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ISSN : 1225-8504(Print)
ISSN : 2287-8165(Online)
Journal of the Korean Society of International Agriculture Vol.31 No.4 pp.322-334
DOI : https://doi.org/10.12719/KSIA.2019.31.4.322

Factors Influencing the Purchase Intention to consume Halal Certified food in Korea: Evidence from international Pakistani Muslims in South Korea

Asma Ali, Jong-In Lee
Dept. of Agricultural & Resource Economics, Kangwon National Univ., Chuncheon, 24341, Korea
Corresponding author (Phone) +82-10-7347-4123 (E-mail) leejongin@kangwon.ac.kr
August 22, 2019 December 6, 2019 December 11, 2019

Abstract


Halal market has been expanding enormously. It has received special attention globally as one of the most advanced business to be explored and develop. Muslim minority countries like South Korea have taken initiative to see the opportunity and penetrate the halal food industry to boost the local economy. However, there is still a knowledge gap behind the importance of studying the halal industry and the limited availability of academic resources. This research will participate to being a reference of halal study in the future for considering the consumers purchase behavior of halal food and being an eye-opener for the government to keep pursuing the halal direction because the halal market size is always getting expand. Due to that, this research aims to examine the factors that can influence purchase intention of halal food among the Muslim consumers in South Korea. The data were collected from 477 respondents. The purposive sampling method is used to gather respondents from the administrative districts from the South Korea. The hypothesis results of this study revealed that three variables which are halal certification, religious beliefs and halal brand satisfaction that were significantly related to Halal purchase intention among Muslim consumers. The findings of this research may be useful and helpful for manufacturers to understand Halal purchase intention among Muslim consumers as well as beneficial for the consumers to be aware of Halal implication in their daily live.



한국의 할랄 인증 식품 소비에 대한 구매 의도에 영향을 미치는 요인: 한국의 파키스탄 공동체를 통한 원인 분석

아스마 알리, 이 종인
강원대학교 농업생명과학대학 농업자원경제학과

초록


    INTRODUCTION

    There are altogether more than two billion Muslim populations in the world spreading over 112 countries (Lipda and Hackett, 2015). Across diverse regions such as Organization of Islamic Conference Nations (1.4 billion), Asia (805 million), Africa (300 million), Middle East (210 million), Europe (18 million), and Malaysia (16 million) recorded (Mida, 2019). Pakistan is the world’s 35th-largest country in terms of land area. It has as estimated population of over 211.819 million (Gilgit Baltistan regions has an additional estimated population of 1.8 million) and is the world’s fifth most populous country. Pakistan is most populous Muslim-majority country and here are 10 countries in the world with the largest Muslim population namely, Indo-nesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Nigeria, Algeria and Sudan (Muslimpro, 2017).

    Halal has become a universal concept. Halal is a term exclusively used in Islam which means permissible. Halal and Haram (Non-permissible) aspects as stipulated in Islamic laws. It covers all spectrums of Muslim life, not limited to foods and drinks only, but also for safety, animal well-being, social justice and sustainable environment. Halal and Toyyiban which defines clean and wholesome portray the symbol of intolerance to hygiene, safety and quality of food that Muslim consumed under dietary laws (K. Bahauddin, et,al, 2015). In recent years consumer have attached increasing importance to food safety, health issues, convenience, information and ethical issues like sustainability, animal or environmental friendliness in the food they consumed (Verbeke,2006).

    The development of Halal food is not only increasing in Pakistan and other Muslim-majorities populated countries, but also the Halal impact boom in the countries which are populated by Muslim-minorities; For example in the United States and other European countries (Zurina, 2004) . A report released in European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) that Muslim consumers who live in Britain are very much concerned about Halal products in their everyday consumption (Johan, 2008). The consumer on Non-Muslim countries also noticeable regarding increasing demand for Halal food products and non-food products, likewise personal care, pharmaceuticals, tourism, banking, financing and other services such as hospitality and logistics (Nik et al, 2012).

