Halal food consumption: A comparative study between Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims consumers in Malaysia

Azura Hanim Hashim, hhazura@gmail.com* Md Nor Othman, mohdnor@um.edu.my Department of Marketing, University of Malaya, Malaysia

Abstract The Halal market literature reveals that different interpretations of what Muslim considers the meaning of halal is the main challenge to understand the Muslim market. However, there is no empirical research being done to discover the statement. Therefore, this research will find out the assumption of the dissimilarity of Muslims consumers across different ethnicity to describe the basic process of purchase intention towards Halal food products. Specifically, this research examines the difference between Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims in terms of the level of religiosity and Halal perception. The result finds that the level of religiosity and Halal perception among Non Arab Muslims is higher compared to Arab Muslims and shows that Non Arab Muslims are more careful when purchasing food products compared to Arab Muslims.

Keywords- Religiosity, Consumer behavior, Halal, Malaysia.

Halal food consumption among Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims consumers in Malaysia.

Introduction Demand for Halal products and services have been increasing at US$655 billion in 2010 from US$635 billion in 2009 (Bernama, 2009). Despite the importance of the Halal market segment and the growing revenue (Fischer, 2008) research on Halal food consumption on Muslims market segment has been largely ignored (Bonne et al., 2008). Not much has been done to understand Muslim consumers perception on Halal food and many questions relating to their precise attitude and food choices remain under research (Lada, 2009; Bonne, 2008; Ahmed, 2008). In addition, the Halal food industry is not a 'single' market. It is a fragmented market where every country or region has its own characteristics. Thus, the one size strategy it will not work (Sungkar, 2009). However, research across countries and ethnicity on consumer behaviour and the Halal food consumption is noted to be lacking (Lada, 2009; Bogal, 2007). Furthermore, there is almost no research being done in comparing ethnicity and religiosity in Halal food consumption. In view of the above discussion, principally this research has two main objectives. Firstly, is to examine the differences of attitude on Halal Food consumption across different ethnicity. Secondly, is to examine the perception in terms of religiosity and five different hypothetical constructs of Halal perception among Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims consumers.

Literature Review Halal Concept Muslims must eat Halal food (Hussaini, 1984). These laws are found in the Quran and in the Sunnah, the practice of the Prophet Muhammad. Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or that what is permitted and allowed by the lawgiver (Allah), whereas Haram means unlawful or prohibited (Al Qaradawi, 1995). The law prohibits the consumption of alcohol, pork, blood, dead meat and meat that has not been slaughtered according to Islamic rulings (Bonne, 2009). This paper will introduce a number of variables related to Halal issue and to see the different between Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims consumers in terms of religiosity and Halal Perception (understanding the concept of Halal, Halal consciousness, Halal cautiousness, the importance of Halal logo and Product originated from Muslim countries). Religiosity In Islam, the term religiosity means fulfilling the requirements of Islam, faith, belief and charity in word and deed, where do God's sake, and save the people's rights and follow the orders of Islam altogether, and avoid the prohibitions and taboos, worship, and greater religious duties and recommended (Al Goaib, 2003). Research on religiosity proved that it does affect consumer behavior and influence the decision process on Halal food consumption (Bonne, 2007). The attitude on food consumption depends on individuals level of religious commitment or the importance placed on religion in their life (Moklis, 2006). Past studies show that Muslims with
2

