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This study aims to investigate the influence of the Islamic retail mix of product, price, promotion and store atmosphere on consumers' purchase decisions.

The research method is a survey with a purposive sampling technique, involving 100 respondents. The data was analyzed using the SEM PLS analysis tool.

Products and promotions are partially insignificant to purchasing decisions in Islamic retail. This is because consumers are convinced of all the products offered by the sharia retail mix, so they are less concerned with products and promotions. However, this study reinforces that price and store atmosphere has a significant impact on purchasing decisions in Islamic retail.

This study focuses on product, price, promotion and store as its variable dependent, with two of the variables are less significant compared to the rest. In addition, the samples are relatively small, leading to concerns about its ability to generalize the results of the study. The instruments that are used are also relatively limited. Additionally, the relevant characteristics of respondents are not evenly distributed. Thus, further study investigating similar topics might need to increase the number of samples, expand the characteristics of the sample, and including such variables as process, location, brand equity and customer’s trust level.

To encourage consumers to make purchases on Islamic retail, companies should emphasize price and store atmosphere, which are the main considerations for consumers in making purchases at Islamic retail. Product and promotion are less prominent in Islamic retail because they are similar to those carried out by conventional retail.

This paper is significant in investigating the effect of sharia retail product mix, price, promotion and store atmosphere on consumer purchasing decisions at Sehati Muslim Mart Daarut Tauhid (SMM-DT), which is located in a famous boarding school in Indonesia. This study has succeeded in revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the variables that influence consumer purchasing decisions in Islamic retail.

The purpose of this research study is to explore and analyze the factors that will favour or constrain the introduction of an Islamic Retail bank in a Muslim-minority country such as Mauritius. This research attempts to fill the gap in the empirical literature on the setting up of an Islamic Retail bank in a Muslim-minority country. It recognizes upfront that Islamic banking offers an alternative banking system that is attractive to both Muslims and non-Muslims.

The research adopts a mixed approach to address the prospects and challenges of establishing an Islamic Retail bank in Mauritius.

The research finds that there are various prospects for an Islamic retail bank in Mauritius for Muslims and non-Muslims, including enabling legal, fiscal and regulatory framework, the financing of small- and medium-sized enterprises and the issuance of ṣukūk (Islamic investment certificates). The research also finds that the development of an Islamic retail bank in Mauritius face various challenges. Some of these challenges are lack of Sharīʿah-compliant liquidity instruments and inter-bank deposits, lack of knowledge and understanding of Sharīʿah-compliant products and the enforcement of Islamic contracts in court.

This in-depth study appears to be comprehensive and will help in developing a solid foundation for establishing an Islamic retail bank in Mauritius.

This paper aims to investigate the differences in patronage factors influencing “retail customers” and “institutional clients” to bank Islamically and to identify the reasons bankers perceive that their customers’ bank with them in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A total of 237; 416; and 70 balanced responses were collected from Islamic bankers, retail customers and institutional clients of UAE, respectively. Weighted average scores were computed for ranking the selection criteria factors across the data set and paired comparison analysis was conducted to analyse the variation of selection criteria between the data sets.

Empirical results indicate that Islamic banking practitioners maintain an identical perception with retail customers in relation to the selection criteria of Islamic banking products and services, with the “Sharīʿah-compliance” factor dominating other factors under examination. With respect to the perception regarding institutional/corporate clients, Islamic bankers exhibited a divergent perception in connection with selection criteria of Islamic banking products and services and the factor “cost and affordability” and “rates and return” are prioritized above factor “Sharīʿah-compliance”.

The scope of the study is limited to a single country. Hence, the finding of this study cannot be generalized to the other regions. Although the study covers a considerable sample from each segment, still there is an avenue for improvement by covering more respondents into the survey. Consequently, the results of this study should be read with these limitations. Further, analysis of the variation among intra divisions of each segment such as Muslim and non-Muslim with respect to retail customers; the different level of management at the banks and focusing the specific sector of the industry is beyond the scope of this study. These directions provide avenues for future research.

The study provides useful insights for bankers to revisit their marketing strategies to attract and retain more clients. Hence, the findings also suggest policy recommendations for nascent Islamic banking markets to move to the next stages of maturity. The findings of this study have implications for firms’ strategic directions and future investments of organizations, especially when the competition in the industry is intense. Future studies are recommended in other countries where the Islamic financial market share is significant.