    For meat and poultry to be Halal, the rules of slaughter are based on Islamic law. The animal has to be alive and healthy, a Muslim has to perform the animal slaughter in the appropriate ritual manner, and the animal’s throat must be cut by a sharp knife severing the carotid artery, jugular vein and windpipe in a single swipe. Blood must be drained out of the carcass (James Meike, 2014).Halal meat should be buying from an authorized Halal butcher and for processed foods to be Halal, they must be free of alcohol and pork. Muslim people are allowed to eat fish. And also one more important thing halal food cannot touch or be contaminated in the storage or preparation process with meat that has not been slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law.

    According to Rasli (2013), awareness and understanding on Halal concept is a must for any Muslim individual either a consumer or a manufacturers. This is the most important element that should be followed according to Shariah Law towards the production of Halal products and services. However every Muslim entrepreneur has a distinct level of awareness based on their background, religion culture, education and social interaction. In fact the Holy Quran addressed all human beings and not just Muslim to search for Halal and it is for their own benefit. The consumer should understand that Halal food requires that it is prepared in the most hygienic manner that meets international food safety standards and should not be viewed as offensive to any religious belief. The basic concept regarding Halal food production is cleanliness, free from ‘contamination’ and healthy as defined in the Quran (Robin, 2004).

    Based on Korea Muslim federation, there are about 100,000 Muslims living in South Korea by 2017, both Koreans and foreigners and expected to increase (0.2%) by 2030. The increasing demand for halal food in international market is an opportunity for countries to compete in the lucrative global market within halal food industry. South Korea was one of the many non-Muslim countries that looked eager to benefit from the Islamic economic industry. Gangwon province of South Korea is planned to host a roundtable on Islamic finance in 2019. In addition, Japan and Spain will also take part on host roundtable events in 2019 to discuss about halal food production and Muslim-friendly tourism (muslimink, 2018).

    There is a strong demand for Halal food products in a number of non-Muslim countries for both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers since Halal food gaining popularity due to the positive perception those Halal products are healthier, safer and humane animal treatment (Berry, 2008). In 2009, the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America’s report that the focus on food being wholesome also creates a strong opportunity to market Halal food as a lifestyle choice, especially in the United States of America and Europe where consumers already pay premium prices for organic foods (Halal Consumer Magazine, 2009).

    A Korea is not Muslim country and because of the scarce Muslim population in Korea, Halal status in Korea is very bad. Korea is working hard to attract Muslim travelers by issuing relevant promotional travel materials “Muslim friendly restaurants in Korea” booklet by Korea Tourism Organization. And also there are numerous blogs, sites and even apps that help Muslim to find Halal restaurants, prayer facilities or even just stay updated. After AirAsia, the discount airline, opened to main Japanese and Korean cities, the tourism from Muslim majority countries like Malaysia and Indonesia has surged dramatically (Natalija, 2018).

    The Halal Certification is a document that guarantees that products and services aimed at the Muslim population meet the requirements of Islamic law and therefore are suitable for Muslim consumption. Products that are Halal certified are often marked with a Halal symbol, or simply the letter M (as letter K is used to identify Kosher products for Jewish population) (Huda, 2019). However in Korea, most of them are just self-certified. Sometimes, they even don’t know the meaning of Halal. Sometimes, they just use fake Halal product which is self-certified by supplier and insist that they refers are Halal restaurant or Halal mart. In Korea, KMF (Korea Muslim Federation, located in Itaewon Masjid) is officially recognized Halal certification organization and few of restaurants get Halal certification from that organization. In Korea, there is no official Halal Certification Organization yet, but in 2017 Korean Government appointed KMF as official Halal Certification Organization.

