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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of direct-to-physician promotion on physicians’ prescription behaviour. There were very few studies which have investigated to what extent the pharmaceutical promotion directed towards physicians influences physicians’ prescription behaviour in the Malaysian context.

A research framework has been developed based on the buyer behaviour stimulus-response model. A survey method has been used to collect data from 154 medical practitioners from private health-care facilities located at Klang valley in Malaysia. IBM SPSS and SmartPLS statistical programs have been used to analyse the data and validate the model.

This study found that personal selling is the most significant promotional tool for physicians’ prescription behaviour, whereas advertising is the least significant one. Sales promotion and public relations are the second and third most significant promotional tools. Direct marketing is found to be not significant.

This paper will help the pharmaceutical companies develop more effective plans to gain a competitive advantage for their business by having a guideline for pharmaceutical marketers as an input to the more efficient allocation of their promotional budgets.

This study has introduced a comprehensive understanding of all the factors in the pharmaceutical promotion that influence physicians’ prescription behaviour in Malaysia and how these factors are interrelated, influencing physicians’ prescribing medicines for patients.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between perceived quality association and purchase intention to re-patronise Shariah-compliant brand restaurants among Muslims in Malaysia, particularly in the Klang Valley.

By purposive sampling, the researcher focused on particular characteristics of a population that are of interest that are best to answer the questionnaires and have a specific type of people who can provide the coveted information. By using a self-reporting questionnaire, data from 531 respondents were obtained and analysed using structural equation modelling-partial least square.

The results showed that perceived quality association has significant and positive influences on intention to re-patronise Shariah-compliant brand restaurants. Atmospheric ambience, food taste, value for money and service personnel were indicators of perceived quality rather than characterising the content of perceived quality. Amongst the four indicators, service personnel were the most important elements for the perceived quality association and were followed by food taste. Delicious food at a reasonable price was the third criterion that is prioritised by consumers in choosing restaurants. Moreover, the atmospheric factor loading showed the lowest among the three dimensions because atmospheric ambience was the last choice when consumers re-patronise Shariah-compliant brand restaurants. Therefore, it is important for Shariah-compliant brand restaurants to concentrate on service personnel aspect and food taste in formulating their marketing strategies to sustain their competitive advantage. These insights could be used to overcome the challenges of purchase intention of Shariah-compliant brand restaurants.

The first limitation is that the data for this paper were gathered from casual dining sit-down restaurants in Malaysia, especially in the Klang Valley. Thus, the findings may not be generalised to other types of restaurants. There are various types of restaurants in Malaysia; thus, the outcomes might be not similar to this research. Second, it was found that several respondents asserted that the topic of this paper is sensitive in nature, even for Muslim consumers. Thus, the researcher had to clarify the reasoning of the paper and the definition of Shariah-compliant brand restaurants despite the definition has been written on the first page of the questionnaire.

Measuring service quality by making comparisons between the customers’ expectations and the perceived performance has received much attention from both researchers and marketers. The importance of perceived quality originates from its beneficial impact on purchase intentions. This paper represents the perceived quality association as a second-order reflective model consisting of four dimensions: atmospheric ambience, food taste, value for money and service personnel, and these dimensions must be highly correlated. Buying patterns of food consumption vary between individual, from culture to culture, society to society and country to country. In managing Shariah-compliant brand restaurants, the production and food process should be governed by specific rules in Shariah. By giving real information and no false promise, the Shariah-compliant brand restaurants will gain welfare and consumers’ trust to purchase.

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the antecedents and consequences of corporate brand image in the context of Islamic banks in Malaysia. The antecedents of corporate brand image are divided into three categories which are functional brand attribute, emotional brand attribute and spiritual brand attribute. The consequence of corporate brand image on the other hand is loyalty.

A self-administered survey was used to collect data from experienced Islamic banking customers. A total of 281 questionnaires were analysed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling.

This study found a significant relationship between some aspects of the brand attributes and corporate brand image. Corporate brand image, in turn, influences customer loyalty.

These findings contribute to the understanding that in the context of Islamic banks, the corporate brand image is not only influenced by the functional and emotional aspects, but also the spiritual aspect especially factors related to beliefs. Practically, this study provides insight to the management on the aspects valued by customers in regards to their bank, which could be used to guide Islamic bank positioning strategy.

The concept of corporate brand image has been explored from the perspective of functional and emotional aspects only. This study offers a new attribute influencing corporate brand image in the Islamic banking context, which is the spiritual brand attribute.

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a reliable and valid scale for measuring halal brand association (HalBA) for Islamic banks. Brand association is a core dimension of brand equity that Islamic bank managers need to develop to maintain competitiveness. Using the process proposed by Churchill for developing measures of marketing constructs, an instrument to assess HalBA for Islamic bank is formulated.

The methodology consists of developing the scale based on a literature review and qualitative method. The proposed scale is then purified and validated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Based on the EFA and CFA, the result reveals that HalBA for Islamic banks contains 15 attributes which can be categorized into three dimensions: Shari’ah-compliant association, God-consciousness association and corporate social responsibility association.

The scale developed could assist practitioners in further understanding the dimensions and measurement of halal bank association, particularly in Islamic banking institutions. Knowledge of the dimensions of HalBA that customers seek from an Islamic bank can help managers and marketers to design branding strategies that better meet the needs of consumers, thereby increasing their satisfaction and loyalty.

The concept of brand association has been explored primarily from a conventional marketing perspective. This study offers a new dimension of HalBA in the context of Islamic banks.