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This study investigates the factors influencing the intention to use Islamic Debt Financing (IDF) among owners-managers of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Morocco.

We developed and validated a comprehensive model that examines the key behavioral elements affecting attitude towards IDF, entrepreneurial achievement motivation, and IDF usage intention. Entrepreneurial achievement motivation was assessed as a mediator in the relationship between attitude towards IDF and usage intention. Gender and Islamic religiosity were examined as moderators through Multi-Group analysis. Utilizing data from 266 Moroccan MSMEs, we applied structural equation modeling for empirical evaluation.

Results revealed direct relationships with financial literacy, risk perception, and cost perception negatively affecting attitude toward IDF. Financial suitability is inversely related to attitude toward IDF. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and subjective norms positively influenced entrepreneurial achievement motivation. Attitude toward IDF positively impacted entrepreneurial achievement motivation, and both attitude toward IDF and entrepreneurial achievement motivation were linked to the intention to use IDF. Empirical findings indicated that entrepreneurial achievement motivation partially mediates the relationship between attitude towards IDF and usage intention. Multi-group analysis revealed a significant moderating effect of Islamic religiosity on three out of nine structural relationships.

This study is primarily limited by the absence of a longitudinal examination tracking real usage behavior. Moreover, data collection focused on analyzing the behavioral intention to use Islamic debt-based financing products, excluding equity-based financing instruments. Finally, our proposed model concentrates on establishing usage intention solely based on demand-side factors without explicitly integrating supply-side consideration.

Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of IDF adoption behavior and have the potential to support the development of more effective public policies, targeted promotional campaigns, and impactful financial education programs for MSMEs in similar markets.

This paper represents the first attempt to address MSMEs’ apprehensions regarding Islamic debt-based financing products in the MENA region.

This paper aims to examine the antecedents of adoption intention of profit-sharing investment deposits (PSID) among Moroccan customers.

Applying an extended version of diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and using a non-probability sampling technique with convenience approach, a quantitative survey was developed and administered to 171 Islamic banking users. Structural equation modeling was then used to evaluate the significance of relationships between the various variables under study using SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 26.0 statistical packages.

Empirical findings of the structural analysis indicated a significant direct relationship between adoption intention and six out of seven variables: perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, perceived complexity, perceived risk, religiosity and social influence, all of which had a significant effect on Moroccan customers’ intention to invest their funds in profit-sharing based deposit instruments, whereas customer awareness exerted an insignificant positive effect.

The absence of a longitudinal study tracking the actual adoption behavior is the main limitation of this study. Furthermore, data were collected solely from Islamic banking users. Finally, despite being insightful, the empirical findings should be generalized with caution since the sample was purposely selected by the banks’ management.

This study implied that participatory banks should pay substantial attention to risk perceptions, as PSID adoption intention is typically inhibited by high perceived risks associated with these products. Moreover, this study provides great indications to Moroccan regulators and policymakers on a number of issues related to this emerging business.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper represents the first attempt to confirm the effectiveness of the Rogers’ DOI in examining the intention to adopt a financial innovation in the Moroccan context. It is also the first of its kind to address customers’ apprehensions regarding profit-sharing investment products.