    The KITA (Korea International Trade Association) is a private-public non-profit trade organization founded in 1946 with 105 traders as its founding members. KITA’s activities include support for overseas marketing and investment, promotion of International cooperation, provision of trade information and research and also support SMEs to find new customers and secure a wide range of business through tradekorea.com database. In 2017, a seminar held in July 22, “the Entry Strategy to Halal Market” (Chairman, Han Duck-soo) at the Trade Tower in Samsung Dong in order to enter into the 1.6 billion worth Islamic market and in this seminar the main agenda is to focus as the promising market in Southeast Asia and the Middle East (Wikipedia).

    South Korea is more globally renowned for its electronics vehicles and consumer good than its food but the country has major focus now to promoting halal food. The Korean government is backing the Halal sector and the aim is to increase current export by a third, to $1.23 billion by 2017. Korea is apply these same principles to halal industry, despite in Korea there are only 150,000 Muslim residents (most foreign-born) in a country of 56.6 million people. Halal-related food exports have grown fast over the past decade, particularly over the last three years. According to the latest figures from the Korea Institute of Halal Industry (KIHI), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries rising export from $795 million in 2012 to $864 million in 2014 (salamgateway, 2016).

    Their main Halal development model is Malaysia. Korea is following Malaysia’s certifier JAKIM, which influenced the Korean National Halal Food Standard while Korean halal standard were also developed in line with those of OIC’s Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC).

    Thus the broad objective of this study aims to identify the factors which influence the Muslims purchase intention to consume Halal food in Korea. Therefore, the primary research question of this study is: what are the important factors that influence the consumer to consume and recognize halal food in Korea? Theoretically, this study is important because Halal is a broad topic and could be defined from many perspectives and disciplines. Therefore, it is very important for the consumers to know the products that they consume and bought are Halal, Haram or Makrooh (Sharri and Mohd Arifin, 2010).

    REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

    Purchase intention is the tendency of decision-making or takes any action in relation with buying and is measured by the likelihood to buy a particular brand by consumer (Shah et al, 2012). Customers purchase intention represent a situation where consumer with intention to buy certain product in certain condition. Purchase intention usually relate to the behavior, perceptions and attitudes of customers. In addition, during the buying process customers are affected by internal or external motivations (Gogoi, 2013). Kotler and Armstrong (2010) proposed six stages before deciding to purchase the product which may include, awareness, knowledge, preference, interest, persuasion and purchase. Based on Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), behavior approach with the attitudes TPB, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. These attributes are used in an attempt to explain the behavior intention of consumers to participate directly or indirectly in a number of activities defines as willingness to give and willingness to argue something (Hrubes et al, 2001).

    A consumer buying or decision-making process was established by John Dewey in 1910. That whole procedure is still very much the same. A consumer goes through of five stages before purchasing a product or service. From the very first stage of the model consumer recognize the need, collect the information and sources, evaluate substitutes and make the decision (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). Table 1, Fig. 1

    • Step 1-Need is the most important factor which leads to buying of product and services. In actual fact need is the catalyst which triggers the buying decision of individuals. Bruner and Pomazal (1993) define that recognition of need or a problem occurs in the situation where an individual acquire the difference between the actual state of affairs and desired state of affairs. An individual who wanted to purchase cold drinks or water identifies his/her need as thirst. Although in these two steps such as information and evaluation of alternatives are basically missing. These two steps are essential when an individual purchases expensive products/services such as laptop, cars and mobile phones and so on.

    • Step 2-The next stage of the model is information search. Once the need is recognized, the consumer is likely to search more particular product related information before directly making a purchase intention. Information search can be divided into two parts such as the internal search and external search (Oliver et al, 2011). An individual can gather information through any of the following sources.

      • Personal Sources- He might discuss his need with his colleagues, peers, friends and family members.

      • Commercial Sources- Sales people, internet, packaging and display.

      • Public Sources-Newspaper, Radio, Magazine, Mass media, Consumer rating organizations.

      • Experiential Sources- Using the product, examining, prior handling of a particular product, Individual’s own experience.

