Ethics of Halal and Thayyib Food Consumption Behavior: The Era of Post Pandemic COVID-19

Abstract

The post-COVID-19 pandemic has greatly influenced consumer habits for more sustainable and healthier consumption, although there is no evidence to support the transmission of COVID-19 by food, it is interesting to explore how people choose food and whether their consumption choices are influenced by ethical standards of consumption. Based on empirical evidence, this study provided insight into consumer behavior and buying behavior of halal and thayib food on the island of Java, Indonesia. This study adopted the theory of planned behavior (TPB) from Ajzen's to study the factors that influence consumer buying behavior as a whole towards halal and thayib food products after the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents of this research are Muslim and non-Muslim consumers in western Indonesia, especially the island of Java, which consists of six provinces including West Java, East Java, Central Java, Banten, Yogyakarta Special Region, and DKI Jakarta. The questionnaire was administered using convenience sampling for data collection consisting of 260 questionnaires and a total of 207 questionnaires filled out by respondents. The results show that, among all factors, the ethical relationship and the impact of the post-COVID-19 pandemic are very significant on the behavior of buying halal and thayib food and the body becomes healthy. This finding may have more appropriate managerial implications for promoting the consumption of halal and thayib food in western Indonesia during the post-COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic. Keywords: COVID – 19 Pandemic, halal and thayib food, theory of planned behavior (TPB)