Summons from the past: spiritual calling in Indigenous entrepreneurship

Sebastian Barros

Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 2025, vol. 37, issue 9-10, 1191-1213

Abstract: In this article, we study 25 Mapuche entrepreneurs from Chile, exploring how their deep spiritual beliefs and values influence their entrepreneurial orientation, decision-making processes, and business results. Using qualitative methods, we found an ancestral calling that summoned Indigenous individuals to revitalize a distant past rather than pursue opportunities in the proximal future, thus distinguishing their temporal orientation from future-oriented entrepreneurs. We contribute with this project to the nascent theological turn in entrepreneurship research by gaining a better understanding of spiritual calling as an important framework for entrepreneurs, influencing distinctive cognitions, behaviours, and outcomes among them. In particular, we make the case that an ancestral calling differs from other spiritual or secular callings, leading to unique entrepreneurial traits. Additionally, we provide detailed empirical insights into the dimensions of ancestral calling, regarding its source, meaning, and orientation, with theoretical relevance for entrepreneurship at large (Indigenous or otherwise) and vocational calling scholarship more broadly.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/08985626.2025.2547037

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