    • Step 3-The next stage is to evaluate the various alternatives available in the market. According to Ha et al (2010), the process of evaluation of alternatives can be sometimes be exhausting, time consuming and full of pressure for a consumer. An individual after collect the valuable information tries to choose the best option available as per his need, taste and pocket.

    • Step 4-After going through all the above stages, the consumer makes decision to make a final purchase as he or she has already research about all the alternatives and came to a final decision point.

    • Step 5-The final stage in the consumer decision making process is post-purchase evaluation. Post purchase evaluation refers to a consumer’s analysis whether the product was useful to him or not, whether the product fulfilled his need or not.

    The Structural Model and Hypotheses

    This study develops a structural model as shown in Figure 2. Purchase intention can be demonstrated by theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) which deals with antecedents of attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control (Ajzen, 1991). These elements are used to understand people’s intention to involve directly or indirectly in a various activities like willingness to vote and giving (Hrubes, et al, 2001). In this case, the variables added the framework is to explore the relationship between Brand awareness, Halal certification, Halal Brand satisfaction, Religious beliefs and Halal knowledge with intention to purchase halal products in Korea. Each component of the model was selected on the basis of the literature review (described below in Table 2).

    1. Brand Awareness

    Awareness is the ability to perceive, feeling and become aware of brand and objects in knowing the issues related to the concept of Halal brand. Brand awareness is one’s ability to recognize the buyer, recalling the brand as part of a specific product category. There are four indicators that can be used to evaluate how much consumers are aware of brand among others like recall, recognition, purchase and consumption (Durianto at al, 2004). Based on their study the Halal brand awareness product determined by a positive attitude related to intention to choose halal products. Accordingly, the following hypothesis is proposed:

    H1: There is a significant relationship of Halal brand Awareness toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea

    2. Halal Certification

    The Halal certificate is a document issued by an Islamic organization that guarantees for Muslims to be able to consume or use a food product according to the teachings of Islamic laws but also encourages manufactures to meet the halal standards (Ariff, 2009). These refers that the products does not include pork or its byproducts, the product excluded to alcohol, the products does not contain prohibited food of animal origin, and the preparation of products has been manufactured on clean equipment. Meat and related products come from animals which slaughtered according to Islamic law (Mian, 2010). In order for product to be halal certified, the manufacturer must have the proper knowledge about halal symbol as evidence that the products are religiously lawful according to Holy Quran (Guntalee and Unahannda, 2005). Empirical evidence provided by Golnaz et al (2010) that non-Muslims are anxious about halal safety, which have positive impact of their attitude on halal product. According to the country’s tourism agency, South Korea is encouraging local restaurants to boost up halal food by bring in a new certification system (Alex, 2016). With the halal label listed on the packaging of the product, it will directly influence for consumers, specifically the Muslim consumers to use these products. The emergence of a sense of security and comfort in consuming the product will enhance the confidence and interest in purchasing. The argument has led to the formation of the following hypothesis:

    H2: There is a significance relationship of Halal certification toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea

    3. Religious Beliefs

    Religion plays a pivotal role in influencing consumers’ attitude and behavior due to the characteristics of human beings; attitude and behavior have a great impact on their belief or religion (Shaari and Arifin, 2009). According to Essoo and Dibb (2004), suggest that religion affects the consumers’ alternative option on food, grocery and other products. More religious customer will purchase more Halal meals as nearest as possible to the religious beliefs and getting involved in activities which are against the religious guidelines (Schneider et al, 2011;Masnono, 2005). Therefore, the religious beliefs of consumers have become the significance part in marketing, especially in advertise- ments (Froehle, 1994). Based on literature review, we purpose the following hypothesis.