While ample perception studies have carried out in the Islamic banking industry of the UAE, studies that focus on institutional clients, especially with reference to the factors that determine the selection criteria; studies examining banker’s perception towards Islamic banks and their clients (retail and institutional); studies that reconcile the perception of bankers and customers (retail and institutional) are all inadequately covered in existing literatures. This study attempts to fill some of these significant gaps.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that “being Islamic” is already embedded in the decision frame of the Muslim consumers when choosing their Islamic banks, and hence, the bank selection criteria of these Muslim consumers will be dominated by non-faith-based factors.

This study took the context of retail consumers of Islamic banks of Bangladesh—the fourth largest Muslim populated country in the world, having great potential of developing an Islamic ecosystem. The study employed survey method using structured questionnaire on 311 respondents from 35 branches of six Islamic banks in Dhaka—the capital city of Bangladesh. Exploratory factor analysis, followed by multivariate regression analysis, was conducted to identify the determinants of satisfaction among Muslim retail bank customers.

The study forwards three important findings. First, faith-based bank selection criterion (i.e. Islam) is not a stand-alone factor anymore; rather, the items of this factor are embedded into other non-faith-based factors. Second, among the non-faith-based factors, commitment of the bank, competence and compassion of the bank employees have topped the list of bank selection criteria. Third, competence, commitment and corporate image of the bank had relatively more influence on satisfaction when compared to compassion and convenience.

Since Shari’ah compliance is already embedded in Islamic banking system, Islamic bankers should now focus on strategic targeting of their customers based on non-faith-based operational determinants.

This study presents that non-faith-based selection criteria are more influential in Islamic bank selection decision.

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors affecting word-of-mouth (WOM) towards Islamic Banking (IB) in Jordan through understanding the roles of service quality and perceived value.

A self-administered survey was hand-delivered to the targeted sample of Islamic banks customers in Jordan. The authors delivered 400 questionnaires to customers from which 352 were deemed valid for the analysis. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess the research constructs validity and composite reliability. Structural path analysis was also used to test the research model and hypothesised relationships between the variables.

Service quality has a positive and significant effect on perceived value and WOM towards IB. Convenience has a positive and significant effect on perceived value. Finally, perceived value has a positive and significant effect on WOM towards IB. Service quality exerted the strongest effect on perceived value and WOM. Also, 38 per cent of variation in perceived value was caused by religious motives, service quality and convenience path, whereas 34 per cent of variation in WOM towards IB was caused by perceived value, service quality and convenience path.

Future research needs to investigate other factors that may affect customers’ WOM concerning IB such as perceived bank image, trust and subjective norms. Future research should investigate other dimensions of perceived value such as social, psychological, emotional, sacrifice value and product values and how they affect WOM. From an international marketing standpoint, comparative studies between Jordanian and non-Jordanian Islamic customers are potential areas of future research for international marketing strategies and cross-cultural consumer behaviour analysis.

The paper identifies the determinants of WOM towards IB. Managers should focus on executing service quality strategies customised towards IB. Convenience is a major driver of perceived value and, then, WOM towards IB. Managers need to focus on key marketing messages that enhance religious motives in customers’ minds and hearts; however, attracting new customers and retaining the current ones depend on the perceived benefits in the areas of service quality, convenience and several value aspects.

This study is the first of its kind to test a model of WOM determinants in IB in Jordan. The study is thought to have made a reasonable contribution to consumer behaviour literature and, specifically, for decision-making process through developing and testing a model of WOM determinants towards IB. The study offers CEOs and marketing managers of Islamic banks new insights into the determinants of WOM and how they contribute to consumers’ decision-making process and attitudes to achieve the intended behavioural outcomes towards IB, which were not available at their hands before. These empirical findings are crucial inputs for marketing strategy formulation and implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to report a study into: the motives that dispose customers in Bahrain to choose a specific bank; the level of familiarity of customers with the most widely used services/products offered by Islamic banks; and the extent of use of those products.

This is the first study conducted in Bahrain to include three types of bank clients: those who bank with conventional banks, those who bank with Islamic banks, and who use both kinds of banks. The results are based on a response rate of 65.5 percent from 1,000 questionnaires distributed. Descriptive statistics and non‐parametric statistics (Mann‐Whitney and Kruskal‐Wallis tests) are reported, and factor analysis used to analyze the responses.

