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It is widely evident that trust and commitment are important pillars for strengthening the relationship between financial service firms and their customers. However, it has not been explored how the service quality, perceived cost and role of agents are important for financial service firms. To overcome this gap, this study aims to investigate the role of service quality, perceived cost and the role of agents as the commitment–trust factors in the financial insurance service (Takaful) in Malaysia, enhancing customer satisfaction.

The study follows a quantitative design in which primary data was collected using a survey instrument. The measurement instrument was adapted from the previous research, and data were collected from 264 customers of the Takaful financial service organizations in Malaysia. The data were analyzed using variance-based structural equational modeling in Smart-PLS software.

This research has revealed several useful insights that demonstrate a significant impact on service quality, perceived cost and the agents’ role in forging close relationships with their customers. Corporate image has a moderating role in relationships and has significantly impacted takaful insurance companies. The results imply that regardless of the corporate image of the financial service organizations, customers are concerned about the prices and the quality of the agents’ services.

In this study, only the predictors such as service quality, perceived costs and agents’ roles as trust–commitment factors were examined to determine customer satisfaction. Other investigations are highly recommended, such as value co-creation in takaful, takaful customer experience and takaful trust. This study offers insights to takaful insurance companies on how to keep up a positive corporate image, which will boost their trust–commitment factors and ultimately increase customer satisfaction.

By presenting commitment–trust factors and company image in an identifiable framework, the current study has expanded the discussion on takaful financial insurance services. The methodology is developed and rigorously tested to gauge customer satisfaction in takaful financial service organizations’ context.

Marketing investigations on the concomitant variables of both service quality and relationship marketing are very scarce. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the customers’ perception of the Takaful (Islamic insurance) in relation to service quality and relationship marketing. More importantly, the examination of the impact of both service quality and relationship marketing on corporate image is further established. Accordingly, corporate reputation and customer loyalty were further evaluated, along with these respective interactions.

A self-administered survey was conducted from 350 Malaysian customers of Takaful products and services. The purposive sampling was used to collect data from the existing customers of Takaful service operators in the Klang Valley, an area in Malaysia. The questionnaire was constructed through measures of PAKSERV for service quality, as well as other measures related to relationship marketing and other constructs in this study. Structured equation modeling was used in the analysis of data.

The current study is the first one of its kind to examine perceptions of customers of relationship marketing and service quality as predictors of corporate image, which drives corporate reputation and ultimate customer loyalty from the perspective of the Takaful industry in Malaysia. Service quality dimensions (tangibility, reliability and personalization) and relationship marketing dimensions (Islamic ethical behavior and structural bond) positively influence corporate image of the Takaful organizations. Moreover, customer loyalty can be predicted, mainly through corporate reputation as well as corporate image.

The present study is focused on the existing Malaysian Takaful customers as the population frame. Accordingly, future research studies may evaluate the same model, but perhaps in another different cultural context where the Takaful industry can grow and expand in other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Pakistan. More importantly, the same variables may be verified to different service industries in future studies, especially those constructs related to relationship marketing because many products and services at present can be attained without face-to-face interactions through online transactions without having brick and mortar businesses.

It is important for Takaful service operators to focus on connecting the social and financial bonds to ensure the fulfilment of customers’ needs. They also need to improve the qualities related to tangibility, reliability and personalization to be able to increase their market share, especially in this present highly competitive market. Indeed, Takaful generally provides financial protection and risk management; nevertheless, the religious and ethical values need to be embraced in totality unlike conventional insurance, which has the element of gambling, uncertainty and the imposition of interest. Hence, this study aims to assist the Takaful operators toward achieving corporate reputation and apparently customer loyalty for them to remain relevant in this industry.

The model used in this study is based on the cultural context of Malaysia from the perspective of the Takaful industry. It attempts to explain customer loyalty through the incorporation of service quality and relationship marketing dimensions, where it is associated with the elements of the values of Islamic ethics especially in business transactions. More importantly, these dimensions were put together to identify its impact on corporate image, corporate reputation, and ultimately, customer loyalty, thus illustrating a distinct set of outcomes of the present study.

