Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in halal food purchasing

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1 See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in halal food purchasing Article in International Journal of Commerce and Management March 2011 DOI: / CITATIONS 90 READS 1,905 2 authors: Syed Shah Alam National University of Malaysia 68 PUBLICATIONS 738 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Nazura Sayuti Universiti Teknologi MARA 2 PUBLICATIONS 93 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Available from: Syed Shah Alam Retrieved on: 20 June 2016

2 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at IJCOMA 21,1 8 Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in halal food purchasing Syed Shah Alam School of Business Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, National University of Malaysia, Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, and Nazura Mohamed Sayuti Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Darul Ehsan, Malaysia International Journal of Commerce and Management Vol. 21 No. 1, 2011 pp q Emerald Group Publishing Limited DOI / Abstract Purpose In this study, Ajzen s Theory of Planned Behavior is used as a theoretical framework with the aim of extending prior research examining halal food purchasing behavior in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach Data are collected through self-administered questionnaires. This paper uses multiple regression analysis to identify the factors affecting halal food purchasing behavior of Malaysian consumers. Findings The multiple regression analysis results indicate that all factors have positive and significant influence on halal food purchasing intention. Research limitations/implications Like other empirical studies, this study is not without its limitations. The sample size itself is relatively small. The study can be strengthened by increasing the sample size and including participants in other geographical areas. This study also considered only three antecedents of halal food purchasing among consumers in Malaysia. As Malaysia is actually trying to play for a bigger role in the halal industry, more research is needed to identify and address problematic aspects of consumption of halal food. Potential correlations between some of the independent variables (e.g. trust, moral obligation, habit, and self-identity) need to be reported in a future study. Originality/value This study contributes to and extends our understanding of the halal food purchasing behavior, identifying the rationales for purchasing of halal foods. From a managerial viewpoint, the findings provide support for investment decisions and for decisions relating to the establishment of Malaysia as a halal hub that address and take the concerns and needs of businesses and Malaysian Government agencies into consideration. Keywords Buying behaviour, Consumer behaviour, Food products, Malaysia Paper type Research paper Introduction halal (, halāl, andhalaal ) isaquranic word meaning lawful or permitted, which is the dietary standard prescribed in the Quran. In the Quran, it is mentioned that all foods are halal except those that are specifically mentioned as Haram, which is prohibited or unlawful. In the English language, it most frequently refers to food that is permissible according to Islamic law. In the Arabic language, it refers to anything that is permissible under Islam. In the Muslim majority, the concept of halal is an absolute key to consumption. Muslim consumers nowadays are faced with a broad selection of products and services. Each product category offers many different brands either locally named or

3 internationally recognized. Some of the local brands appear to capture their own niches by projecting themselves as Islamic brands via their creative packaging and labeling. This also indirectly signals to their primary target, which is the Muslim consumer, the halal status of their products. The Muslim population in and around us is large and Islam is the fastest growing religion on earth, both by birth and adoption. With Muslims now making up one quarter of the world s population, the market opportunities are outstanding and the global halal marketplace is too lucrative a market for food manufacturers to ignore. There are altogether more than two billion Muslim populations in the world spreading over 112 countries, across diverse regions such as Organisation of Islamic Conference Nations (1.4 billion), Asia (805 million), Africa (300 million), Middle East (210 million), Europe (18 million), and Malaysia (16 million) ( With the global halal market estimated to be worth US$580 billion a year and the halal food industry pegged to grow at a rate of 7 percent annually (Saad and Patrick, 2008). According to global group HighBeam Research, cited in the Halal Journal (2008), the current estimated value of the total halal market is US$150 billion, but this has the potential to rise to US$500 billion by 2010, driven by the increasing value and diversity of the consumer market, combined with strong demographic trends across the world (Anne-Birte, 2007). Extra levels of quality certification have attracted an unprecedented demand for Muslim and non-muslim consumers (Patton, 2008). Commercially, the Islamic consumer market is the fastest growing in the world. Owing to two reasons, the halal food market is the fastest growing in the world. First, it can be linked to religious fervor and beliefs that it is cleaner, healthier, and tastier (Burgmann, 2007), and second, for the tremendous acceptance of halal within the global population through the process of assimilation. Foreign foods in some countries as in Europe have become assimilated and local tastes are changing, encouraged by global tourism and reverse colonization. It is recognition not only for the Muslim people but also for the benchmark for safety and quality assurance. The Canadian International Markets Bureau reports an international halal food trade of $150 billion a year. A study by JWT (2007) in the USA reported that the total spending power of Muslims in the USA was estimated at more than $170 billion, as Muslims represent a major untapped niche market. The UK halal market alone is currently a US$4 billion market, with strong demand for specialized and healthy halal food (Islam 786 Forum, 2008). For the halal food market, the demand is increasingly outpacing the food supply and the two strongest markets for halal products are South-East Asia and the Middle East with the Muslim consumer base estimated to be 1.9 billion, spreading over 112 countries. On average, the world s halal food trade is estimated US$150 million per year. Manufacturers and marketers use the halal certification and logo as a way to inform and to reassure their target consumers that their products are halal and Shariah compliant. In general, the Muslim consumers in Malaysia look for the authentic halal certification issued by Malaysia s Department of Islamic Development ( JAKIM) which is under the purview of the Ministry in the Prime Minister s Department. This certification granted the companies the use of the halal logo for printing on their products packaging or for display at a company s premises. Malaysia is actually trying to play a bigger role in the halal industry in the world. According to reports (22 January 2006) by Jumaatun Azmi, Managing Director of KasehDia, organizer of World halal Forum: Applying TPB 9

