Guts, Grit and God? Spiritual Capital and Entrepreneurial Resilience in a Turbulent Environment

This paper investigates the role of spiritual capital in a turbulent sub-Saharan African context, where religion plays a dominant role in society and firms are grappling with macroeconomic shocks and institutional instability recently exacerbated by covid-19 pandemic. The study draws from a survey of 622 firms in one of Africa’s biggest business hubs – Lagos, Nigeria. The results show that spiritual capital significantly mediates the impact of social capital on entrepreneurial resilience, helping entrepreneurs to cope in unstable and difficult terrain. The study highlights the significance of spiritual capital as a distinct resource complimenting other intangible resources such as social capital.