This study aims to test a proposed model based on a combination of the relationship marketing and service quality dimensions as predictors of corporate image and customer loyalty via corporate reputation in the Takaful context. More importantly, this study compares the Takaful operators’ services with the perceived service quality and the relationship marketing from the Malaysian and Saudi Arabian customers’ viewpoint.

A survey-based study was conducted through a questionnaire, and the data was collected from Takaful customers (362 Saudi Arabian and 350 Malaysian customers) through an online survey. Structural equation modelling is used to test the proposed model. Besides, the perception of Takaful customers between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia is compared through a multi-group analysis.

The results from the Malaysian context reveal that positive perceptions of service quality PAKSERV dimensions (personalization, reliability and tangibility) and positive perceptions of relationship marketing dimensions (Islamic ethical behaviour and structural bonds) have a significant influence on the corporate image. Alternatively, in the Saudi Arabian context, results have shown that the positive perceptions of service quality PAKSERV dimensions (assurance and reliability) of service quality and the positive perceptions of the relationship marketing dimensions (Islamic ethical behaviour, structural bonds and financial bonds) have a significant influence on the corporate image. The differences in both countries’ results can also enhance the corporate image on corporate reputation, merely in Malaysia. By contrast, corporate reputation is deemed a significant predictor of customer loyalty, represented as valid for both contexts.

The proposed research model tested in Takaful Malaysian and Saudi Arabian can be replicated in other contexts – in terms of country and industry. Moreover, the current study reveals the crucial role of corporate image in forming corporate reputation. Future research could be focussed on the importance of other emotional or affective variables that may be involved in determining corporate reputation. Finally, future studies can be carried with another cultural perspective to have more diversified socio-economic implications.

It is suggested that Takaful operators from both Malaysia and Saudi Arabia need to put maximum effort towards customer loyalty by bringing both the dimensions of service quality and the relationship marketing in compliance with the principles of Islamic business transaction. The findings of the specific dimensions of service quality and relationship marketing will contribute to customers’ perceptions of corporate image and reputation in the Takaful industry.

The present study tested a blended facet of customer’s overall experience through service quality (PAKSERV) and customer service provider connectivity (relationship marketing) to predict the corporate image of the highly growing financial marketplace (Takaful). Contextually, this study contributes to delineating the factors (corporate reputation) affecting customer loyalty rather than a customer satisfaction tradition. Significantly, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia were chosen for this study, as they are currently the two fast-growing markets for Islamic financial services, especially with regards to the Takaful products and offerings.

This study aims to examine a proposed model based on a combination of relationship marketing and service quality dimensions as a significant predictor of corporate image. More importantly, it attempts to identify whether corporate reputation mediates the relationship between and customer loyalty and corporate image in the takāful (Islamic insurance) context, from the viewpoint of Saudi Arabian customers.

An online survey was conducted through an adopted questionnaire from 362 family takāful policyholders from Saudi Arabia. Also, structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed model on the direct relationships of the related constructs, as well as the establishment of corporate reputation as a mediator concerning its relationship between corporate image and customer loyalty.

This study discovered that only two dimensions of service quality (i.e. reliability and assurance) and three aspects of relationship marketing (i.e. Islamic ethical behaviour, financial and structural bonds) have a significant impact on the corporate image of the takāful providers. This study further concluded that corporate reputation mediates the relationship between corporate image and customer loyalty.

This study has presented and tested the perceived service quality using the PAKSERV model in the takāful (Islamic insurance) industry, particularly in the Saudi Arabian context. This research identified the dimensions of PAKSERV (i.e. reliability and assurance) that influence the corporate image and simultaneously, the aspects of relationship marketing (i.e. Islamic ethical behaviour, financial and structural bonds) are also connected to the corporate image. Corporate reputation acts as a mediator between the relationship of corporate image and customer loyalty. This study, nevertheless, only focused in the takāful industry alone, and these findings could also be tested for its validity to different services in other potential studies because of the diversity of the service industry.