4 IJCOMA 21,1 10 [...] the new agency may be set up by Malaysian trade to oversee halal food governance, as the country seeks to play a greater part in the fast developing halal food sector. In order to coordinate international standards and best practices, making it a complex area to regulate Malaysia has already created a Steering Committee under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MTTI). Beside that, there are more than 20 different ministries and agencies that continue to have input in halal regulation. Although, Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim country, its participation in the halal industry is still insufficient when compared to Thailand, which is fast emerging as a halal hub. According to Malaysian International Trade and Industry, import of processed food is valued at RM5.7 billion whilst export is RM4.7 billion. The production of halal food was valued at RM9.6 billion between January 2003 and October 2003, quoting the figures from the Statistic Department. It shows that the size of the halal food market is huge. The Malaysian Government has created a number of institutions to cater for the halal food product, especially the JAKIM. JAKIM is the only important authority in monitoring and implementing halal food products. Problem statement and objective Owing to the increasing demand for halal food in the world s market, many Muslim consumers are feeling doubtful and unconfident that the foods that are sold to the market might encourage some countries to think about halal food processing. Much of the research reports on halal food markets are predicted but there is dearth of theory-driven research on halal food purchasing. In general terms, theory-driven research facilitates a better understanding of the attitudinal and behavioral factors that influence a particular behavior, allows researchers to propose and test causal models of the behavior, and ultimately facilitates effective design and implementation of programs that aim to promote the behavior. Thus, a further purpose of this study was to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to the study of halal food purchasing of Malaysian consumers. Looking at the current scenario, the purpose of this study is to examine the major determinants of halal food purchasing intention in Malaysia. Malaysian Muslim consumers generally look for the authentic halal ( ) certification or logo issued by the JAKIM which is under the purview of the Ministry in the Prime Minister s Department (Shafie and Othman, 2009). Owing to the multicultural nature of Malaysia, not all local companies place the Islamic feature on their packaging and labeling of the products. But halal food is one of the most important issues for the Muslim community. In this present business scenario in Malaysia, this study seeks to examine the consumers halal food purchasing behavior, as well. The broad research question is: RQ1. What factors determine the likelihood of purchasing by Malaysian consumers? The RQ1. is concerned with understanding the factors that encourage or discourage halal food purchasing intention. Purchasing behavior depends on specific social, cultural, economic, legal, and political contexts, which may differ significantly between countries and even regional areas that limit the generalization of research results from one country s to another country s contexts. This justifies an empirical investigation of Malaysian consumers awareness, perception, and their readiness or concerns about their current and potential purchasing behavior to uncover the factors that encourage or deter halal food purchasing. Moreover, this will

