomy can increase the ability of churches to respond to environmental imperatives. It can make them capable of identifying, developing, and initiating changes in their programs and activities (Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.)	Confirmed	Autonomy can increase the ability of churches to respond to environmental imperatives. It can make them capable of identifying, developing, and initiating changes in their programs and activities.
Investigating entrepreneurial behavior in the context of religious congregations is a valuable initiative. Churches benefit from the entrepreneurial behaviors of pastors (Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.)	Confirmed	Investigating entrepreneurial behavior in the context of Neopentecostal churches is valuable. Churches benefit from the entrepreneurial behaviors of pastors.
Capacity for innovation and autonomy are more strongly related to increased performance of churches than are proactivity, willingness to take risks, and competitive aggressiveness (Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.)	Reworked	Proactivity, competitive aggressiveness, willingness to take risks, and autonomy appear to be more strongly related to increased performance of Neopentecostal churches than is a capacity for innovation. Of these, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy are the most significant.
The ability to take risks, proactivity, and competitive aggressiveness do not contribute to the performance of churches (Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.)	Reworked	The ability to take risks, proactivity, and competitive aggressiveness do contribute to the performance of Neopentecostal churches.
Congregations do not value inter-denominational or inter-congregational competitiveness (Pearce et al., 2010Pearce, J. A., Fritz, D. A., & Davis, P. S. (2010). Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of religion congregations as predicted by rational choice theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(1), 219-248.)	Reworked	Neopentecostal shepherdsvalue inter-denominational or inter-congregational competitiveness. They give importance to it.

Departamento de Administração da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo Avenida Professor Luciano Gualberto, 908, sala F184, 05508-900 São Paulo / SP Brasil, Tel./Fax 55 11 3818-4002 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: rausp@usp.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] * Corresponding author at: Av. Itaú, 525, CEP 30535012 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. E-mail:victorsilvacorrea@yahoo.com.br (V.S. Corrêa).