Explicit Versus Implicit “Halal” Information: Influence of the Halal Label and the Country-of-Origin Information on Product Perceptions in Indonesia

Abstract

Halal refers to what is permissible in traditional Islamic law. Food that meets halal requirements is marked by a halal label on the packaging and should be especially attractive to those Muslims who follow the set of dietary laws outlined in the Quran. This research examines the role of the halal label (explicit cue) and the country-of-origin (COO) (implicit cue) in predicting positive product perceptions among Muslim consumers. We hypothesized that when an explicit sign of “halalness” (i.e., halal label) relating to a particular product is accompanied by an implicit sign of anti-“halalness” (i.e., non-Islamic COO information), Muslim consumers who pay attention to the dietary laws of Islam would have negative perceptions of such a product. We tested our assumptions in an experiment conducted among Indonesian participants who declared themselves as Muslims (n = 444). We manipulated: (a) exposure to the halal label, and (b) the COO information. Religion-based purchase behavior was measured as a moderator variable. Positive product perceptions were measured as a dependent variable. The results showed that the halal label itself had limited influence on product perceptions. However, we found that positive product perceptions significantly decreased among people who were high in religion-based purchase behavior in response to exposure to non-Islamic COO information accompanied by a halal label. In conclusion, people who are high (vs. low) in religion-based purchase behavior do not seem to trust halal-labeled food produced in a country with other than an Islamic tradition.

Online Food Shopping: A Conceptual Analysis for Research Propositions

“… Martínez-Ruiz and Gómez-Cantó’s (2016) study emphasizes that using the Internet to seek food service information has now become a common practice among people today. More people than ever before have positive attitudes toward finding information about food online ( Martínez-Ruiz and Gómez-Cantó, 2016 ; Maison et al, 2018 ). Also, people are more likely to search information about food on the Internet than any other product or service ( Hidalgo-Baz et al, 2017 ; Whiley et al, 2017 ; Wong et al, 2018 ).…”

Can traffic light nutritional labels induce healthier consumer choices? Experimental evidence from a developing country

“…Maison, Marchlewska, Syarifah, Zein, and Purba (2018), for example, found that halal labels worsen product perceptions among religious people, when they were presented as produced in nonislamic countries. Maison, Marchlewska, Syarifah, Zein, and Purba (2018), for example, found that halal labels worsen product perceptions among religious people, when they were presented as produced in nonislamic countries.…”

“…Existing evidence confirms that many different types of FOP labels influence product perceptions. Maison, Marchlewska, Syarifah, Zein, and Purba (2018), for example, found that halal labels worsen product perceptions among religious people, when they were presented as produced in nonislamic countries. Regarding labels that highlight nutritional quality, recent studies suggest that varying the design and context where labels are employed may lead to different-and sometimes, unintended-results.…”

The influence of ethnocentrism and Halal trust on attitudes toward products from non-Muslim countries: A study of Moroccan consumers

“…Hence the need for international companies to identify ways of enhancing the supply and image of the country which are not separated from ethnic-religious precepts and, in the case of Halal certification, to know how to incorporate this in their international marketing strategy. The "Halalness" of the product should also be reinforced in a more explicit way, for example, by using an Arabic name for the product and Arabic letters on the packaging (Maison et al, 2018). However, international companies must identify international marketing strategies capable of exploiting both country image and supply features, integrating ethnic and religious precepts.…”