THE EFFECTS OF HALAL CERTIFICATION AND PRODUCT FEATURES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: A SCENARIO-BASED EXPERIMENT

Abstract

With the rise in the population of Muslims globally, the issue of halal products is becoming increasingly important. The fact that consumers prefer halal products and demand more of these products has attracted companies' attention as well. The certification of halal products and product type affects the behavior of consumers towards these products. Besides that, the countries that produce the products, whether Muslim or not, is a matter of concern for consumers who are sensitive about halal products. In this study, halal product certification, how consumer behavior changes according to product type, and the country where the product is produced were examined. A scenario -based experiment was used to test the hypotheses developed, and the effects of independent variables on consumer purchase intention, trust, and perceived risk were examined. The religiosity scale was used as a control variable to control consumer religious sensitivities in the study. The results showed that halal-certified products and Muslim country product origin led to a higher level of consumer purchase intention, trust, and lower levels of perceived risk. Besides that, the existence of halal certification increased purchase intention for utilitarian products. Based on the results, the interaction of halal certification and country of origin has a significant impact on consumer purchase intention, while the interaction of halal certification and product type has a significant impact on consumer purchase intention as well as perceived risk. Halal certification increases both consumer purchase intention and trust in products produced by non-Muslim countries.