Millennials’ acceptance towards Qard al-hasan: extending Islamic theory of consumer behaviour

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to look into millennials’ acceptance of Qard al-hasan using the Islamic theory of consumer behaviour (iTCB) in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

For this study, convenience sampling was used and 203 usable questionnaires were received from the respondents who are millennials and university students. The questionnaire link was distributed via social media platforms to the millennials.

Findings

The findings of this study reveal that there exists a strong and positive relationship between the role of iman and Maqasid consumer index in determining the millennial acceptance of Qard al-hasan. On the contrary, Islamic altruism does not turn out to be the factor of Qard al-hasan acceptance. Resultantly, these results suggest that millennials in Malaysia accept Qard al-hasan and based on those educational institutions may consider offering zero-interest benevolent loans to alleviate the financial burden of unprivileged students.

Research limitations/implications

Although this study provides positive results, a minimum of two research constraints may direct future efforts in this area. This study initially focuses on a specific ecosystem of Islamic financial products in Malaysia, with a particular emphasis on Qard al-hasan. As a result, subsequent research ought to strive to encompass a larger perspective on Qard al-hasan. Secondly, this research uses a theory that is still in the applicability phase, which has led to some productive discussions for further improvements.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is one of the few studies conducted on an empirical basis using the iTCB in the milieu of Qard al-hasan in Malaysia.

Citation

Shaikh, I.M., Amin, H. and Ashiqin, N. (2024), "Millennials’ acceptance towards Qard al-hasan: extending Islamic theory of consumer behaviour", Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIABR-04-2023-0126