It is found that: Islamic religious belief and social responsibility are the two most important factors that determine bank selection. Cost benefit is the third most important factor considered in bank selection; clients of conventional and Islamic banks share a number of motives, but they differ significantly on a few motives in relation to bank selection; and clients of Islamic banks are more familiar with the products/services that conform to the sharia'a. Overall, for clients who bank exclusively with Islamic banks, and for those who bank in different kinds of banks, the most widely used product/service of Islamic banks is murabaha.

The most important practical implication is for banks, conventional and Islamic, when setting and implementing their marketing strategies, which should include an awareness campaign. The results also benefit banks operating in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This is because of the similarities of the countries in the GCC.

This paper is the first attempt to identify the motives and criteria for bank selection in Bahrain among clients of conventional banks, Islamic banks, and clients who bank with both types of banks. The study goes on to determine the extent of familiarity of clients of banks in Bahrain with the products/services that comply with Islamic sharia'a.

This paper aims to explore public perceptions on marketing‐related issues of Islamic mortgages, which can help to identify the contents of the best marketing strategies for financial institutions wishing to promote Islamic mortgages among the Muslim community in the UK. In doing so, the access issues of the Islamic mortgages and how to effectively raise awareness among the Muslim community is discussed. The paper also aims to discuss the integration of the Islamic mortgage and to investigate the importance of staff confidence and the acceptability of promoting the Islamic mortgage by a non‐Muslim sales person. Furthermore, the role of religion, the Muslim households' consumer preferences and the prospect of Islamic mortgage providers' cross‐selling Islamic mortgage products to the Muslim customers are also discussed.

The principal method used to gather primary data is a questionnaire survey conducted with Muslim households in East London. From a total of 350 questionnaires distributed, 270 were returned, of which 250 were fully completed, thereby yielding a response rate of about 77 per cent.

The findings indicate that wider social factors and lifestyle choices may be increasing the demand for Islamic mortgages. The paper also argues that there is scope in the UK to expand the market for Islamic products and services to non‐Muslims as well if effective and sound marketing strategies are implemented.

The sample size can be extended to have more reliable results. In addition, future research should consider other geographical locations in the UK to provide diversity in terms of participants.

The findings of the research can provide valuable information for the Islamic mortgage market in the UK but also render information for Islamic finance service providers in shaping their marketing strategy in relation to Islamic mortgages.

The paper utilises primary data from a particular case, which provides valuable findings in relation to participants' perceptions on Islamic mortgage and its marketing‐related issues. It also provides the elements of an effective marketing strategy for the marketing of Islamic mortgages in the UK. Therefore, in addition to being an academic paper appealing to academic inquiry, it has practical implications for the industry as well.

An important Islamic imperative is prevention of concentration of wealth among a few so that wealth circulates widely to enhance shared prosperity. In contemporary economic discourse, inequality and concentration of wealth have emerged as among key causes of instability and crisis. Unfortunately, although Islamic finance has emerged as a Shari’ah-compliant industry, it does not seem to be connected with the Islamic concern about inequality and concentration of wealth. This paper aims to explore the issues of inequality and concentration of wealth in the context of Islamic finance.

This paper addresses a number of queries: Are Islamic banks, as the dominant component of the industry, helping to improve inequality and concentration of wealth and thus offer a better framework to deal with instability and crisis? Is the ownership structure of Islamic banks conducive to meeting the Islamic imperative regarding inequality and concentration of wealth? Using secondary data, this research illuminates the pertinent issues in light of the experience of Bahrain as one of the hubs of Islamic banking and finance.

The paper finds that the ownership pattern of Islamic banks in Bahrain lends credence to the entrenched, not-so-unexpected concentration of wealth.

This study is based on data of one country. Further studies on other countries will help illuminate the relevant patterns and issues.

Inequality and concentration of wealth are among central economic issues in contemporary economic discourse. Because of the significant impact of such inequality and concentration, societies need to be more aware of these impacts and devise ways to address it.

Inequality and concentration of wealth have fundamental social implications, as the issues of poverty, deprivation, exploitation, etc. are inseparable from concentration of wealth (accompanied by concentration of power), and widening wealth gap can cause or induce major socio-political upheaval.

Although inequality and concentration of wealth are robust fields of inquiry, this might be the first work addressing the issue of concentration of wealth in the context of Islamic finance in general and Islamic banking in particular.