A Generational Cohort Study of the Relationship between Religious Intensity and Religious Assurance for the Purchase of Non-food Products

International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues ISSN: 2146-4138 available at http: www.econjournals.com International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 2015, 5(Special Issue) 330-334. 2nd AFAP INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (AICEBM 2015), 10-11 January 2015, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A Generational Cohort Study of the Relationship between Religious Intensity and Religious Assurance for the Purchase of Non-food Products Hifza Ibrahim1, Hashanah Ismail2* IPPH, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia, 2Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia. *Email: 1 ABSTRACT This paper reports on a study of a special market segment in Malaysia: A group of consumers labeled as the generational cohort of the Malaysian generation Y (Gen Y) consumers. The objective of this paper is to examine the influence of religion and intensity of religion in a consumer’s make up on the purchase intention of non-food products carrying the Halal label by a specific market segment. A survey of 300 Muslim Gen Y consumers as a generational cohort in the country was carried out in order to assess the intensity of religion of consumers and how this intensity relates to intention to buy non-food products like cosmetics and toiletries, which have certification of assurance that the products are Halal compliant. The study measures religious intensity by using the Religiosity Scale developed by Kraus et al. The study finds that several personal characteristics of respondents are significantly related to purchase behavior, proxied by intention to purchase for Halal labeled non-food products. The study also finds a significant relationship between religiosity and purchase intention for Halal labeled non-food products among Gen Y respondents. This is a new finding and therefore contributes to the limited literature on purchase behavior for Halal labeled non-food products. It also contributes to the literature on Gen Y decision making when considering purchase of non-food products which carry the Halal label. Keywords: Religiosity, Halal Labeled Products, Generational Cohort, Malaysian generation Y’s JEL Classifications: M00 1. INTRODUCTION The objective of this paper is to examine the influence of religion on the buying behavior of a generational cohort, the Malaysian generation Y (Gen Y) consumers, in relation to non-food products which are labeled as Halal. Consumers today are spoilt for choice when making decisions to select products for consumption for there is an array of similar products available for purchase. Not only are there many choices but consumers and producers are distant in time and place from each other making their identities unknown to each other. One-way of overcoming this distance is through the use of product labels to inform consumers about the products as well as the producers. For Muslim consumers labeling products as permissible in accordance with the Islamic religion takes on a heightened dimension in product selection for 330 consuming products containing forbidden ingredients (haram) would make a Muslim less likely to lead a life in compliance with Islamic religious tenets. Global trade today is changing the way we perceive the origin of products and brands and their permissibility under Islamic Sharia laws. This apparently has serious implications for international companies operating in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. However, the desire to comply with the commandment in consuming only Halal products would also mean consumer involvement and factors that will influence consumer’s purchase decision in choosing what product they consume. As far as Muslims in Malaysia are concerned, they are beginning to question and avoid products with no Halal certification, especially foreign products (Aliman and Othman, 2007). Hence understanding purchase behavior of Muslim consumer regarding Halal labeled products is therefore imperative for marketer doing International International Journal Journal of Economics of Economics andand Financial Financial Issues Issues | Vol | Vol 5 • 5Special • IssueIssue 2 • 2015 • 2015 Ibrahim and Ismail: A Generational Cohort Study of the Relationship between Religious Intensity and Religious Assurance for the Purchase of Non-food Products business in a Muslim country. While many marketing texts recognize that religion can have important effects on international marketing decisions for example O’Cass et al., 2013 and Fam et al., 2004, religion as a consumer characteristic in its own right has been relatively under-researched. However, it is also understood that religion has no equal effect on two individuals. Thus, one can argue that the magnitude of religious influence will also vary from person to person for Muslim consumers. Therefore, it is not only the religion that matters the most in the consumption world but also the intensity of one’s religious affiliations known as religiosity. The greater the intensity of one’s religious affiliation, the higher will be the chances that he or she will strive to conform to his/her religious obligations in the consumption world. This paper will look at the relationship between religiosity and purchase behavior specific to a generational cohort, the Gen Y, as this is a generation identified as the future leaders as well as being consumers who are globally cultured (Price water house Coopers, 2008). Prior studies on Malaysian Gen Y buyer behavior are limited. Wong (2010) for example has studied Gen Y purchase behavior in relation to green brand perception, whilst. Phuah and Wan Jusoh (2013) investigated the awareness and usage intention of students towards Halal labelled cosmetics and personal care products. Since Halal is synonymous with the Islamic religion it is posited that how religious a person is can influence purchase intention. Given the unique profile of the Gen Y consumers, how does different level of religiousness affect their buying intention of Halal labelled non-food products? non-food products is selected as it is considered the third largest market for Halal products after food and banking services and is considered a market where there is a growing market segment for consideration of ingredient selection (Hunter, 2011). It is therefore the objective of this paper to examine the relationship between religiosity and purchase intention for Halal labelled non-food products among Malaysian Gen Yconsumers. The paper contributes to the literature on Gen Y as a generational cohort with distinct buying behavior pattern. The paper also makes a new contribution to the literature on religion because it hypothesizes level of religious intensity, religiosity, rather than religion per se as a moderating factor between Gen Y characteristics and purchase intention. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: The next section reviews the literature followed by a brief des (...truncated)