The findings of this study highlight the specific components of PAKSERV measures in influencing the corporate image. Furthermore, relationship marketing addressing Islamic ethical behaviour, as well as the three facets of bonding – structural, financial and social bonds are also incorporated and connected to corporate image. Hence, this study will increase the understanding of the impact of service quality concerning the PAKSERV model and relationship marketing on corporate image, reputation and customer loyalty of the takāful operators in Saudi Arabia.

This paper aims to identify Islamic influence on customer satisfaction in Pakistan Takaful and conventional insurance industry. Specifically, it analyses the vital role of Shari’ah perception in achieving higher customer satisfaction.

The data from 400 customers of both the family Takāful and life insurance (200 each) were collected. Further, the regression-based bootstrapping approach was applied through process macro developed by Hayes (2013).

The results indicate that a higher Shari’ah perception positively affects the customer satisfaction in the Takaful industry with improved service and relationship quality; whereas, it negatively affects customer satisfaction in case of the conventional insurance. Further, it has been found that customer satisfaction partially mediates the customer switching intentions in both the Takaful and conventional insurance industry in the presence of service quality and relationship quality.

This research will enable the practitioners to understand the factors that affect customer satisfaction in Pakistan. It has the essential policy and managerial implications for the growth of the Takaful and conventional insurance industry.

This is one of the pioneer studies investigating the impact of Islamic influence (specifically Shari’ah perception) on customer satisfaction in both the Takaful and conventional insurance industry in Pakistan.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to see the effectiveness of operational and transformational standards raised by joint working group of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) as well as respondents' perceptions about Takāful (Islamic insurance) practices in Pakistan.

A total of two questionnaires were designed for this purpose: one for Takāful operators in Pakistan and other for insurance customers. For the first questionnaire, three Takāful operators were visited at Karachi. For the second questionnaire, a sample of 150 insurance customers was surveyed at Rawalpindi. Descriptive statistics and Chi‐square test was used to analyze the data.

Reporting standards and internal controls were found to have low level of observance among Takāful operators in Pakistan. The survey of insurance customers revealed that majority of the respondents (91 percent) are unaware of Takāful concept. Education was found to be the single important factor affecting income of the respondents, their perceptions and level of Takāful awareness.

The survey is conducted at one major city of the country based on convenient sampling technique and its results have been generalized for the entire country. However, actual results might differ when a sufficiently large sample is taken from all the main cities of the country.

The study would help the policy makers to focus on strengthening regulatory framework for Takāful. It will also help Takāful operators in understanding public perceptions about Takāful and devising strategies to promote Takāful business to the vast population of Pakistan.

This is the first empirical research conducted on Takāful in Pakistan that analyzes the Takāful practices both from managerial perspective as well as from regulatory perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to determine current and potential takaful customers’ perception of takaful product and its adoption in Somalia.

This study used three originally selected constructs of perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility and perceived complexity of diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and adds three additional constructs of level of customer awareness, culture and perceived trust. A total of 427 questionnaires were collected from the participants of the study using a nonprobability convenience sampling technique. For data analysis, Smart PLS3 and SPSS software were used. The survey was conducted in Somalia, with respondents being current and potential takaful product’s customers. The DOI theoretical model was put to the test using structural equation modeling.

The findings showed that perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, awareness, perceived culture and perceived trust have a positive and significant influence, whereas perceived complexity has an insignificant influence on the adoption of takaful products.

This research is a pioneering attempt to investigate the determinants of current and potential takaful customers’ adoption by changing the DOI theory, and it presents a unique contribution to the field with regard to Somalia.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence the intention to choose family takaful in Pakistan through using theory of reasoned action (TRA) model. While family takaful is not a new financial solution in the market, the main factors that motivate customers to purchase family takaful remain unexplored. To fill this gap, this paper investigated the impact of attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SBN) with the addition of Halal certification (HCT) to predict the behavioral intention of customers in Pakistan.