higher religiosity is said to have a halal consciousness and looking for products that satisfy their needs when purchasing halal food products, for example with the Halal logo (Shafie et al, 2006). Halal Perception Recently, Muslims are more aware of the importance of Halal food, which has led to the rapid expanding of World Halal Food industry (Che man et al, 2010). In other words, the global Halal wave is happening and shows that Muslim consumers becoming more conscious to take the issue of Halal seriously (Husain, 2006). It is important for Muslims to understand the concept of Halal and Haram that meet the demands of the religion (CAP, 2006). By having such understanding and knowledge, the consumer will have a better picture of what is Halal food consumption, besides be able to make an intelligent decision according to their preferences and faith (Ahmad, 1996). Muslim consumers must check and judge their consumption, such as the ingredients of any particular of food and drinks before consuming and make a wise decision (Hussaini, 1984). Thus, every Muslim individual must be cautious and concern in the aspect of food consumption to avoid any doubtful and uncertain food products (CAP, 2006). On the other hand, the main challenge is the different interpretations of what Muslims consider what as Halal. This has led to misunderstand and even fraud (Bonne, 2009). It was probably because Halal and Haram concepts are profoundly embedded in the Arab-Muslims tradition and history. This affects the Arabs and non Arabs Muslims way of thinking and acting. Research found that Arabic texts are inadequately explained, and inaccurately translated into other languages (Al Jallad, 2008). Another possible reason why the different occurs may be due to social structures, such as immigration and generation differences (Bonne, 2006). The easiest way for the Muslim consumers is by purchasing food products with Halal certification and logo as a significant way to inform and to reassure that the products are Halal (Shafie et al., 2006). Past studies show that the Halal logo did play a role in the Muslim consumers purchase decision (Shaari, 2009; Golnaz, 2008). Muslim consumers had no means or time to check or obtain the necessary information on the products to satisfy their principles when making a purchase (Zakaria, 2008). Thus, the Halal logo is the label they can rely on in determining the Halal status of a product (Zakaria, 2008). Alternatively, the Muslim consumers generally check and identified from which country a food product is originated before purchasing them (Ahmed, 2008). Past country of origin (COO) studies have proven that COO as product info, affect consumers evaluation and responses of products (Bilkey & Nes, 1982). Previous studies also has proven that Muslim consumers are still preferred to purchase and consume Halal food from their own country or countries, which are predominantly Muslims (Bonn et al., 2007). Research hypotheses The following is the proposed hypotheses for this study: H1 There is a significant difference on the importance of Halal logo when purchasing selected food products between Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims in three different product categories. H2 There is a significant difference in terms of the level of religiosity and five different hypothetical constructs of Halal perception among Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims.
3

Methodology From six of the introduced variables, only religiosity was taken from an established scale while the rest was self developed by the authors. The constructs used are Religiosity (21 items), understanding the concept of Halal (20 items), Halal consciousness (10 items), Halal cautiousness (9 items), the importance of Halal logo (10 items) and product originated from Muslim countries (10 items). Firstly, the entire instrument was pretested on a group of respondents with similar characteristics as the main sample population (n = 20). A minor modification was made based on the feedback from the pretest respondents, and then a survey was conducted. The target population was Muslim adult, over 18 years old and quota sampling was used. Data were collected from Muslim consumers (Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims) in Malaysia. A total of 300 questionnaires was distributed and 211 were returned and analyzed. The respondents consisted of mainly younger respondents (53.6 percent under 35 years of age) and married respondents (57.8 percent). The proportion of the Arab Muslims and non Arab Muslims was about the same, Arab Muslims consisted of 50.7 percent and non Arab Muslims consisted of 49.3 percent. In general, more male respondents (67.8 percent) completed the survey compared to female respondents (35.2 percent). The majority of the respondents had obtained tertiary education with 82 percent (first degree and above) and only 18 percent have a diploma or secondary school qualification. Analysis and Results The scales developed in the studied constructs were subject to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The result shows the Cronbachs alpha values are above of acceptable level. Halal consciousness, Halal cautiousness, the importance of Halal logo, product originated from Muslim countries was 0.85, 0.88, 0.86, and 0.79 respectively. One factor was extracted for each of the constructs in EFA except for religiosity; two factors were extracted EFA. They are faith (factor 1) and Ibadah or worship (factor 2). The Cronbachs alpha value was 0.84 and 0.79 respectively. Based on the EFA, CFA was performed. The summary of the CFA results is shown in Table 1. Table 1: The summary of CFA results
Measures X2 df p CMIN/df GFI AGFI NFI TLI CFI RMSEA Halal consciousness 8.654 2 0.013 4.327 0.98 0.902 0.981 0.955 0.985 0.126 Halal cautiousness 62.694 27 0 2.322 0.936 0.893 0.922 0.938 0.954 0.079 Logo 1.596 2 0.45 0.798 0.996 0.982 0.996 1.003 1 0 COO 4.257 2 0.119 2.128 0.99 0.951 0.83 0.972 0.991 0.073 Reli_ faith 0.343 2 0.843 0.171 0.996 0.999 0.999 1.013 1 0 Reli_Ibadah 8.707 5 0.121 1.741 0.985 0.954 0.969 0.973 0.986 0.059

