DOI
10.1080/08985626.2026.2634963
Author ORCID Identifier
Ileana Maldonado-Bautista: 
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3444-7690
Abstract
This study examines how religiously grounded sacred values and cultural tightness shape entrepreneurial action. Scholarship on religious entrepreneurship often emphasizes how practices connected to believed superhuman powers motivate and support entrepreneurial processes and outcomes. We highlight a complementary perspective by theorizing that sacred values work as moral commitments rooted in religious practices that limit the action individuals view as acceptable under uncertainty. We further argue that the influence of sacred values depends on the cultural contexts in which entrepreneurial action is embedded. Using multilevel data from more than 14,000 individuals across 11 countries, we find that sacred values are negatively associated with entrepreneurial action and that this relationship is significantly stronger in culturally tight societies, where strong normative enforcement reinforces the boundaries associated with sacred values. These findings advance the emerging subfield of religious entrepreneurship by demonstrating how religiously grounded sacred values constrain entrepreneurial action and by clarifying how cultural norms shape the force of these constraints.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-25-2026
Publisher Statement
© 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Recommended Citation
Sanchez-Ruiz, Paul, Ileana Maldonado-Bautista, Peter G. Klein, and Joseph Vaughn. 2026. “Moral Boundaries: How Sacred Values and Cultural Tightness Influence Entrepreneurial Action.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 38 (5–6): 551–75. doi:10.1080/08985626.2026.2634963.
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons
