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This study examines whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives positively impact customers’ selection of retail banks in Hong Kong (HK) and identifies which CSR domains affect customers’ selection of banks.

This study adopted a quantitative approach. Primary data were collected from 416 customers of 22 retail banks in HK. The theoretical framework of this study was developed from a literature review, prior studies by Oberseder et al. (2013 and 2014), and CSR initiatives implemented by leading retail banks in HK. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests were used to analyze the data.

The study found that CSR initiatives positively affect customers’ bank selection. CSR initiatives related to the customer and environment domains are likely to have a greater impact on customers than those related to the society domain and are not likely to significantly impact customers’ bank selection.

This study contributes to the CSR literature by offering enhanced insight into the dynamics of CSR and its effects on customer bank selection. Furthermore, this study tests consumers’ perceptions of CSR initiatives in each CSR domain in the banking sector in Hong Kong – a novel approach that has not been previously explored in existing studies. These findings can help banks review the effectiveness of their CSR initiatives and make informed decisions on which initiatives should pursue improved CSR performance and efficient resource allocation.

This study aims to offers a deeper insight into bank selection of Ghanaian students so as to offer bank managers the opportunity to tailor‐measure programmes aimed at attracting and retaining customers.

The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the problem. The “drop and pick” convenience sampling method adopted resulted in 223 completed questionnaires. The mean ranking and factor analysis methods were employed to identify the major factors that influence the respondent bank selection.

Over all, student customers consider image, attitude and behaviour of staff, core service delivery and technology‐related factors as the major issues that influence consumers' decision to open and maintain an account.

The limitation of the study relates to the student population used for the study, which limits the generalisability of the findings. The study, however, contributes to the academic knowledge of bank selection and provides insights into the critical factors considered by sample students in their bank selection decisions.

In a market where consumers respond differently to a marketing offer, market segmentation becomes a necessity and therefore differences in male and female consumers' selection criteria emanating from this study provide an excellent opportunity for the banks to adopt segmentation‐based strategies to serve the customers.

In this paper, gender and educational level provide a deeper understanding of bank selection criteria among the Ghanaian bank customers. The four constructs can be used by bank management as bases for designing marketing strategies to deliver efficient service, and engage in relationship marketing practices to attract and retain customers.

The purpose of this paper is to develop, measure and empirically validate a scale that captures the full dimensionality of selection attributes considered by customers when choosing a bank.

Focus group interviews were conducted and a well-structured questionnaire was designed. The validity of this scale was tested in accordance with the psychometric scale development procedure.

Contrary to some assertions in past literature, the results suggested service delivery and cost/price as among the most important determinants of the bank selection decisions of consumers.

The practical implications drawn from this study involve the seven constructs which could be adopted by the bank managers, advertising executives and marketing experts in providing good quality services resulting in overall higher levels of customer satisfaction. These decision makers can apply the constructs from the study to identify factors most appealing to both potential and existing customers and build up effective marketing strategies to attract new customers and retain existing ones.

This research paper signifies the leading studies for advancing a validated tool to measure the customers’ selection decisions for banks. As a result, this valid and reliable scale would bring standardization to research conducted in the field of bank selection attributes.

Islamic banking is an emerging financial system in the contemporary world. Currently, it is found mostly in Islamic countries or in countries where OPEC oil revenues have been invested. Most of the research has therefore been oriented towards macro‐environment issues, ignoring the market‐oriented problems. The purpose of this paper is to determine the conditions under which Islamic banks can successfully compete with conventional banks by understanding customer attitudes towards Islamic banking products.

A sample of 250 respondents was taken from four cities of Pakistan to examine customer awareness of key products/services being offered by Islamic banks, usage of those services and customer satisfaction with the service delivery mechanism being used by pure Islamic banks and conventional banks with Islamic bank branches (IBBs). Data for this study were collected by using a structured questionnaire containing two sections, where section I contains ten statements using Likert scale, for assessing customer's preferred selection criteria for Islamic banks. These statements are developed based on past literature. Section II deals with the questions related to the social and demographic profiles of respondents.

Analysis of data indicated that most of the customers value product features and quality of service as major factors for making selection of Islamic banks, and give lesser importance to religious belief as influential factor in selecting an Islamic bank. Findings suggest that there is a lack of awareness about basic conventions of Islamic financing options among respondents and customers of both the pure Islamic banks and conventional banks with IBBs do believe that the bank's staff lacks ability to provide credible information about religious compliance of Islamic banking financial services.