Table 2 shows the result of respondents reactions on the importance of Halal logo when purchasing three categories of food products, which consisted of 29 items. The scale was measured by using 7 point category scale (not important at all- very important). In general, there is a significant difference on the reactions between Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims when purchasing those items. The result shows that non Arabs Muslims are significantly higher when compared to Arabs Muslims in all products items. Non Arab Muslims are more careful when purchasing food products compared to Arab Muslims. However, the table also showed that higher mean was found when purchasing meat-based products. For non meat based products generally lower mean were recorded especially among Arab Muslims. For drinks, lower mean was found. Meat based products were recorded in a higher mean because Islamic ruling prohibits pork, dead meat and meat that have not been slaughtered according to Islamic rulings. Meat, for instance, cattle and goat have to be slaughtered using to Islamic method. Fish or any animal from the sea is not a problem to be consumed.

Table 2: The importance of Halal logo when purchasing selected food products: a comparison between Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims consumers.
Food products meat based products sausages nuggets meat ball pizza meat based processed food Non meat based food products pasta noodles vegetable based canned food fish based canned food cookies fruit based canned food chocolate candy snack food seasoning soy sauce tomato sauce chilli sauce spices butter margarine cheese cake muffin Arab Muslims Mean 6.1028 6.028 6.2523 6.0374 6.3178 5.5047 5.3925 4.6542 4.6542 5.4486 4.4299 5.6636 5.486 5.3832 4.8692 4.8785 4.7757 4.6355 4.2897 5.5701 5.2523 5.6168 5.6542 5.5421 Non Arab Muslims Significance**

6.7596 6.7981 6.8365 6.7308 6.7692 6.4519 6.4904 6.2981 6.2788 6.3077 6.0865 6.4519 6.4712 6.375 6.4038 6.2596 6.1731 6.1635 5.7692 6.5769 6.5865 6.5673 6.5192 6.5

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 5

vinegar cereals Drinks non alcoholic drink fruit juices mineral water
**Level of significance using T- test.

4.7757 4.3551 4.6355 4.1589 3.7009

6.0385 6.1058 6.0192 5.5577 5.1731

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

*Based on likert scale of 1- 7 in which 1 equivalent to strongly disagree and 7 equivalents to strong agree.

Table 3 presents the result of t- test of the measured variables. There are significant differences for all the studied variables between Arab Muslims and Non Arab Muslims consumer, except for Ibadah (worship). Inspection of the means results, it was clearly discovered that the level of religiosity and Halal perception among Non Arab Muslims is higher compared to Arab Muslims. H1 was supported and were shown in Table 2; while H2 was partly supported and were shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Mean differences of seven hypothetical constructs.

Arab Mean Religiosity Faith Ibadah Halal Perception Understanding the concept of Halal Halal consciousness Halal cautiousness The importance of Halal logo Product originated from Muslim countries
**Level of significance using T- test.

Non Arab

Significance** 0.010 0.093 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.045

26.36 26.55 12.47 25.81 53.9 24.16 21.58

27.32 27.8 13.79 27.23 58.57 26.41 22.83

Discussion and conclusion Overall, these findings have supported the assumption of the dissimilarity of Muslim consumers across different ethnicity. This study introduces a set of construct to describe the basic process of behavioural intention towards Halal food products. Results from the research is hoped to assist marketers in formulating effective marketing strategy both in local and international markets. The results also will provide an important insight for marketing strategists. Further research is also required to explore a wider geographical scope to generalize the overall population as well as avoiding from sampling bias. This research was only limited in Klang Valley (state of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor) area. It is also to note that this study limited its discovery to Arab Muslims and non Arab Muslims. Therefore, future research should be able to examine Muslim consumers from different other ethnic groups in a diverse province around the world.
6