    H3: There is a significant relationship of Religious beliefs toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea

    4. Halal Brand satisfaction

    Various studies have been conducted on brand satisfaction (Kuenzel and Halliday, 2008;Grisaffe and Nguyen, 2011;Tsai, 2011). Halal brand satisfaction is an assurance of security for Muslims to be able to consume a halal product according to Islamic law, and is free from pork products, alcohol and certain other ingredients (Bush, 2014). Shaari and Arifin (2010), defines the food product is verify to pass the test of Halal by the MUI. Evans and Laskin (1994) examined that satisfaction has been defined as an outcome of relationship like fulfillment of expectation, demand and desires through the usage of product and we purpose that:

    H4: There is a significant relationship of Halal brand satisfaction toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea

    5. Halal Knowledge

    Knowledge is one major aspect that influences consumer’s choice to purchase the products (Baharuddin, et al, 2015). Furthermore, toward halal food another studies also found that factors which include halal knowledge and halal awareness of brand have an impact on halal food purchase intention (Maichun, et al, 2017;Lee, 2016). In 2010, Hong and Sternthal acuminate that the consumers who have fewer knowledge would much effect the assessment of the product attributes. Therefore, halal knowledge is an important factor to inspire purchase intention towards halal food and we purpose that:

    H5: There is a significant relationship of Halal knowledge toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea.

    MATERIAL AND METHOD

    Sampling and population

    This paper is a quantitative research which uses primary data collected via self-administered questionnaires from consumers and the data was collected in South Korea. Cross-sectional data during winter 2017-2018 with Muslim originating from Pakistan and currently living in South Korea. The research object of this study is Pakistani Muslim society which comprises 8273 inhabitants based on the census in 2013 (KOSIS, 2018), which categorized the administrated district like, Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Incheoun, Gyeonggi, Gangwon-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Gwangju and in others options include rest of the administrated district. The convenience sampling was used and approximately, we shared the survey link with 545 respondents. In total, 510 survey questionnaires were collected by the respondents. Out of the total, we drop 33 cases due to incomplete and extreme responses. So, we got 477 useable questionnaires for the final analysis, a 95.4% response rate. The questionnaire was adopted from earlier studies such as from, Jamal & Nur (2010), Golnaz et.al, (2009) and finally from Suddin & Hanudin (2009).

    Data collection method

    In conducting this research, a fully structured questionnaire was used as an instrument in order to collect information from the consumers. It consists of the close-ended multiple choice questions and this may include descriptions on the perceptions of consumers about halal certified food products, was calculated by using five point Likert type scale, ranging from 5 meaning “strongly agree” to 1 meaning “strongly disagree”. According to Gwinner (2006), a forum has been manipulated to understand market researchers’ preferences of using five (5) point and six (6) point Likert scales. And from this forum a collective agreement agreed that five (5) point scales is the most appropriate when collected the survey. Due to that, researcher has decided to follow five (5) point scales in this research. The reason for developed these statements to the current situation in South Korea and because halal certification is a new subject in South Korea and the second section about consumers demographics. The Questionnaire was distributed with online survey and purposive sampling techniques were used.

    The researchers’ set of questionnaire is divided into seven major sections including Section C which represents respondents’ demographic information. The survey instrument consisted of a two-page questionnaire and was first prepared in English then interpreted into the Urdu language by round-trip translation techniques with the help of professionals in English and Urdu languages to diminish paragraphing errors. The sections and variables used in this research are prepared and developed from the following sources:

    Data Analysis

    The data collected were analyzed through the use of descriptive Statistical Package for the social sciences SPSS-Version 33 (SPSS, Chicago, IL,,Usa, 2013), where the descriptive analysis was used to produce frequency analysis for respondents’ demographic profile. Meanwhile, the researchers use multiple linear regression analysis (95% confidence level; p-value 0.05) to analyze the relationship between five main independent variables, Halal awareness; Halal Certification; Religious Beliefs, Halal Brand Satisfaction and Halal knowledge. The collected data was analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis, regression results are analyzed by t-test, F-test and the coefficient of determination (Nachrowi and Usman, 2008).

