Potential customers’ intention to use Islamic banking products in Cameroon: the mediating effect of attitude

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine factors influencing potential customers’ intention to patronize Islamic banking products in Cameroon. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this, a structured questionnaire was used with 318 respondents, and 300 were usable for analysis with a respondent rate of 94%. The study used SEM-PLS to analyze the data. Findings The findings suggested that attitude, religious motivation, awareness, subjective norm and relative advantage significantly affect potential customers intention toward Islamic banking products, while perceived regulatory and perceived innovation are insignificant. Furthermore, attitude substantially mediates the relationship between religious motivation, awareness, subjective norm, relative advantage and perceived innovation. Research limitations/implications However, this study focused on potential customers living in Muslim zones; future research should compare users and nonusers of Islamic banking products in both Muslim and non-Muslim zones to capture a big picture about customers’ perceptions of Islamic banking products in Cameroon. Practical implications The results of this study contribute to the literature by providing a new framework that combines the theories of planned behavior and diffusion of innovation theory and provides managerial implications at the level of Islamic finance operators. Meanwhile, this research offers some policy recommendations that can help boost the development of Islamic finance in Cameroon and promote financial inclusion. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research about potential customers’ intention to use Islamic banking products in Cameroon.