Religious influences on consumers' high-involvement purchasing decisions

Abstract

Purpose – This aim of this paper is to investigate the impact that religious factors have on a consumer's perception of brand loyalty in the context of the services industry. Specifically, the study focuses on the attitudinal/affective form of brand loyalty. An empirical investigation was conducted to test whether the religiosity and religious centrism of Muslim consumers can instill attitudinal brand loyalty towards an insurer selling a religiously-conforming high-involvement indemnity service. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was conducted with 208 Muslim consumers, and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was used to test the relationships between the exogenous and endogenous variables. Findings – The results shows that there is a positive relationship between the exogenous religiosity and religious centrism constructs, and the endogenous attitudinal brand loyalty, price tolerance and word-of-mouth constructs. Practical implications – The findings of this research study suggest that religion can have a significant impact on consumers' choice when purchasing an indemnity service such as a car insurance service. Given the fact that religious values are persistent over time, there are some potential long-term benefits for companies that can identify the lucrative religious consumer segments that are present in the local and global markets. Originality/value – This study provides valuable insight into the UK Muslim consumer behavior by exploring the religious factors that can influence consumers' brand loyalty toward buying high-involvement religiously-compliant products and services. The findings of this study also indicate that the existing TRA and TRB models in the social sciences literature may need to incorporate a new ritualistic/religious dimension to the existing attitude-intention relationship saga.