Introducing halal food knowledge to the non-Muslim consumers in Malaysia (Its effect on attitude and purchase intention)

Abstract

Health benefits become the main reason for the non-Muslim consumers to consume halal food. However, the non-Muslim consumers perceive that the Islamic slaughtering method is inhumane, at the same time. As a result, inconclusive findings are identified within the literatures leading to the need to address the gap of empirical evidence for the knowledge of the non-Muslim consumers towards halal food purchase intention. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the relationship of Halal Food Knowledge (HFK), attitude (ATT) and purchase intention (PI) amongst non-Muslim consumers in Malaysia. The theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Hierarchy of Effect (HOE) Model are used as the basis of the relationship. This study applies the quantitative research methodology and collects the purchase intention data by questionnaire distribution. Data were collected from 315 non-Muslim consumers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor through self-administered questionnaire. Structural Equation Modelling with Smart PLS was adopted to validate the model of this study. The findings of this study reveals that attitude significantly mediates the relationship between halal food knowledge and purchase intention. The significant mediating role of attitude suggests that both health and animal-friendly attributes of halal food are aligned with non-Muslim consumers’ motives on food consumption. Based on the findings, emphasizing on both attributes as informational elements would result in a positive attitude and, in turn, increase the Malaysian Non-Muslim consumers’ halal food purchase intention.