Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Entrepreneurship in Early Danish Capitalism

In 1947 Joseph Schumpeter made the famous plea for a joined journey of economists and historians in understanding entrepreneurship as a relation between reactive versus creative responses in economic history. However, little is known of the role of religion and religious aspirations in the historical perspective of entrepreneurship.

We will try to unfold how Protestantism and patriotic aspirations undergirded the understanding of the purpose of two Danish entrepreneurs of the 19^th century: H.N. Andersen and J.C. Jacobsens firms. In the case of Jacobsen firm building (Carlsberg) was deeply related to the firm’s obligation towards the continuing development of society, e.g. formulated in his two bonmots: “Laboremus pro patria”, and “Semper Ardens”: The first referring to the understanding of work as a patriotic contribution to society, and the second referring to the bonmot of Martin Luther: “Semper Reformandum”; always reforming (Christianity)”. 

Jacobsens impact concerned three areas: 1) As founder of Carlsberg which introduced industrial brewery methods to the country, 2) as founder of the Carlsberg foundation, which was the first corporate foundation in Denmark – today Denmark is the country in the world with most foundation controlled corporations among the 25 largest companies. And finally 3) Jacobsen’s national impact concerned his role as the most important philanthropist of his time, who developed a specific non-economical rational of his entrepreneurship.

The paper is in particularly focused on the third aspect, namely the important question of “raison d´etre” in entrepreneurship: Why did Jacobsen and Andersen conduct entrepreneurial behavior and what was the possible relation between their apparently philantrophist and patriotic reasoning for entrepreneurship and their explicit religious belief as Protestants?

References:

Bjergager, Anna-Lisa (2011) Brygger for folket, Copenhagen: Gyldendal.

Weber, Max (1992) Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, London & New York: Routledge.

Glamann, Kristof (1990). Bryggeren, J.C. Jacobsen på Carlsberg, Copenhagen: Gyldendal.

Iversen, M. J. & Arnold A. (2008). Carlsberg: regulation of the home market and international expansion in Fellman et. al. (Eds.) Creating Nordic Capitalism , the Business History of a Competitive Periphery, London: Palgrave-MacMillan. 

Johansen, H.C. & Monrad Møller, A. (2005). Fonde som fundament som fundament for dansk dansk industry, Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag.

Schumpeter, J.A. (1947). The creative response in economic history. The Journal of Economic History, 7(2), 149-159.