The paper has practical significance for Islamic banking policy makers, for understanding the key behavioral and demographical dimensions of their customers and using these dimensions for effectively positioning Islamic banking financial instruments, developing policies; and articulating procedures to maximize customer satisfaction and to ensure better exchange of value.

This study aims to identify the determinants of bank selection for Islamic and conventional banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Data were collected from 246 respondents in the Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah and focused on aspects such as bank products, service quality, profit, reputation, cultural and religious factors, in addition to demographic attributes of the sample. Multiple discriminant analysis is used to identify the most important determinants of bank selection.

The study concluded that the determinants for bank selection are more distinguishable amongst Islamic bank customers. Bank reputation and expectation of profit on deposits are not determinants of bank selection; however, religious preferences are the most important considerations in selection between Islamic and conventional banks.

Use of convenience sampling due to lack of resources may result in insufficient representation of population. Additionally, analysis of differences between the Muslim and non‐Muslim population with respect to their bank selection process may provide an avenue for future research.

The study has implications for both Islamic and conventional banks that can appropriately target the customers using bank selection determinants that are valued by the customers.

The study adds to the existing literature on consumer preferences for Islamic and conventional banks in the context of the UAE with a relatively large and recent data set.

This study aimed to explore the importance of various factors considered in the bank selection decisions of micro- and small-sized enterprises (MSEs) in Ethiopia.

The study used a structured questionnaire to collect data from 300 MSEs selected through a convenience sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and linear regression analysis methods are used to identify the most important factors determining bank selection by MSEs.

The results of exploratory factor analysis revealed that the availability of credit at a reasonable interest rate, lower service charges and the availability of better automated teller machine (ATM) services are the priorities of MSEs in their bank selection decisions. In addition, the results of regression analysis indicated that price competitiveness is the most important factor determining bank selection decisions of MSEs.

This study has two major limitations: first, due to resource constraints, the samples included in this study were taken only from the capital city of the country, Addis Ababa. As customer preferences are likely to vary from region to region, future studies could be carried out by including samples from other cities and rural areas of the country. Second, the study relied on a single data collection instrument. The use of additional data collection instruments, such as interviews and focus group discussions, could provide additional insights into the topic.

Commercial banks need to devise a flexible lending policy and set affordable interest rates and collateral requirements to meet the credit needs of MSEs. MSEs, on the other hand, need to improve their bankability by improving their operating and financial reporting practices. Further research can be conducted by covering other cities and the rural parts of the country.

The topic of bank selection has not been explored with a specific reference to MSEs in Ethiopia. The present study addressed this gap by investigating the factors influencing bank selection decisions of MSEs.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the explanatory factors for the selection of Islamic banks and evaluate the moderating role of demographic characteristics. This study seeks to better understand these determinants in Tunisia, a country with a developing Islamic finance system and a culture different from those in other Muslim countries studied in the literature.

The authors developed a two-sided approach: a quantitative survey and 12 semi-structured interviews based on four customer segments identified by the quantitative study. For the survey, data were collected from 180 Islamic bank clients in Tunisia. The factors adopted for the selection of an Islamic bank are service quality, trust, and compliance with Sharia (Islamic) law. The authors identified and measured the selection criteria using a factor analysis, regression analysis, and demographic characteristics analysis.

Customers consider several factors while choosing an Islamic bank: the quality of service offered by the financial institutions, trust, and (especially) compliance with Sharia law. Moreover, gender and age appear to be the only moderators between the selection of an Islamic bank and these determinants.

This study offers Islamic banks a better understanding of how Tunisian customers select financial institutions. These banks must consider the different determinants of choice in order to create value for consumers and prepare their marketing strategies. The authors identify four customer segments based on gender and age by which the banks may improve their positioning and market share, thus contributing to the development of Islamic financial institutions in Tunisia.

This is the first study of its kind in Tunisia, where the market share of Islamic finance remains low. The study enriches the Islamic marketing literature on the quality of Islamic financial institutions’ service, trust, and compliance with Sharia law. It also tests demographic characteristics as moderators. The results and implications of this research can be applied to countries similar to Tunisia.

The aim of this research is to examine the selection criteria of customers for Islamic home financing in the context of Pakistan and to examine these factors with respect to gender, age, income, and occupation.

This study uses a quantitative approach to investigate the choice criteria for Islamic home financing. All 18 independent variables are taken from previous research; for their analysis, descriptive statistics, independent sample t‐tests and ANOVA was used. Data were gathered from the customers of Islamic banking who use the services of Islamic home financing. The sample consists of 200 respondents. For the collection of data, a survey questionnaire with closed‐ended questions and a five‐point Likert scale was employed. The questionnaire was designed into two sections, one consisting of demographic information and the second relating to the selection criteria of Islamic home financing.

