ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Even though the importance of halal awareness in determining Muslims’ purchase intentions is recognized in the marketing literature, empirical research on this issue, particularly in the tourism context, is still limited. Hence, to fill this knowledge gap, this study examines the effect of halal awareness on Malaysian Muslims’ intention to visit homestays in Sabah, Malaysia. Besides, gender was tested as a moderator in the hypothesized relationship. A quantitative cross-sectional approach was applied to gather data from a sample of 72 males and 72 females of local Malaysian Muslims. A convenience sampling method was employed to collect data for the study. Data collected were analyzed using SmartPLS 3.3.2.9 software. The study’s findings indicate that halal awareness significantly influences Malaysian Muslims’ intention to visit homestays in Sabah, Malaysia. Additionally, the link between halal awareness and the Muslims’ intention to visit the homestays in Sabah are moderated by the factor of gender. The results indicate that the female respondents are having a higher halal awareness than the male respondents.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. doi:10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T.
Ambali, A. R., & Bakar, A. N. (2013). Halal food and products in Malaysia: People’s awareness and policy implications. Intellectual Discourse, 21(1):7-32.
Ambali, A. R., & Bakar, A. N. (2014). People’s awareness on halal foods and products: Potential issues for policy-makers. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 121(2014), 3–25.
Aziz, Y. A., & Chok, N. V. (2013). The role of halal awareness, halal certification, and marketing components in determining halal purchase intention among non-muslims in Malaysia: A structural equation modelling approach. Journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing, 25(1), 1–23.
Awan, H. M., Siddiquei, A. N., & Haider, Z. (2015). Factors affecting Halal purchase intention evidence from Pakistan’s Halal food sector. Management Research Review, Vol 38 (6), 640-660.
Azam, A. (2016). An empirical study on non-Muslim’s packaged Halal food manufacturers: Saudi Arabian consumers’ purchase intention. Journal of Islamic Marketing, Vol 7(4), 441-460.
Bellows, A. C., Alcaraz, G., & Hallman, W. K. (2010). Gender and food, a study of attitudes in the USA towards organic, local, US grown, and GM-free foods. Appetite, 55(3), 540– 550. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2010.09.002.
Bonne, Karijn, Verbeke, & Wim. (2006). Muslim consumer's motivations towards meat consumption in Belgium: Qualitative exploratory insights from means-end chain analysis. Anthropology of Food, 5. 2-24.
Battour, M. M., Ismail, M. N., & Battor, M. (2010). Toward A Halal Tourism Market. Tourism Analysis, 15(4), 461–470.
Battour, M., Ismail, M. N., & Battor, M. (2011). The impact of destination attributes on Muslim tourist's choice. International Journal of Tourism Research, 13(6), 527–540.
Battour, M., Battor, M., & Bhatti, M. A. (2013). Islamic attributes of destination: Construct development and measurement validation, and their impact on tourist satisfaction. International Journal of Tourism Research, 16(6), 556–564.
Blanchard, C. M., Fisher, J., Sparling, P. B., Shanks, T. H., Nehl, E., Rhodes, R. E., Courneya, K. S., & Baker, F. (2009). Understanding adherence to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day: A theory of planned behavior perspective. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 41(1), 3-10.
Chen, J., Lobo, A., & Rajendran, N. (2014). Drivers of organic food purchase intentions in mainland China–evaluating potential customers’ attitudes, demographics and segmentation. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 38(4), 346–356. doi:10.1111/ijcs.12095.
Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modelling. In Marcoulides, G. A. (Ed.), Modern Methods for Business Research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chua, B., Lee, S., Kim, H., & Han, H. (2019). Investigation of cruise vacationers’ behavioral intention formation in the fast-growing cruise industry: The moderating impact of gender and age. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 25, 51 - 70.
Cohen, J. (1988), Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioural Sciences, Erlbaum, Hillsdale.
Correia, A., Santos, C. M., & Barros, C. P. (2007). Tourism in Latin America: a choice analysis. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(3), 610-629.
Courneya, K. S. (1994). Predicting repeated behavior from intention: the issue of scale correspondence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24(7), 580-594.
