John Fraedrich, Othman Althawadi and Ramin Bagherzadeh
The continued rise of the multinational and debate as to what constitutes global business values is predicated on the UN Declaration and Global Business Compact. This research…
Abstract
Purpose
The continued rise of the multinational and debate as to what constitutes global business values is predicated on the UN Declaration and Global Business Compact. This research suggests both documents explicitly exclude the existence of a foundational ethereal power creating morals thereby nullifying two thirds of the general population’s belief system. The authors argue against humanism as a global value beginning and suggest theism as a better origin and use the scientific method to introduce mathematical axioms supporting theism and complimenting humanism. Ontologically, the theist becomes a stronger base for the scientific inquiry into morals, values and business ethics. A comparison of major religious morals revealed eight factors: assurance; candor, fairness and honesty; character, integrity, truthfulness and exacting in truth; charity and compassion; environment; perseverance and tolerance; sacrifice; and seriousness. The research suggests that the UN documents do not adequately reflect these morals suggesting a change for businesses especially in Islamic regions.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive review of religious materials emphasizing morals rather than customs, eternal entity description or negative behaviors yielded 1,243 morals and associated synonyms via six religions (Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism) representing 4.5 billion people. All positive morals were cross-referenced and only common items across all six religions were included. With the 29 common morals, the authors completed a word meaning search and did a second comparison that yielded 8 moral factors or constructs.
Findings
Eight moral factors were found to be common in all major religions (assurance, fairness/honesty, character/integrity, charity/compassion, environment, tolerance, sacrifice and seriousness). By using the scientific method (Axioms), the authors argue that theism is a better beginning to researching morals and values within business and marketing.
Social implications
Multinationals should be made aware of the disconnect between the underlying problems of the Global Business Compacts’ values and the global morals identified. The results suggest adopting a codification system based on the pertinent morals as related to economic theories: capitalism, socialism and theism. The use of theism as a base to business and marketing ethics includes billions of customers and employees and their belief systems that should increase the validity and reliability of actions associated with corporate social responsibility, the environment and best practices.
Originality/value
The UN Declaration and subsequent Global Business Compact are argued to be flawed by its exclusion of religious morals and the historical period in which it was created. By using the scientific method and creating two axioms, the base to all business and marketing ethics must shift to the common moral factors identified.
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Syed Adil Shah, Maqsood Hussain Bhutto and Sarwar M. Azhar
The purpose of this study is to integrate and synthesize the Islamic marketing literature, understand the phenomenon and related concepts and provide suggestions for future…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to integrate and synthesize the Islamic marketing literature, understand the phenomenon and related concepts and provide suggestions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses an integrative review method that emphasizes summarizing and synthesizing the previous literature related to a phenomenon.
Findings
The findings indicate the emergence of five major themes, namely, Islamic marketing and its perspectives, activities in Islamic marketing, opportunities, controversies and challenges in Islamic marketing, Islamic principles and determinants of consumers’ behavior and awareness toward Islamic products. Each of the major themes consists of sub-themes discussed in detail in the results and discussion sections.
Research limitations/implications
Like other studies, this integrative literature review has some limitations. These include the methodology undertaken, the lack of explanation of inter-relationship among themes and lack of Islamic theory-based review. These limitations lead to future research directions.
Practical implications
Marketing managers need a thorough understanding of the Islamic standards and need to develop strategies. Further, there are inter-differences among Muslims, which need to be thoroughly understood by managers. Moreover, marketers can effectively use advertising in creating awareness and increasing demand of halal products.
Originality/value
This study provides an integrative review of the literature and synthesizes the Islamic marketing literature, which has not been done before.
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Andi Syathir Sofyan, Ega Rusanti, Nurmiati Nurmiati, Syaakir Sofyan, Robert Kurniawan and Rezzy Eko Caraka
This study aims to determine research performance in Islamic business ethics and explore future research directions from leading articles and scholars.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine research performance in Islamic business ethics and explore future research directions from leading articles and scholars.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used bibliometric and content analysis to analyze 250 articles from reputable Scopus and Web of Sciences journals.
