The aim of this paper is to investigate whether trust is present between Halal fast food outlets and their Halal certified suppliers, while assessing its influence on their relationship. Online questionnaires were distributed to a sample of Halal certified fast-food outlets and restaurants in Mauritius. Descriptive and correlation analyses were then carried out. The findings show that trust does exist between the two partners concerned. At the same time, trust is seen to have a positive relationship with all the variables within the buyer-supplier relationship, namely: commitment, communication, satisfaction and long-term orientation. Also, the overall results infer that Halal food certification principles are generally being respected by Halal certified suppliers, which explains the high trust levels between them and the Halal fast food outlets they supply. Concomitantly, Halal food certification in a way contributes to better buyer-supplier relationships due to strict Halal food security and handling practices which inspire trust and confidence. The study presents a unique case in a Small Island Developing State (SID) and is one of the pioneering research on the Halal food sector in Mauritius. Despite the contribution of this research to the literature both conceptually and empirically, the small sample size, affects to some extent the generality of the findings. For this reason, more qualitative research in the form of interviews and surveys with Halal Certifying Bodies (HCBs) need to be done to acquire deeper understanding on rampant issues such as Halal frauds, Halal logo tampering and consumer trust on the Halal food certification system.

The fourth technological revolution is here, tailgated by stratospheric advances in emerging technologies meant to improve the daily lives of individuals which come with various functionalities, uses and varieties. We are talking of smartphone applications or Apps and they are a rage nowadays given the unrivaled degree of informativeness, convenience, connectivity and networking opportunities they offer, and have been developed to address the needs of consumers in various sectors namely, banking, shopping, travel, fitness and health, food delivery, mapping, news and education, just to name a few. At the same time, the growing demand for Halal consumption fueled by the boom in the global Halal industry and ethical consumerism, consumers are in dire need of a one-stop medium where information about Halal products is available within reach so as to safely maintain their religious commitments and dieting requirements. Therefore, given the uniqueness of Halal-based Apps and more so the peculiar requirements of Halal consumers, it has become imperative to have studies which investigate the factors which influence Muslims to adopt Halal-based Apps, and the literature clearly lacks in terms of such assessments. Hence, the present research is one of the very first to come up with a conceptual framework which can be used to study the predominant factors which would motivate users to adopt Halal-based App. This research has taken the case of a Halal-based App, named HalaalMoris in a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) like Mauritius.