    The regression model of this study is as follows:

    • Y = a + b1x1 +b2x2 +b3xe+ B4x4 +b5x5 +e

    Where,

    • Y = Dependent variable (Intentions to purchase halal food products)

    • X1 = Independent variable (Brand Awareness)

    • X2 = Independent variable (Halal Certification)

    • X3 = Independent variable (Religious Beliefs)

    • X4 = Independent variable (Halal brand Satisfaction)

    • X4 = Independent variable (Halal Knowledge)

    • a= Constanta of regression

    • b1, b2, b3, b4, b5 = Coefficient of regression

    • e = Residual variable

    Demographic of the Respondents

    The demographic background for the total number of 477 respondents is presented in Table 3 below. The analysis of the respondent’s background cover gender, age group, average income per month, education, favorite products and non-formal knowledge about halal food and product is indicated. From 477 respondents, 74.90% is male and another 25.10% is female. Age distribution is quite balanced with the majority of the respondents came from the range between 35 to 40 years old 61.42%, followed by respondents ranged around less/equal to 35 years old 32.08% and 6.50% from greater/equal to 40 years. The majority of the respondents had higher education: 31.02% had a Master degree and 34.41% had holding a doctorate. According to the option favorite food in retailers, meat and frozen meal is the most-wanted product followed by snacks and instant noodles. The frozen meal and meat is mostly popular among students and according to non-formal knowledge about halal food was attained through books 15.30%, Magazines 8.61, Newspaper 14.46%, Radio 3.14%, Television 4.83%, Social Media 22.85%, Family 26.41% and Friends 4.40%.

    Reliability Analysis of the Quantitative Data

    Further proceeding to the regression analysis, the gathered data were checked for the reliability through Cronbach’s alpha. Alpha 0.8 is typically described as a rule of thumb to denote the acceptable level of internal reliability (Marketing Logistics, 2018). Alpha 0.7-0.8 (good reliability) and alpha 0.6-0.7 (fair reliability) can be accepted but not for alpha lower than 0.6 (poor reliability) (Zikmund,et al, 2010). Table 5 shows the reliability values for all the variables which are greater than (0.60) claimed to be fair reliability. In table 4, all items in this research had a satisfactory level of reliability since they had a coefficient in ranged above (0.50). All of the constructs in this research were also improved further through the use of Explanatory Factor Analysis to assure that the constructs are related to each other and can represent their own variable.

    RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

    Multicollinearity, Heteroscedacity and Normality Test

    To produce unbiased interpretation, it is mandatory to performed several screening tests before performing multiple linear regression analysis ( Nachrowi, 2008). Some tests that need to be tested include multicollinearity test. According to Nachrowi (2008), multicollinearity test shows that the independent variables in the regression equation have no linear relationship. The existence of multicollinearity in the data elaborate that the variance explained by a specific IV in the DV is overlapping with each other (when the other IVs tested in a specific model) thus the IV is not explaining an exclusive variance. Our results indicated that there is no multicollinearity issue in the data and each variable explains a unique variance in PI. According to Kleinbaun et.al (1988), there are two ways that can be helpful to detect the problem of collinearity, i.e. by tolerance test where none of the tolerance value is ≤ 0.01 and all variance factors (VIF) value are below 10.

    Based on the results following are the rules of thumb for the VIF:

    • a. VIF < 3; no problem, considered well

    • b. VIF > 3; maybe potential problem

    • c. VIF > 5; very likely problem

    • d. VIF > 10; definitely have problem

    Multicollinearity Test Analysis

    The results presented in Table 6 indicate that all the cut off values of VIF are below 10 as recommended (Hair, et al, 2010) and the tolerance values for all the factors are above 0.10 and closed to 1.0 indicate good results (O’ Brien, 2005).

    Heteroscedasticity Test Analysis

    In multiple linear regressions, the heteroscedasticity problem can also occur. In light of this it can lead to hypothesis testing to be less accurate (Nacrowi, 2008). The heteroscedasticity testing can be analyzed using SPSS and according to Table 7, it can be shown that the model of multiple linear regression equations does not have heteroscedasticity problems because the significance value is higher than 0.05.