5 contribute to confirm past findings of limited research attempts in developed a country s contexts and possible generalization on halal food purchasing in Malaysia. The main objective of this study is to examine the antecedents of halal food purchasing intention using the TPB (Ajzen, 1985, 1991). Theoretical framework Theory of Planned Behavior There are some questions as to the applicability of TPB model in halal food purchasing. Theoretically, this is difficult to answer. We see this issue as more of an empirical question; do the testable implications hold up empirically? An underlying premise of the current study is the beliefs about the halal food purchasing. TPB (Ajzen, 1985, 1991) is an extension of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1985), made necessary by the latter model s inability to deal with behaviors over which individuals have incomplete volitional control. Volitional control represents the degree to which a behavior can be performed at will (Blackwell et al., 2006). Behavior that is not consciously considered cannot be explained by this theory. The TPB model explains if an individual s performance of a certain behavior is determined by his or her intent to perform that behavior. For TPB, attitude towards the target behavior and subjective norms about engaging in the behavior are thought to influence intention halal food purchasing behavior, and TPB includes perceived behavior control over engaging in the behavior as a factor influencing intention and purchasing behavior. An attitude towards a behavior is a positive or negative evaluation of performing that behavior and perceived behavioral control is informed by beliefs about the individual s possession of the opportunities and resources needed to engage in the behavior (Ajzen, 1991). The existence of uncontrollable factors would interfere in our ability to do what we intend to do. When this disruption occurs, intention becomes a less accurate predictor of behavior. Consequently, perceived behavioral control, representing a person s belief about how easy it is to perform the behavior, is important in predicting behavior. From this point of view, one of the limitations of TRA is that it never takes perceived behavior control into account. Applying TPB 11 Literature review TPB has been supported by empirical studies on consumption and social psychology-related studies (Ajzen, 1991; Taylor and Todd, 1997). A study of Thompson et al. (1994), using meta-analysis technique indicates that measures of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, explains percent of the variance in intentions and that behavioral intentions explain between 19 and 38 percent of the variance in behavior. TPB has also been the basis for several studies on consumer food choices (Sparks and Shepherd, 1992; Conner and Sparks, 1996; Karijin et al., 2007). Armitage and Conner (2001) used the TPB as the basis of their theoretical model where habit was another independent predictor. Verbeke et al. (2004) and Honkanen et al. (2005) studies used TPB and found important models to be used for other researches on food-related areas. TPB was found to be an important model by other researches in food-related behavior (Sparks et al., 1995; Cook et al., 2000). According to Casper (2007), 600 empirical studies have provided conclusive evidence in line with the theoretical predication of the TPB model and changes in the past 20 years. Food-related behavior has also successfully

6 IJCOMA 21,1 12 included self-identity as an additional predictor variable (Karijin et al., 2007). A study by Karijin et al. (2007) on attitude towards halal meat purchasing in France found that attitude, social norm, and perceived control had significance for intention to consume halal meat. Many other examples of TPB studies include the purchase of organic food (Sparks and Shepherd, 1992; Maria et al., 2001; Anssi and Sanna, 2005), online purchasing behavior ( Joey, 2002, 2004; Battarcherjee, 2002; George, 2002; Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1997; Pavlou, 2002; Suh and Han, 2003). TPB also has used many information systems research (Mathieson, 1991; Taylor and Todd, 1997; Harrison et al., 1997) and expectations regarding the acceptability of using genetic engineering in food production (Sparks et al., 1995). Research model and hypotheses The research model used in this study, shown in Figure 1, is based on TPB. The intention of halal food purchasing preceded the process before actual purchase. Intention reflects future behavior. Attitude is postulated to have a direct relationship with intention behavior. The relationship between subjective norms and behavioral control is also posited as a direct relationship here. To examine the relationship between the independent variables (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control) and the dependent variable (behavioral intention in purchasing halal food product), three hypotheses were developed. The directionality stated in each hypothesis is derived from the previous researches which were conducted on the basis of TPB. Therefore, this study has to find out whether there is a direct positive relationship between attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention. Attitude is the evaluation of performing a particular behavior involving the attitude object, such as buying the product (Blackwell et al., 2006). Attitude refers to the degree to which a person has favorable or unfavorable evaluation or appraisal of the behavior in question. As a general rule, the more favorable the attitude and subjective with respect to a behavior, and the greater the perceived behavioral control, the stronger should be an individual s intention to perform the behavior under consideration. The relative importance of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control in the prediction of intention is expected to vary across behaviors and situations (Ajzen, 1991). According to the expectancy-value model, attitude toward a behavior is determined by the total set of accessible behavioral beliefs linking the behavior to various outcomes and other attributes. Therefore, attitude can be considered as an important part of Attitude Subjective norm halal food purchase intention Figure 1. A schematic diagram of the conceptual framework Perceived behavioral control

