Intention to choose Halal products: the role of religiosity

Abstract

Purpose -Muslims living in multi-religious societies are considered more conscious about the permissibility (Halal ) of products and thus the majority of Halal research in the non-financial sector was conducted in multi-ethnic societies. Nonetheless, the global trade is changing the way we perceive the origin of products and brands and their permissibility under Islamic Sharia laws. This apparently has serious implications for international companies operating in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of Muslim attitude towards Halal products, their subjective norms and religiosity in predicting intention to choose Halal products. Design/methodology/approach -A structured question was designed to elicit consumer attitude, subjective norms, intention to choose Halal products and degree of inter and intra personal religiosity. Data were collected from 180 adult respondents using a convenience sampling method. Only 150 responses were deemed suitable for further analysis, yielding a response rate of 83 per cent.Stepwise regression analysis was used to test the proposed model. Findings -The results indicated that theory of reasoned action (TRA) is a valid model in predicting intention to choose Halal products. The results further indicate that subjective norms (b ¼ 0.455, p, 0.001), attitude towards the Halal products (b ¼ 0.265, p, 0.001) and intra personal religiosity (b ¼ 0.167, p, 0.001) positively influence attitude towards the Halal products. Interestingly, subjective norm appears to be the strongest of all the predictors for choosing Halal products.Research limitations/implications -The data collected for the current study investigate global attitude towards Halal products. It would be interesting if future researchers examine consumers' attitude towards specific Halal products for specific product categories. Practical implications -It is argued in this research that the presence of strong attitude towards Halal products in Muslim consumers might play an important role in exclusion or inclusion of brands, based on their conformance to Halal requirements. Originality/value -The paper extends the applicability of the theory of reasoned action model by investigating the role of inter-personal and intra-personal religiosity in intention to choose Halal products.

Assessing Knowledge and Religiosity on Consumer Behavior towards Halal Food and Cosmetic Products

“…Equally, some of the fatty acids and gelatine used in products such as moisturisers, shampoos, face masks and lipsticks are derived from pigs [9]. In addition, the cosmetics and pharmaceutical sector was subject to greater scrutiny by Muslim scholars on the suspicion that many international brands are using enzymes extracted from pork meat or alcohol as a preservative, generating great deal of cynicism towards these brands in Muslim customers [10]. This can be an example of reason why Muslim consumers are now seeking halal cosmetic products.…”

Restaurant Management’s Perspective on Halal Certification: An Exploratory Study in Surabaya, Indonesia

“…The role of the subjective norms is the second, in this case, the surrounding neighbourhood. An individual may not having a positive behaviour towards halal products, yet his/her attitude in consuming halal products is driven by his neighbourhood (Mukhtar & Butt, 2012), especially due to his/her fear of being rejected by his/her community upon not consuming halal products.…”

“…Actions from an individual may be either positive or negative in several behaviours. This factor is related with the attitude towards a behaviour (Mukhtar & Butt, 2012). The second factor is related with the perception in a social environment, which triggers that individual to either commit an action or not.…”

“…With regard to food, the basic issue in halal food production is cleanliness, free from 'contamination' and healthy food as defined in the Quran. Mukhtar and Butt (2012) argue that religiosity poses an effect on customer attitude and behaviour in selecting halal foods. That is, individual's levels of positive religiosity may influence their attitude towards halal products A number of devout customers will tend to purchase halal cuisine as a regard of their religious perception and prevent themselves involved in actions conflicting with their religious values.…”

“…A behaviour in consuming halal products, in this case foods, is a belief which motivates someone's behaviour into his/her attitude. In short, an individual will consider whether his/her attitude will be accepted in a particular community or not (Mukhtar & Butt, 2012). It can be concluded that according to TRA, someone may accept halal products, yet still not buying them.…”