Findings
To date, the normative style still dominates Islamic business ethics research. Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia are the center of discussion on Islamic business ethics. This study also suggests that researchers and academics study aspects of the economy that Islamic values have not touched, such as the theme of art, artificial intelligence for labor relations, workers' rights and language.
Research limitations/implications
This research aims to contribute knowledge to Muslims as a reference guide for ethical business behavior. Non-Muslim managers can use this paper as a guide in forming a global company that is pluralistic and respectful of religious communities.
Originality/value
This research makes a scholarly contribution by providing a comprehensive exploration and detailed future research directions in each subtheme of Islamic business ethics.
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This study aims to reveal how consumers and shoppers are negative toward alcohol, animal fat, producers and certification issues concerned with halal cosmetics products.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to reveal how consumers and shoppers are negative toward alcohol, animal fat, producers and certification issues concerned with halal cosmetics products.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 527 students of 4 public universities and a medical college across Bangladesh took part in a survey and 150 shoppers from 2 cities participated in the face to face interview with the structured questionnaires. Frequency distribution was used for categorical and numerical data, and the chi-square test with a binary logistic regression model has tested the association between gender and attitudes toward halal cosmetics. Besides, narratives of Sharīʿah regarding alcohol, meat, fat and halal certification have helped understand the halal issue.
Findings
In total, 83% of the respondents perceived negative attitudes against haram animal fat followed by alcohol (74%) and animal fat (64%). The chi-square test shows that consumers held a significant association toward haram animal fat, (p-value 0.000) alcohol, (p-value 0.000) non-Muslim producers (p-value 0.000) and non-Muslim countries (p-value 0.026). Imperatively, the binary logistic regression model has found a significant negative association to haram animal fat (ß2 −0.295) and alcohol (ß1 −0.200).
Practical implications
Marketers ought to avoid haram animal fat in halal cosmetics besides focusing on alcohol freeness. Also, non-Muslim marketers need to be extra cautious in showcasing their identities. However, Islamic marketers will enjoy a competitive advantage in the halal market because of their demographic factors.
Social implications
Islamic principles on alcohol, meat, fat and certification potentially can help other stakeholders sense the halal norms.
Originality/value
This study has blended the elements of Sharīʿah with empirical evidence to shed light on the fundamental and trust factors for the marketing of halal cosmetics products.
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Jessen Floren, Tareq Rasul and Azmat Gani
The purpose of this study is to systematically review the existing literature on Islamic marketing and its major impacts on consumer behaviours. In addition, this study seeks to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to systematically review the existing literature on Islamic marketing and its major impacts on consumer behaviours. In addition, this study seeks to shed light on global trends and dynamics beyond Islamic marketing and how Islam, as one of the most prominent religions worldwide, affects the consumption and purchasing choices of Muslim consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review of published peer-reviewed articles on Islamic marketing was conducted. A comprehensive search strategy was applied on different databases, including Google Scholar, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, MUSE and Directory of Open Access Journals, and the retrieved articles were then selected from 14 leading journals published between 2010 and 2018.
Findings
Islam as a religion has been found to impact the ethical beliefs and behaviours of Muslim consumers from different countries, as well as consumers’ choice of services and some taboo products on the basis of Islamic Shariah law. The results show that Islamic marketing has a significant impact on the characteristics of Muslim consumers and therefore affects their key choices about certain products and services.
Research limitations/implications
The studies included in this review are extensively based on peer-reviewed articles published in high-ranked marketing journals (A* and A in the Australian Business Deans Council list), which may be perceived as a limitation in the present study. Another limitation is that this study only took into account peer-reviewed articles written in English.
Practical implications
The important relationship between Islam and the heterogeneous Muslim consumer will have a considerable practical implication for companies that explore the marketing supply capacity in the Islamic world. The authors hereby expect the current review to significantly impact the identification of methodologies for the main trends in the academic analysis of Islamic marketing and Islamic consumer behaviour.
Originality/value
This review provides a strong contribution to Islamic marketing literature by recommending the need to integrate the Islamic practices related to consumer consumption of goods and services in studies focused on consumer behaviour analysis.