7 predicting and describing human behavior (Ajzen, 1988). Thus, the following hypothesis needs to be substantiated: H1. There is a significant and positive relationship between attitude and intention to purchase halal food products. The predictor social factor termed subjective norm is the perceived social pressure to comply with expectations about engaging in the behavior which should influence the individual s intention to perform or not to the behavior. If social expectations are that people should perform in the behavior in question, then the individual should be more likely to do so. Conversely, if social expectations are that people should not perform in the behavior, then the individual should be less likely to do so. In this case, if purchasing of halal food is seen as socially desirable behavior, based on what important others think about it, than the individual is more likely to make a halal food purchase. In this study, subjective norm is the perceived social pressure that influences consumers decisions to purchase halal food. For this context, we propose: H2. There is a significant and positive relationship between subjective norm and intentions to purchase halal food products. According to Ajzen (1991), perceived behavioral control is the extent to which a person feels able to engage in the behavior. It has two aspects: how much a person has control over behavior and how confident a person feels about being able to perform or not perform the behavior. It is determined by the individual s beliefs about the power of both situational and internal factors to facilitate the performing of the behavior. The more the control an individual feels about making halal food purchases, the more likely he or she will be to do so. In this study, perceived behavioral control is the ability to purchase halal food. Therefore, the hypothesis is: H3. There is a significant and positive relationship between perceived behavior control and intention to purchase halal food products. Applying TPB 13 Method Sample and procedure Data for this study were gathered by primary data collection method through personally administered questionnaires. Students from marketing research classes in our university collected the data as it was their group assignment. Students learned about the hurdles of the data-collection process and reported their experiences in hard copy. There were 43 students in the class. Each student was asked to collect data from six adults age range from 21 and above, who are consumers, irrespective of whether they have concerns or not about the intention to purchase halal food products. Despite the fact that in Islamic thinking the age of adulthood for both females and males is below the age of 21, studies found that adult consumers who are older than 21 years do not display positive attitudes toward healthy eating habits (Harker et al., 2010). The technique of sampling used in this study was non-probability convenience sampling method because it was a viable alternative, due to the constraint of time, speed, costs, and conveniences in order to obtain enough respondents. A total of 258 respondents took part of this study. Although careful consideration was given by the students to collect data, seven were discarded due to incomplete responses; the final sample was 251 for an effective response rate of percent.

8 IJCOMA 21,1 14 The majority of the respondents were male (74.5 percent), the Malay group was the highest contributors of the total respondents (68.92 percent). Thus, the sample contains a representation of whole population in Malaysia as its population consists of 60 percent of Malays, 26 percent Chinese, 8 percent Indians and 6 percent other races (Baradan, 2006). The highest respondents were from the age group of years old. The majority of the respondents were Muslim (64.94 percent). This is due to the fact that most of the Malays in Malaysia are believed to be Muslims. Most of them were undergraduates representing 75.1 percent of the total sample (Table I). Measures All items intended to measure the variables in this study were adopted from previously validated instruments. The construct of subjective norm and behavioral intention was measured with scales from Venkatesh and Davis (2000), modified so that the focus was on the halal food purchase. Perceived behavioral control and attitude were assessed with measures reported by Taylor and Todd (1995). Again, the items were modified for halal food purchase. Measures of attitude (four items), subjective norms (two items), perceived behavioral control (three items), and intention (five items) were measured. All the questions used a six-point Likert scale in which 1 indicated strongly disagree, 2 indicated disagree, 3 indicated somewhat disagree, 4 indicated somewhat agree, 5 indicated agree, and 6 indicated strongly agree. Regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Frequency % Table I. Socio-economic background of the respondents Gender Male Female Race Malay Chinese Indian Others 0 0 Age group ( years) years old years old years old Above 50 years old Religion Muslim Buddhism Hinduism Christianity Others Educational level Primary level Secondary/diploma level Undergraduate Postgraduate