Conner, M., & Armitage, C. J. (1998). Extending the theory of planned behavior: review and avenues for further research. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28(15), 1429-1464.
Deuraseh, N. (2009). Lawful and unlawful foods in Islamic law focus on Islamic medical and ethical aspects. International Food Research Journal, Vol 16, 469-478.
Daily Express. (2020). Sabah’s homestays among the highest earners in Malaysia. Retrieved from http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/146244/sabah-s-homestays-among-highest-earners-in-m-sia/.
De Leeuw, A., Valois, P., Morin, A. J., & Schmidt, P. (2014). Gender differences in psychosocial determinants of university students’ intentions to buy fair trade products. Journal of Consumer Policy, 37(4), 485–505. doi:10.1007/s10603-014-9262-4.
Emanuel, A. S., McCully, S. N., Gallagher, K. M., & Updegraff, J. A. (2012). Theory of Planned Behavior explains gender difference in fruit and vegetable consumption. Appetite, 59(3), 693–697. Doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.08.007.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 39-50.
Ghadikolaei, F.S. (2016). The effect of halal signs and symptoms on consumers’ purchase intention in Muslim and non-Muslim countries - A review. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, Vol 5(7), 44-49.
Grogan, S. C., Bell, R., & Conner, M. (1997). Eating sweet snacks: Gender differences in attitudes and behaviour. Appetite, 28(1), 19–31. doi:10.1006/appe.1996.0067.
Haus, I., Steinmetz, H., Isidor, R., & Kabst, R. (2013). Gender effects on entrepreneurial intention: A meta?analytical structural equation model. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 5(2), 130-156. https://doi.org/10.1108/17566261311328828.
Hasan, Mashita, Sabtu, N., & Sahari, N. (2016). Syariah Compliant Homestay in Malaysia: Formulating Legal Framework.
Henderson, J. C. (2003). Managing tourism and Islam in peninsular Malaysia. Tourism management, Vol 24(4), 447-456. doi:10.1016/S0261-5177(02) 00106-1.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., and Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modelling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. doi:10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8.
Hwang, J., Kim, H. (2019). Consequences of a green image of drone food delivery services: The moderating role of gender and age. Business Strategy Environment, 28, 872–884.
Ibrahim, Y. (2004). Homestay Programme in Malaysia. ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism, 3(1), 65-75.
Jeaheng, Y., Al-Ansi, A., & Han, H. (2019). Halal-friendly hotels: impact of halal-friendly attributes on guest purchase behaviors in the Thailand hotel industry. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 36(6), 729–746.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2019.1631940.
Kasim, M. M., Kayat, K., Ramli, R., & Ramli, R. (2016). Sustainability Criteria for the Malaysia Homestay Programme. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6, 1–7.
Khraim, H. (2010). Measuring religiosity in consumer research from an Islamic perspective. Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Vol 26(1), 52-78.
Lada, S., Tanakinjal, H. G., & Amin, H. (2009). Predicting intention to choose Halal products using theory of reasoned action. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, Vol 2(1), 66-76.
Machali, M., Abdullah, H. R., & Razak, A. L. (2013). The effect of halal foods awareness on purchase decision with religiosity as a moderating variable a study at higher education institutions in Brunei Darussalam. Journal of Science and Education, 1-23.
Meyers-Levy, J., & Maheswaran, D. (1991). Exploring differences in males' and females' processing strategies. Journal of Consumer Research, 18(1), 63–70.
https://doi.org/10.1086/209241.
Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia. (2021). Laporan Statistik Program Pengalaman Homestay Malaysia tahun 2021. Retrieved from http://www.motac.gov.my/en/download/category/11-homestay
Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia. (2019). Laporan Statistik Program Pengalaman Homestay Malaysia tahun 2019. Retrieved from http://www.motac.gov.my/en/download/category/11-homestay
Nguyen, T. D., Nguyen, T., & Barrett, N. J. (2010). Consumer ethnocentrism, cultural sensitivity, and intention to purchase local products evidence from Vietnam. Journal of consumer behaviour, Vol7(1), 88-100.
Oh, H., Park, S., DeMicco, F. (2002). Age- and gender- based market segmentation: A structural understanding. International Journal Hospitality Tourism Admin, 3, 1–20.