The results indicate that the shariah principle, fast and efficient services, price, bank reputation, and terms and conditions of product flexibility are the five most important factors considered by customers in choosing Islamic mortgages.

The limitations relate to the sample area for the study, which is confined to Lahore, and due to the limited sample size, the findings cannot be generalized. Second, only four banks are considered.

This study is beneficial for practitioners in Pakistan by offering insight into choice criteria for Islamic home financing. The results should also be useful for Islamic bank managers who are also policy makers, as they can study and plan for attractive schemes and policies for customers through which they can fulfill their needs and expectations. For the researcher, this study will also add to the existing body of knowledge by providing novel evidence on the selection criteria used for Islamic home financing.

This topic has never been examined in the context of Pakistan, so this study initiates the choice criteria for Islamic home financing among Pakistani banks' customers. The paper provides potentially useful information for both customers (in selecting Islamic banks) and bank managers to identify the factors needed to attract customers.

As the popularity of Islamic banking and financial instruments continues to rise globally, a recurring empirical question is what specifically makes consumers choose Islamic banking. This paper aims to investigate the determinants of bank type selection, especially in culturally diverse settings where the Islamic banking sector is well-established. It further examines whether consumers’ gender/religion influences their choices. One intuitive prediction is that Muslim consumers opt for Islamic banking products as “ethical” because of conviction-related reasons. However, the reality is not necessarily straightforward.

This paper uses structural equation modeling to examine data collected from a survey questionnaire of 790 respondents in an emerging market setting. Further analysis is made based on gender and religion to remove related bias.

Results suggest that overall consumer awareness significantly affects the selection of Islamic banking products. The positive effect of awareness is more significant for Muslim consumers relative to non-Muslims. Interestingly, social stimuli and bank attributes have an insignificant effect on the banking choices of both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Results suggest that Islamic banks’ marketing managers should adopt differentiated strategies for men and women, focusing on the core benefits of the service or personal interactions with consumers, respectively, along with a focus on different aspects of personal service for each gender. Awareness should be enhanced by adopting informative and effective marketing strategies to attract and retain consumers in the competitive bank environment. Islamic banks (IB) should pay attention to the religious effect without considering it as the sole variable motivating potential customers. They should design segmented and customized marketing strategies based on gender-religion market segmentation to suit different groups’ needs.

The findings fill a gap in the literature and provide Islamic bankers with insights to help design and articulate their business strategies to appeal to consumers in a multicultural context. Examining an integral part of gender and religion mitigates biased estimates due to the omission of variables. The study contributes to the existing literature on customer preferences for IB with a relatively large, new data set.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons behind customers' selection of Islamic mortgage in Sabah, Malaysia and present factor and cluster analyses to identify the importance of choice criteria for Islamic mortgage selection. The choice criteria among Sabahans are investigated along with their gender, age group, religion, monthly income, and ethnicity.

A total of 250 bank customers responded to a survey addressing the choice criteria for Islamic mortgage providers. It is important to address the criteria in order to make sure the service providers are able to come up with attractive package of Islamic home financing to their prospective customers. Of these, only 211 questionnaires are usable, which gives us a response rate of 84.4 percent. No extra efforts are conducted in order to increase the number of respondents. Non‐probability, convenience sampling is implemented. This paper uses a quantitative study similar to what employed by Lymperopoulos et al. and by Devlin. Frequencies, descriptive, factor and cluster analyses are used to analyze the data.

A cluster analysis indicates that bank customers can be divided into three clusters. Members of cluster 1 reported a tendency to select mortgage bank on the basis of “service provisions” while the members of cluster 2 reported a tendency to select mortgage bank on the basis of “elements of Shariah and Islamic principles.” While those of members in the cluster 3, almost entirely had lower mean scores as compared to other clusters. Nevertheless, the members of this cluster reported a greatest tendency to choose Islamic mortgage provider on the basis of “pricing.”

The paper has addressed three limitations that provide opportunities for other researchers to explore them in depth in the future in the similar field of Islamic home financing. The limitations are presented in the conclusion's part.

With regard to implications, this paper offers inputs for management decision among Islamic mortgage providers (i.e. Islamic banking institutions such as full‐fledged Islamic banks, conventional banks with Islamic windows and conventional banks with Islamic subsidiaries). In addition, this paper adds to the literature in the area of home loans/financing.

This paper offers the choice criteria for Islamic mortgage providers provides useful information on the Islamic mortgage providers' selection among Sabahans. This paper indeed provides useful information on the main choice criteria that affect why Sabahan choose Islamic mortgage providers.