Exploring the Factors Affecting Purchase Intention of Halal Certified Foods in Turkey: A PLS-Path Modeling Study

The global market value of the halal food industry was estimated at US$1.1 trillion in 2013. The halal food industry is growing in a number of markets, mainly in countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the South East Asia region. Indonesia is the biggest halal food market with a market value of$197 billion; Turkey is the second largest market with an estimated market value of $100 billion. The halal food sector has great potential to drive the global economy. Despite the halal food industry having a significant share in the global economy, the number of empirical studies that have been conducted on the consumer purchase behavior of halal food is quite limited. In order to fill this gap, we aimed to investigate the factors influencing intention to purchase halal certified products among Muslim consumers in Turkey. The data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires from consumers and the study was conducted in Kayseri, Turkey. The convenience sampling method was used and a total of 650 questionnaires were collected between February and March 2014. The PLS-Path modeling analysis results reveal that consumers’ preference for halal certified products, consumers' religiosity level, price and sales promotions are important factors influencing consumers’ halal food purchase intention. Keywords: Consumer behavior, halal certified products, purchase intention, religiosity, and partial least square analysis