Oktadiana, H., Pearce, P., & Chon, K. (2016). Muslim travelers’ needs: What don’t we know? Tour. Management Perspective, 20, 124–130.
Othman R., Azman A., Hashim K. S. H. Y., Radin H., Adzhar M., Mahamod L. H., Fadzillah, N. A. (2019). Assessment of Agro-Based Homestay Activities towards Muslim Friendly Tourism. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(2), page 901-909.
Olya, Hossein, & Al-Ansi, A. (2018). Risk assessment of halal products and services: Implication for tourism industry. Tourism Management, 65, 279-291.
Rapport, L., Peters, G. R., Downey, R., McCann, T., & Huff-Corzine, L. (1993). Gender and age differences in food cognition. Appetite, 20(1), 33–52.
Rasli, A. (2013). Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Intention among Graduate Students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 4 (2), pp. 182–188.
Riaz, Mian, & Chaudry, M. M. (2004). The value of Halal food production. INFORM - International News on Fats, Oils and Related Materials. 15. 698-700.
Ryu, K., & Han, H. (2010). Predicting tourists’ intention to try local cuisine using a modified theory of reasoned action: The case of New Orleans. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 27(5), 491–506. doi:10.1080/10548408.2010.499061.
Said, M., Hassan, F., Musa, R., & Rahman, N. A. (2014). Assessing Consumers’ Perception, Knowledge and Religiosity on Malaysia's Halal Food Products. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, Vol 130, 120-128.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Shaari, J. A. N., & Arifin, M. N. S. (2009). Dimension of Halal purchase intention: A preliminary study. In American Business Research Conference, New York, USA, 1-15.
Suki, N. M., & Salleh, A. S. A. (2016). Does Halal image strengthen consumer intention to patronize Halal stores? Journal of Islamic Marketing, Vol 7(1), 120-132.
Swan, J. (1981). Disconfirmation of expectations and satisfaction with a retail service. Journal of Retailing, 57(3), 49-66.
Tang, Z., Luo, J., & Xiao, J. (2011). Antecedents of intention to purchase mass customized products. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 20(4), 316.
Doi: 10.1108/10610421111148333.
Teng, P. K., & Jusoh, W. J. (2013). Investigating student awareness and usage intention towards Halal labelled cosmetics and personal care products in Malaysia. In 4th International Conference on Business and Economic Research (4th ICBER 2013), Bandung, Indonesia.
Tiraieyari, N., Ricard, R. M., & McLean, G. N. (2019). Factors influencing volunteering in urban agriculture: Implications for recruiting volunteers. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 45, 126372, pp. 1–9. Doi: 10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126372.
Ting, H., De Run, Ernest, H., Cheah & Chuah, F. (2016). Food Neophobia and Ethnic Food Consumption Intention: An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. British Food Journal. Vol. 118, pp. 2781-2797.
Wu, P. C., Yeh, G. Y. Y., & Hsiao, C. R. (2011). The effect of store image and service quality on brand image and purchase intention for private label brands. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), Vol. 19 (1), pp. 30-39.
Yunus, N. S. N. M., Rashid, W. E. W., Ariffin, N. M., & Rashid, N. M. (2015). Muslim's Purchase Intention towards Non-Muslim's Halal Packaged Food Manufacturer. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol 130, 145-154. Doi 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.018.
Zamani-Farahani, H., & Henderson, J. C. (2010). Islamic tourism and managing tourism development in Islamic societies: The cases of Iran and Saudi Arabia. The International Journal of Tourism Research, 12(1), 79.
Zakaria, N. B., Yunos, R. M., Mahmood, C. F. C., Anita, R., & Said, J. (2017). The effect of consumers’ interest, information access and spending willingness on halal products trustworthiness. Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Journal, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 183- 200.
In-Text Citation: (Jalasi & Ambad, 2021)
To Cite this Article: Jalasi, A. Bin, & Ambad, S. N. A. (2021). Halal Awareness Effect on Malaysian Muslims’ Intention to Visit Homestays in Sabah, Malaysia: The Moderating Role of Gender. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(9), 1538–1554.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
2025 © Copyright HRMARS. All rights Reserved.