    Normality of Data

    To assess the data normality, we performed Skewness and kurtosis test by using SPSS. The results shows that the data are normal as the Skewness and kurtosis values of each construct variable found in the accepted range ±2 recommended (George & Mallery, 2010). In addition, BA has mean value 3.27 and SD is 1.03, HC has mean value 3.22 and SD is 1.28, RB has mean value 3.29 and SD is 1.28, HS has mean value 3.29 and SD is 1.26 and HK has mean value 3.01 and SD is 1.28 respectively. Table 8

    Hypothesis Testing

    From Table 9, formed the multiple regression equation described below:

    PI = 8.509 – 0.001 (BA) + 0.082 (HC) + 0.667 (RB) + 0.119 (HS) -0.016 (HK)

    Where PI = Purchase Intention toward Halal Products

    • BA = Brand Awareness

    • HC = Halal Certification

    • RB = Religious Beliefs

    • HS = Halal brand Satisfaction

    • HK = Halal Knowledge

    The study examined to find out the factors that influence Muslim respondents toward halal product purchase intention conducted by using multiple linear regression technique. In this research used Brand Awareness, Halal Certification, Religious Beliefs, Halal Brand Satisfaction and Halal Knowledge as independent variables, meanwhile the dependent variable is Halal product Purchase Intention. The results indicate that halal certification, religious beliefs and halal brand satisfaction significantly influence Muslims respondents toward halal product purchase intention. On the other hand, other variable i.e. brand awareness and halal knowledge were found to be insignificant. The conditions apply by the p-value of each variable. The p-value of halal certification, religious beliefs and halal brand satisfaction were 0.018, 0.001 and 0.030 < 0.05, meantime the p-value of brand awareness and halal knowledge respectively were 0.977 and 0.741 > 0.05. Table 10

    CONCLUSIONS

    All the five factors employed in this study were developed from previous research, through which the researchers expected that all five variables may have significant impact toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea. However, only three variables Halal certification, Religious Beliefs and Halal brand satisfaction was found to have the dominant and significant on purchasing intension to halal food product in South Korea.

    • H1: There is a significant relationship of Halal Awareness toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea. From the finding of this research, it is not found that the relationship between Halal awareness influence toward Halal food product. The value of unstandardized coefficient is -0.001 with t-value -0.029 and significant level 0.977 which means that the hypothesis is not accepted. Brand Awareness is one factor that lead shopper to make decision whether or not they want to buy a product. This research suggested that brand awareness insignificantly affect the Muslim consumers toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea. It is mentioned that Muslim consumer did not prefer to buy halal food they know well.

    • H2: There is a significant relationship of Halal Certification toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea. From the finding of this research, it is found that the relationship between halal certification influence toward Halal food product. The value of unstandardized coefficient is 0.082 with t-value 2.382 and significant level 0.018 which means that the hypothesis is accepted. The fact that most of these countries also import halal products from non-Muslim countries and the existence of the non- Halal products in the specific country make the consumer believes that it is mandatory to inspect the Halal status of the products and the consumer requirement towards Halal certification when it comes to their purchase decisionmaking (Perdana, et al, 2018).Halal Certified food has been gaining interests in Korea and it is also important to establish this concept to the Muslim food industry players.

    • H3: There is a significant relationship of Religious beliefs toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea. From the finding of this research, it is found that the relationship between religious beliefs influence toward Halal food product. The value of unstandardized coefficient is 0.667 with t-value 4.557 and the significant level 0.001 which means that the hypothesis is accepted. There is strong relationship and a clear bond between religiosity in Islamic countries and consumer behavior to buying purchase decision (Al-Hyari, et al, 2012). Consumption of halal food is not just because Muslim is aware of it, but it is also obligatory for Muslims. Eating non-halal food means breaking one dietary-rule of Islam and is one of the terrible deeds. The more religious someone, the more he/she concern of his/her diet and increased the intention to purchase halal food.