The sample data of 250 respondents was drawn for this paper. The respondents were the regular visitors to the Islamic banks in Pakistan and were selected through judgmental sampling. Of 250, total 237 responses were included in the final study, after excluding the inappropriate and missing responses. For the final data, EFA, CFA and SEM were used to test the significance of relationships between the IVs (ATT, SBN and HCT) and DV (BI).

Findings from the SEM analysis suggest that ATT, SBN and HCT have positive significant relationships with BI. SBN appeared to be the most influencing factor that influences the behavioral intention to purchase family takaful.

The paper has practical implications for takaful managers and academics. Bank managers can draw marketing communication policy based on the findings of this paper. While for academics, this paper laid a foundation for future studies by integrating Halal certification in TRA as a predictor to the behavioral intention towards selecting family takaful. The empirical nature of this paper will enhance understanding of the Islamic financial market and its customers specifically.

The findings of the paper also hold significance for managers and policy-makers of Islamic financial institutes. It guides to design the marketing strategies to develop the right attitude of customers, emphasize subjective norms and Halal certification when communicating the family takaful products to customers. As such, brand managers of family takaful may leverage the role of belief in developing the right attitude and then linking it to the family takaful brand. The attitude is rooted in the belief, and for family takaful brands, it potentially be useful to allow it a broader space in the brand strategies. Likewise, subjective norms in terms of choosing family takaful comprises the perceived social pressure of customers feel towards purchasing takaful for families. It highlights the role of social contacts and effect of their behavior and choices over customers. The recommendations and positive feedback customers receive from their social contacts can be instrumental in instilling the sale of family takaful. In the context of Halal certification, the findings of this paper call takaful brand managers’ attention to the significant role Shariah compliance plays for potential customers of family takaful.

The findings of the paper also have significance for managers and policy-makers of Islamic financial institutes. The findings of this paper guide them to develop marketing strategies, develop the right attitude of customers, emphasize subjective norms and Halal certification when communicating the family Takaful products to customers.

Family takaful is relatively a new phenomenon that demands empirical evidence for academics and managers. This is one of the early studies that investigates the determinants of purchase of family takaful through extended TRA model. Therefore, this investigation will serve as a cornerstone to the scant knowledge of family takaful in Pakistan and around the globe.

This paper aims to examine the determinants that influence the customer’s adoption towards the use of family takaful scheme by extending diffusion theory of innovation (DOI) in the context of Pakistan.

The published work allied to takaful studies and DOI was reviewed. Total of 282 respondents who are non-users of family takaful product were used for the purpose of primary data collection through convenience sampling.

The customer’s adoption towards Islamic insurance is determined not only by perceived relative advantage and perceived compatibility but also by awareness and religious belief. Perceived complexity, on the contrary, turns out not to be a predictor of family takaful adoption. Further, gender, age and education do not moderate the family takaful adoption by the customers.

This research alike others have limitations in terms of sampling method used and only covers one city of Pakistan, namely, Karachi. Further studies need to be conducted in other cities as well with a large population.

Extended DOI is not used in the context of takaful in Pakistan as evident from scarce literature on the empirical studies. Therefore, the authors extend the DOI in the current work. Further, this paper will be a useful reference guide for the academicians, operators of takaful business and future researchers.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors influencing customer adoption toward takaful products in Pakistan.

The study used five attributes of diffusion innovation theory (DOI), namely, relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, observability and complexity. Furthermore, the authors introduced two additional constructs, namely, consumer awareness and religiosity to analyze the adoption behavior of customers. A total of 365 questionnaires were distributed among the participants of the study. The survey was conducted in the Karachi city where the respondents were the existing and potential users of takaful products. The theoretical model of DOI theory was tested using structural equation modeling.

The findings report that complexity has a negative impact on the adoption of takaful, whereas relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, observability, religiosity and consumer awareness shows a positive and significant influence.

It is a noteworthy point that past literature is quite limited to investigate the determinants of consumer intentions to adopt takaful products. Based on this argument, the authors build the study to provide a scope and coverage in the field of Islamic insurance. The authors also expect that the research will encourage and provide a venue for forthcoming studies to help policy makers and academicians in this emerging business.