The impact of Islamic religiosity on innovation propensity

Research linking religion and the economy has generally ignored the potential impact of religiosity on innovation capabilities, especially at the individual level. This is seen as an important avenue for research to uncover the religious drivers that influence the extent and mechanisms of innovation. In particular, evidence on the relationship between religiosity and innovation among Muslims is not known. The objective of our study is to fill this gap in the literature by examining the normative, cognitive, and regulatory dimensions of Islamic religiosity in relation to their impact on the innovation propensity of individuals. Based on data from Saudi Arabia, the results offer partial support to the link between religiosity and innovation propensity. Furthermore, the impact of the normative dimension on innovation propensity is found to be positively moderated by age but negatively moderated by gender. Based on these results, we draw several managerial and policy related implications as well as avenues for future research.