    • H4: There is a significant relationship of Halal brand satisfaction toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea. From the finding of this research, it is found that the relationship between halal brand satisfaction influence toward Halal food product. The value of unstandardized coefficient is 0.119 with t-value 2.182 with significant value 0.030 which means the hypothesis is accepted. The findings have significant impact which may help the marketers to establish suitable schemes for halal brand satisfaction and its purchasing. With the increase of Muslim population and halal products demand in Muslim and Non- Muslim countries and because of the halal concerns have expand Muslim consumers aspiration for halal brands, consumer are more likely to willing to purchase products which are halal and also offer traditional brand characteristics (Ali, et al, 2018).

    • H5: There is a significant relationship of Halal knowledge toward purchase intention of halal food in South Korea. From the finding of this research, it is not found that the relationship between halal knowledge influence toward Halal food product. The value of unstandardized coefficient is -0.016 with t-value -0.330 with the significant value 0.741 which means the hypothesis is not accepted. Halal knowledge also found to be not significant towards purchase intention of halal food in South Korea. Knowledge is one significant factor that influences consumer’s decision to buy the halal food products (Baharuddin, et al, 2015). According to Hong and Sterntal (2010) stated that the information of consumers about the products is essential the product attribute. So, if the consumers have low knowledge of a certain product then it will influence the evaluation of the product attribute. This research is opposite with Mohamed Elias, et al (2016) and Maichum et al. (2017) who found that halal knowledge have positive and significant impact toward halal food purchase intention.

    적 요

    최근 할랄 시장의 규모는 매우 커지고 있으며, 전세계적으 로 연구 및 발전되어야되는 가장 진보된 사업 중 하나로 주목 받고 있다. 이러한 배경으로 한국과 같은 무슬림 소수 국가들 은 지역 경제를 활성화하기 위해 할랄 식품 산업에 진출하여 주도권을 잡으려는 계획을 진행하고 있다. 하지만 할랄 산업 연구에 대한 중요성과 학술 자원에 제한적인 가용성으로 인한 지식 격차는 여전히 남아 있는 실정이다. 본 연구는 할랄 식 품 소비자의 구매행동을 고려하여 점점 증가하고 있는 할랄 시장 규모에 대한 정부의 진행방향에 도움을 줄 수 있는 할랄 연구의 기초 자료로 활용될 수 있다. 이를 위해 본 연구의 목 적은 한국의 무슬림 소비자들 할랄 식품 구매 의도에 영향을 줄 수 있는 요인 조사를 목적으로 하였다. 본 연구를 위해 477명의 설문참여자를 통해 데이터를 수집하였으며, 한국의 행 정구역에서 설문참여자를 모으기 위해 목적표본추출법이 사용 되었다. 이 연구의 가설 결과는 할랄 인증, 종교적 신념 및 할랄 브랜드 등 이 세가지 변수가 무슬림 소비자들 사이에서 할랄 구매 의도와 크게 관련이 있음을 확인하는 것이다. 본 연구의 결과는 제조업체들이 무슬림 소비자들의 할랄 구매 의 도를 이해하는데 유용할 뿐만 아니라 소비자들이 일상 생활에 서 할랄의 의미를 인지하는데 도움이 될 것으로 예상된다.

    Figure

    KSIA-31-4-322_F1.gif

    Consumer Decision Making (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011)

    KSIA-31-4-322_F2.gif

    Proposed structural model.

    Table

    Population and Sample

    Variables Instrument

    Respondents’ Demographic Profile

    Factor Loading (Explanatory Factor Analysis)

    Reliability using Cronbach alpha

    Multicollinearity Test

    Heteroscedasticity Test Analysis

    Mean, S.D and Normality

    Multiple Linear Regression Result (N=477)

    Summary of the result for hypothesis testing

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