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The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of fatwa and the dissemination of fatwa rulings among Muslim consumers using two studies. Results from these studies show that contemporary fatwa often extend beyond Muslims' religious beliefs and practices. By advising Muslims on the brands and product categories that are permissible and prohibited for consumption, fatwa rulings can cause boycotts and bans of products or brands.

Content analyses are performed in Study 1 to explore the types of fatwa rulings that are declared by the Malaysian fatwa authorities. In Study 2, a survey instrument is used to collect responses from Muslims regarding their sources of fatwa ruling for two products, their religious motivation and gender. Cluster analysis and an independent χ²‐test are used to test the study's predictions.

Fatwa rulings in the area of social issues and economics have a known tendency to affect Muslim consumers' marketplace behavior. Muslim consumers tend to acquire information on more controversial fatwa rulings through less formal sources, compared to less controversial fatwa rulings. Several clusters of Muslim consumers were found to have their sources of fatwa associated with the product category, gender of respondent, and religious orientation.

The findings are limited to Malaysian Muslim University students and Malaysia's fatwa system. This use of young Malaysian Muslims probably restricts the findings to this cohort, rather than the general population of Malaysian Muslims.

The paper offers insights into how fatwa rulings affect marketplace behaviors and how information sources are accessed and fatwa information is disseminated among Muslim consumers. The findings lead to suggestions on how marketers can manage fatwa rulings concerning their products.

The paper provides an understanding of the nature and types of fatwa rulings circulating in the Muslim world, and identifies factors related to Muslims' knowledge of fatwa rulings.

This study aims to underline Islamic principles to the business theories for producers and policymakers and to explain halal marketing by value creation approach for halal stakeholders concerned with halal certification and its implementation.

This study applied inductive reasoning with the systematic literature review (SLR) of peer-reviewed published research papers, followed by the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses framework. Furthermore, the content analysis with ATLAS.ti 2022 helped to undergo concept and thematic analysis that show the theoretical lenses for the upstream halal businesses.

Among 360 papers, the SLR from 2012 to 2022 found 32 papers dealing with the halal theory–based studies on certification, standards, producers and policymakers and halal supply chains. Only seven studies consulted the resource-based view (RBV), a strategy theory and the institutional theory (IT) connected to halal. This study further underpinned qualitative Quranic verses to add to the current body of RBV and IT, resulting in halal sustainable competitive advantage and halal certification institutionalization.

Islamic principles can guide halal stakeholders to create and manage valuable resources through halal certification. Also, academics can synthesize conventional theories as value-creation mechanisms compliant with Islamic codes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this novel study was the first to contribute to the current body of RBV and IT with Islamic principles. It has primarily concentrated on the upstream halal businesses to create and manage halal value, certification and competitive advantages for halal marketing.

This paper aims to model consumers’ decision to use halal logo on packaged food products. The model primarily tests the importance of country of origin (COO) of a halal logo as an indicator for assessing credibility of a halal logo, and its relevance in consumers’ decision to use the logo in packaged food purchase.

A data set from a survey of 559 respondents from two countries was used to test eight hypotheses that were developed based on a modified theory of planned behaviour framework, using partial least squares procedures.

Halal certification logo was found to have COO effect on consumers’ evaluation during purchase decision of food items. Consumer uses information on the COO of a halal logo to assess the logo’s credibility in delivering the halal food standard. The construct, along with the constructs of religiosity and its interaction terms, subjective norms and attitude, explains consumers’ intention to consider the halal logo during packaged food purchase.

Generalization of the findings is limited to the packaged food industry and to the consumer groups surveyed in the two countries.

There is a need for marketers to recognize Muslim consumers’ sensitivity towards the origin of a halal logo in choosing the right logo for their products. Logo certifiers may want to consider adopting marketing strategies to market their certification as a credible marker of a halal food standard.

The effect of COO of halal logo and its influence on consumers’ decision to use the logo in purchase decision are new to the literature.

Research on Muslim consumers has increasingly highlighted the significance of measuring religiosity. However, there is an apparent lack of uniformity in measuring religiosity across literature on Muslim consumer research. This paper aims to critically review the approaches used to measure religiosity in existing research on Muslim consumers.

This paper reviewed 39 studies selected from the Journal of Islamic Marketing from 2010 to 2017. Based on critical reviews of these studies on Muslim consumers, a number of observations and recommendations were made on approaches to measure religiosity.

Evident influence of religiosity on Muslim consumers was observed across the spectrum of the reviewed studies. The main issues in selecting the measures of religiosity include limited discussion on rationalizing the choice of a particular measure of religiosity and little consideration of the Islamic context.

Based on the review, it is recommended that the process of searching, selecting and adopting a particular religiosity construct should be rationalized based on Islamic context. Adoption of Western scales should be done carefully with expert reviews. Also, researchers may consider using Islamic religiosity constructs and alternative measures such as qualitative measures of religiosity and spirituality-based constructs.

As Muslim consumer research is gaining momentum, this paper presents a critical review of the important aspect of measuring religiosity among Muslim consumers. The critical review and recommendations in this paper offer a much-needed theoretical clarity on selecting and using religiosity measures.

Muslim consumers’ tendency to patronize stores with Halal images and purchase genuine Halal products is closely related to their effort to maintain Islamic identity, and this is further supported by many empirical data. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the relationships between attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and Halal principle knowledge and their effect on Muslim consumers’ behavioral intention to patronize retail stores. On top of that, the mediating effect of Halal image on these relationships is also investigated.

Data were analyzed using multiple and hierarchical regression analysis to test the model via the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software among 480 valid samples of Muslim consumers.

Empirical results of the hierarchical regression analysis and the Sobel test revealed that there is a significant mediating effect of Halal image on the relationship between consumers’ attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control of consumers’ behavioral intention to patronize retail stores. Consumers with high attentiveness of the stores’ Halal image have a positive impression of the stores, a high motivation to patronize and, without any conditions, may follow through their intention to patronize the retail stores.

This research study offers guidelines to the retailers, marketers and the authorities in enhancing marketing strategies and the implementation of stricter Halal consumption laws. Hence, this research puts forward the following strategies: adopting Halal marketing strategy, promoting Halal images in retail stores and reinforcing Halal principle knowledge in the mind of consumers.

The main theoretical contribution relates to the insertion of the Halal image as a mediating variable in the matter of Muslim consumers’ behavioral intention to patronize Halal stores in Malaysia. An inspection of the effect of Halal principle knowledge on Muslim consumers’ behavioral intention to patronize retail stores is also rewarding.