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The Family That Prays Together Stays Together: Toward a Process Model of Religious Value Transmission in Family Firms

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Abstract

Research indicates that religious values and ethical behavior are closely associated, yet, at a firm level, the processes by which this association occurs are poorly understood. Family firms are known to exhibit values-based behavior, which in turn can lead to specific firm-level outcomes. It is also known that one’s family is an important incubator, enabler, and perpetuator of religious values across successive generations. Our study examines the experiences of a single, multigenerational business family that successfully enacted their religious values in their business. Drawing upon intergenerational solidarity and values-based leadership theory, and by way of an interpretive, qualitative analysis, we find that the family’s religious values enhanced their cohesion and were manifested in their leadership style, which, in turn, led to outcomes for the business. Our findings highlight the processes that underlie the relationship between religious values and organizational outcomes in family firms and offer insights into the role of solidarity in values-based leadership.

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Notes

  1. Following Worden (2005, p. 521), religion can be defined as “a particular institutionalized or personal system of beliefs, values and practices relating to the divine—a level of reality or power that is regarded as the ‘source’ or ‘ultimate’, transcending yet immanent in the realm of human experience.”

  2. The extant literature defines ‘values’ as beliefs that guide the evaluation of behavior and events with respect to desired goals. Values can be applied in multiple situations, which serve as guiding principles in the life of a person or a group (Schwartz 1992).

  3. Outlined further in our Methodology section, we adopt one of these approaches for the purpose of our study.

  4. The interviews were conducted under the auspices of the “Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices” (STEP) Project. This project, administered by STEP partner universities and led by Babson College, compiles case studies which explore the transgenerational entrepreneurial practices of successful family businesses across the globe. An outline of the STEP framework can be found in Habbershon et al. (2010).

  5. It is important to note that the value types mentioned in Table 3, and their correlations with religiosity, have been identified using various denominations of Christianity, including Catholicism (Schwartz and Huismans 1995). Although there are important nuances (Cavanagh and Bandsuch 2002), we contend that Schwartz’s value types listed in Table 3 which are positively (or negatively) correlated with religiosity correspond closely to what are known as Catholic ‘virtues’ (or ‘vices’). However, rather than link our data directly to the Catholicism, we opted to utilize the terminology of the more universally accepted value types associated with religiosity, with the caveat that not all who demonstrate (or avoid) certain values will be motivated by religion. With that said, our data strongly support the notion that the religious values being demonstrated by the Kiolbassa family are indeed grounded in their strong identification as Catholics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Adelaide Business School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

    Francesco Barbera, Henry X. Shi & Ankit Agarwal

  2. Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden

    Mark Edwards

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  1. Francesco Barbera
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  2. Henry X. Shi
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  3. Ankit Agarwal
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Correspondence to Francesco Barbera.

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Barbera, F., Shi, H.X., Agarwal, A. et al. The Family That Prays Together Stays Together: Toward a Process Model of Religious Value Transmission in Family Firms. J Bus Ethics 163, 661–673 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04382-7

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