Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Performance of Religious Congregations as Predicted by Rational Choice Theory

Empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that businesses that act with an entrepreneurial orientation enjoy superior performance. Our research investigates whether nonprofit, religious congregations can benefit from similar initiatives. We based our hypotheses on the Rational Choice Theory of Religion, which was developed by social scientists to bring economic analysis to the understanding of the effects of competition among nonprofit organizations. Using a sample of 250 religious congregations in five different geographical markets, an entrepreneurial orientation is found to be positively associated with organizational performance. A hypothesized interaction effect between environmental munificence and entrepreneurial orientation is assessed.