References Ahmed, A., 2008. Marketing Of Halal Meat in the United Kingdom - Supermarkets versus Local Shops. British Food Journal. Al-Goaib, S., 2003. Religiosity and social conformity of university students: an analytical study applied at King Saoud University, Arts Journal of King Saoud University, Vol. 16 No. 1. Al Jallad N. 2008. The concepts of al-halal and al-haram in the Arab-Muslim culture: a translational and lexicographical study. Language Design. 77-86. Bernama, May 5, 2009. World Halal Food Industry Estimated To Rise To Us$655 Billion. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=408763, accessed on May 10, 2011. Bilkey WJ, Nes, J., 1982. Country-Of-Origin Effects On Product Evaluations. Journal Of International Business Studies,, 89-99. Bonne , K., & Verbeke, W., 2006. Muslim Consumer's Attitude Towards Meat Consumption In Belgium: Insights From A Means End Chain Approach Anthropology Of Food. Bonne , K., Vermeir, I., F., B.-B., & Verbeke, W., 2007. Determinants Of Halal Meat Consumption In France. British Food Journal, 367- 386. Bonne, K., Vermeir, I., & Verbeke, W., 2009. Impact Of Religion On Halal Meat Consumption Decision Making In Belgium Journal Of International Food And Agribusiness Marketing, 5- 26. CAP, 2006. Panduan Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang : Halal Haram Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang, Malaysia Cateora P.R., Graham. J.L., 2005. International Marketing (12 Ed.), Irwin/Mcgraw-Hill, Boston. Che Man Y. , Sazili A.Q., 2010. Food Production from the Halal Perspective. In: GuerreroLegarreta I., Alarcn-Rojo, A.D., Y. H. Hui, Alvarado C. Handbook of Poultry Science and Technology. 183- 216 Fischer, J. 2008. Religion, science and markets: Modern halal production, trade and consumption. Embo Reports, 828- 831. Husain, S. (2006, September 16). Local halal food companies urged to shape up or lose out. Gulfnews.com. Retrieved February 28, 2011 from http://gulfnews.com/business/economy/localhalal-food-companies-urged-to-shape-up-or-lose-out-1.255321. Hussaini, M. M., & Sakr, A. H. (1984). Islamic Dietary Laws And Practices The Islamic Food And Nutrition Council Of America. Kotler, P., 2003. Marketing Management (11 Ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
7

Lada S., Geoffrey H.T, Hanudin A., 2010 Predicting intention to choose halalproducts using theory of reasoned action. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 3 (4). pp. 66-76. ISSN 1753-8394 Minkus-McKenna, D. (2007), The pursuit of halal, Progressive Grocer, Vol. 86, p. 17 Moklis, S. 2006. The Influence Of Religion On Retail Patronage Behaviour In Malaysia. University Of Stirling, United Kingdom Qaradawi, Y. A., 1995. The Lawful and the Prohibited In Islam, Al- Falah Foundation, Cairo Sakr AH. 1996. Understanding Halal Foods: Fallacies and Facts: Foundation For Islamic Knowledge, Chicago. Shaari, J. A. N., & Nur Shahira M.A., 2009. Dimension of Halal Purchase Intention: A Preliminary Study. Paper Presented At The Eleventh International Business Research Conference, Australia. Shafie, S., & Othman, M. N. 2006. Halal Certification: International Marketing Issues and Challenges. Paper Presented At The Ifsa Vii World Congress Berlin, Germany. Sungkar, I., 2009. Consumer Awareness: Thoughts and Trends across the Globe. Halal Journal Kuala Lumpur. The Future of the Global Muslim Population: Projections for 2010-203. Pew Internet & American Life Project, January 27, 2011, http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1872/muslim-population-projectionsworldwide-fast-growth, accessed on May 10, 2011. Zakaria, Z., 2008. Tapping Into the World Halal Market: Some Discussions on Malaysian Laws And Standards. Jurnal Syariah, 603-616.