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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer behavior toward halal food purchase in Bangladesh. Specifically, how do individual beliefs about trustworthiness of the halal food products affect individual intentions to purchases and actual purchasing behavior? Design/methodology/approach To answer this question, a theoretical framework using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as its basis was established. Using measurement scales created to assess different aspects of trustworthiness, and perceived behavioral control and subjective norms, a survey instrument was developed to test the various relationships implied by TPB. Data were collected from the households located in the metropolitan city of Dhaka during the months of November and December 2017, and the analysis of this data helps answer questions about the different relationships of the constructs of the study. Findings The findings of the study revealed that four factors, namely, trustworthiness, attitude, normative structure and self-efficacy, significantly influence halal food purchasing. The results also demonstrated that trustworthiness of halal food is one of the most important variables of food marketing in Bangladesh. Research limitations/implications In reality, there is a serious lacking of halal food marketing particularly in Bangladesh. In this respect, this study can be a pioneer one and may have some limitations in terms of research procedures. Practical implications It is crucial for the halal food marketing and its management organizations to provide their products and services in Islamic way, because it is different from the conventional way of modern marketing. Social implications This result specifically implies that like normative structure and self-efficacy, trust in the authenticity of halal food is particularly important to influence attitude toward halal food purchase in Bangladesh. Originality/value This study is perhaps the first study in the context of Bangladesh food market that deals with the halal food purchase behavior of the consumers. In this regard, the findings of the study are important in Islamic marketing and halal food marketing.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting anti-consumption behavior of the consumers toward organic food purchase: in particular, how do individual beliefs about trustworthiness of organic foods, normative structure of social pressure and self-efficacy affect individual intentions to make organic food purchases and actual purchasing behavior? To answer this question, a theoretical framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as its foundation has been established. Using measurement scales in order to measure different aspects of trustworthiness, normative structure, self-efficacy, attitude, perceived behavioral control (PBC) and subjective norms, a survey instrument has been developed to examine the several associations implied by the model of TPB. Design/methodology/approach In doing so, data on a structured questionnaire were collected from various parts of a city based on convenience random sampling procedure. The respondents were interviewed face-to-face to collect information on a structured questionnaire. Data (n=337) were analyzed using a research framework formulated based on the TPB through the structural equation modeling procedure. Findings The findings of the study indicate that among the seven independent variables of trustworthiness, normative structure, self-efficacy, attitude, subjective norm and PBC, only subjective norm has not been statistically significant to influence organic food purchase behavior. Research limitations/implications The result implies that various sociopolitical forces and skewed monthly incomes are inhibiting the consumers (anti-consumption) to increasingly buy the organic food products. Practical implications In this regard, government, policy planners, academia as well as media have profound roles to play to encourage people to buy more organic food for their health safety and overall consumer well-being. Originality/value This research is based on primary data collected from the respondents of a sub-urban areas of a metropolitan city. The findings will help formulate a sound food policy for ensuring social well-being of the consumers.

Purpose – The purpose of the present study is to identify the determinants that potentially influence quality education in private universities in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – To attain this objective, 234 data were collected through face-to-face interviews on campus during February-March 2013 from Bachelor of Business Administration students. The bootstrapping procedure through AMOS was applied to analyze the data apart from exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Findings – The bootstrap path coefficients suggest that seven factors are statistically significant among the eight postulated independent variables. The outcomes of the confirmatory factor analysis, such as factor loadings, eigenvalues and percentage of variance explained, as well as reliability coefficients, are observed to conform to the results of path analysis, such as item loadings and path coefficients, which consistently increased the robustness of the study. Practical implications – The overall results of the study would be beneficial to the planners to formulate the proper policy to ensure the quality excellence in the private higher educational institutes. Originality/value – The research is based on empirical evidence which deserves originality in terms of data and methods of analysis.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect effects of demographic factors on employee compensation, job satisfaction and organizational commitment in private higher educational institutes in Bangladesh. Specifically, how do compensation structure and job satisfaction mediate in the link between demographic factors and organizational commitment? To answer this question, a theoretical framework using the theory of employee retention provided by Martin and Kaufman, as its basis was established. Design/methodology/approach Data (n = 515) were collected from faculty members of the private universities in Bangladesh. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings Findings indicate that though demographic factors have no direct impact on organizational commitment, they have indirect impacts on organizational commitment through the mediation of compensation structure and faculty job satisfaction. Besides, compensation structure also has a significant mediating role in the link between demographic structure and faculty job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications One possible drawback is the number of private universities from which the data were collected. In the sample used here, only 20 private universities were selected to conduct the survey. Besides, the study could not include public universities that are also a significant part and parcel of higher education in the country. So, if more private and public universities were taken into consideration to collect the data, the results might be improved. Thus, the usual cautions about overgeneralizing findings from this sample, to populations for which it is not strictly representative, apply. Practical implications From a practical perspective, as a cumulative body of work on organizational commitment, we will be better able to advise policymakers and educators on the elements they need to address to increase the longer engagement of the faculty members in their institutes. In this study, the one area of findings that may help policymakers and educators the most concerns compensation package that affects job satisfaction and organizational commitment. We found that demographic factors and compensation packages are the most important factors for the faculty members to impact on organizational commitment in this study. Social implications The social implication is that policymakers of the private universities can focus on fair justice in terms of demographic factors and compensation package for job satisfaction, motivation and organizational commitment of the faculty members in their universities. Originality/value The findings of the study are important for the policymakers of the higher education institutes.