Dynamics of Muslim consumers’ behavior toward Halal products: Exploration study using fMRI technology

Purpose Since Islamic markets are growing substantially, there is an urgent need to gain a better understanding of how Muslim consumers perceive products from a religious perspective. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the brain responses of Muslim consumers to Halal and non-Halal products using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology. Design/methodology/approach The research model is a simplified version of the theory of planned behavior. The initial experiment began by asking participants to divide a set of images into two groups: Halal and non-Halal products. The fMRI experiment uses a blocked design approach to capture brain activities resulting from presenting the two groups of images to participants, and to record the strength of their attitudes toward purchasing the products. Findings Across all participants, the level of brain activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex increased significantly when Halal images were presented to them. The same results emerged when the Halal images showed raw and cooked meat. The variations in the results may be due to the high emotional sensitivity of Muslim consumers to using religious products. Research limitations/implications This study uses a unique approach to monitor brain activity to confirm that consumers from specific market segments respond differently to market products based on their internal beliefs. Findings from this study provide evidence that marketing managers targeting Muslim markets should consider the sensitivity of presenting products in ways that reflect religious principles, in order to gain higher acceptance in this market segment. Originality/value Although the literature reports considerable research on Muslim consumers’ behavior, most of the previous studies utilize conventional data collection approaches to target broad segments of consumers by using traditional products. This paper is the first to track the reactions of the Muslim consumer segment to specific types of market products.Scopu

Preface

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Deploying partial least squares to investigate the influence of managerial assumptions on corporate social responsibility in the hotel industry

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the interplay between managerial assumptions and institutional corporate social responsibility, and determines how such fit affects performance. Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed and tested a model using survey methodology. The authors' data from 210 hotels located in Qatar and the UAE were analysed using the partial least squares (PLS) approach. Findings: The results reveal that firms with entrepreneurial, political and professional frame of reference (FoR) engage in institutional corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. In addition, the entrepreneurial and professional FoR enhances the institutional CSR ? organisational performance link. Research limitations/implications: The findings will help managers to determine the effect of their FoR on their adoption of institutional CSR, thereby increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of their CSR strategy. As the study is exploratory in nature, several limitations have been highlighted and discussed. Originality/value: To the authors? knowledge, this is one of the few papers that inspect the relationship between managerial assumptions and institutional CSR and establishes their effect on performance