Academic research on Quaker business

Our academic research has explored the rich Quaker history in business, including two significant PhD dissertations. These studies examine the past to provide insights into how Quaker business principles can be applied to modern organisations and the challenges they face.

Our PhD research:

The orgins of Quaker commercial success (1689-c.1755)

By Andrew James Fincham

Andrew James Fincham’s thesis challenges the notion that Quaker commercial success was simply due to ethics. Instead, it highlights a unique combination of four interconnected factors that created a “secular utility” for the Society of Friends.

The four pillars of success

  • Education and apprenticeships: Quakers priorised practical education in subjects like arithmetic and accounting over the classical curriculum. They also used collective funds to pay for apprenticeships, ensuring all members, including the poor, had a path to a trade or a business.
  • Collective finance: The Society of Friends developed an internal financial system that provided business capital and a safety net. This included low-cost loans and financial assistance to help members start businesses, promoting a stable commercial environment.
  • The Quaker network:  A single, dense network of interconnected Quakers faciliated the flow of goods, information, and capital across England and the transatlantic world. This network reduced risk by providing a trusted community of suppliers, customers, and partners.
  • The Quaker discipline: The Society’s rules and “advices” served as a powerful enforcement mechanism. The Discipline’s proscriptions against deceit and over-extension were highly compatible with successful business practices, and the threat of disownment meant losing access to the entire commercially beneficial nework.

Rebutting common myths

Fincham’s work refutes the idea that Quakers were forced into commerce due to exclusion from other professions, providing evidence that they actively chose these careers. It also directly challenges Max Weber’s “Protestant Ethic” theory by showing that Quakers’ pursuit of success was motivated by a practical desire for self-sufficiency rather than a need to prove their salvation. The thesis concludes that the commercial utility of being a Quaker declined in the late 18th centry due to external changes like industrialisation and internal shifts towards a more rigid discipline.

Change in the Quaker business environment 1800-1948

By Nicola Sleapwood Based on this thesis, Quaker business declined in the period from 1800 to 1948 due to a combination of internal theological shifts, external legal and economic changes, and the specific rupture caused by World War I and the Peace Testimony. The research argues that these factors fundamentally eroded the distinct identity and competitive advantages of Quaker organisations.

Key factors of change

  • Decline of discipline: The Quaker books of discipline, which once provided strict rules for business behaviour, became less rigid over the century. Theological changes led to an increasing emphasis on individual conscience over communal insight, making it difficult to enforce a consistent ethical business standard. This weakened the integrity in business that had historically bolstered Quaker reputation and trust.
  • Legal and business evolution: Quakers began engaging in new business forms and speculation, notably with railway companies, which often conflicted with their traditional values. The introduction of new company laws, such as limited liability, further eroded the personal accountability that defined Quaker partnerships and encouraged over-extension and risk-taking.
  • World War I as a “flashpoint”: World War I was a pivotal moment that tested Quaker business principles to their core. The war forced many industrial firms to manufacture munitions, directly clashing with the Quakers’ pacifist Peace Testimony. This led to resignations and a fundamental shift in firms’ identities, often bringing non-Quakers into mangement roles and permanently altering their business outlook.

The Albright and Wilson case study

The thesis uses the Birmingham chemical firm Albright and Wilson as a central case study to illustrate these changes. It shows how the firm’s leadership became divided over its involvement in war-related production, leading to the resignation of key pacifist directors. This event, combined with the rise of non-Quaker mangement marked the point at which the firm ceased to be distinctly Quaker. The study highlights how a Quaker business could lose it identity, not through commercial failure, but through a loss of control and a shift in purpose away from its founding values.

Defining a Quaker business

To analyse this decline, the thesis proposes a new model for defining a Quaker business. A business is  considered Quaker if at a given time:
  • A Quaker holds a leading mangement role, such as chair or managing director.
  • Other Quakers are also present in management and governance.
  • The business’s purpose broadly aligns with Quaker principles (e.g. Equality, Peace, Truth).
  • Employees are treated in a way that is compatible with these principles.
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