9 Reliability The internal reliability of the items was verified by computing the Cronbach s alpha (Nunnally, 1978). Nunnally suggested that a minimum alpha of 0.6 sufficed for early stages of research. The Cronbach s alpha estimated for attitude was 0.731, subjective norm was 0.758, perceived behavioral control was 0.876, and behavioral intention scale was As the Cronbach s alpha in this study were all much higher than 0.6, the constructs were therefore deemed to have adequate reliability. Applying TPB 15 Normality of data and multicollinearity This study involves a relatively large sample (251 respondents) and therefore, the central limit theorem could be applied and hence there is no question on normality of the data. Two major methods were utilized in order to determine the presence of multicollinearity among independent variables in this study. These methodologies involved calculation of both a tolerance test and variance inflation factor (VIF) (Kleinbaum et al., 1988).The results of these analyzes are presented in Table II. As can be seen from these data:. none of the tolerance levels is # 0.01; and. all VIF values are well below 10. Thus, the measures selected for assessing independent variables in this study do not reach levels indicate of multicollinearity. The acceptable Durbin-Watson range is between 1.5 and 2.5. In this analysis, Durbin-Watson value of 1.751, which is between the acceptable ranges, show that there were no auto correlation problems in the data used in this research. Thus, the measures selected for assessing independent variables in this study do not reach levels indicate of multicollinearity (Table II). Hypotheses testing Table III presents results of a multiple regression analysis used to evaluate the strength of the proposed relationship. Three hypotheses were formulated and all the variables retain after testing the reliability. The individual hypotheses were tested Variable Tolerance VIF Attitude Subjective norm Perceived behavioral control Table II. Test of collinearity Variables b t-value p-value Constant ** Attitude ** Subjective norm * Perceived behavioral control ** Notes: Significance at: * p, 0.01 and ** p, 0.001; R 2 ¼ 0.291, adjusted R 2 ¼ 0.283; dependent variable: halal food purchasing intention Table III. Regression results

10 IJCOMA 21,1 16 using a multiple regression prediction model following the guidelines established by Hair et al. (1998) with halal food purchasing intention as the dependent variable. The results obtained, as shown in Table III, revealed that H1-H3, were found to be significant in the prediction model. The results provide support for hypotheses H1-H3, that is, the relationship between attitude (b ¼ and p, 0.001), subjective norm on halal food purchasing intention (b ¼ and p, 0.01), and perceived behavioral control on halal food purchasing (b ¼ and p, 0.001). Discussion The main objective of this study is to explore how the TPB could facilitate in predicting the intention to purchase halal food products in Malaysia. The study results show that the TPB model could explain 29.1 percent of the variance in the intentions to purchase halal food products. The model was statistically significant and this study results demonstrates, once again, the robustness of the TPB for helping to explain halal food purchasing intention. Other studies have also successfully used the TPB as a theoretical framework from which to examine the purchase intention (Bredahl et al., 1998). The study depicted that attitude has a significant and positive effect on halal food purchasing intention. Attitude is an important factor in influencing consumer intention in purchasing halal food products because those with high positive attitudes appeared to have greater intentions to intent to purchase halal food products. Social pressure may compensate for high favorable attitudes in building intentions to purchase halal food in such culture. Consistent to the study of Karijin et al. (2007), the research found that subjective norm was positively and significantly related to intention. This study also confirms other studies like Kamariah and Muslim s (2007) which found subjective norms to be important. In more individualistic cultures like Western cultures, people perceived themselves as autonomous and independent of the group and prioritized personal goals over collective goals, which would lead to a higher use of personal attitude versus social norms in behavioral decisions. On the other hand, in collectivistic cultures such as the Muslim culture, people tend to perceive themselves as interdependent with their group and tend to strive for in-group rather than personal goals (Karijin et al., 2007). This is matched with the findings of this study that subjective norm is important in influencing consumers purchase intention, especially in Malaysia, a collectivistic country. Furthermore, based on the present findings, perceived behavioral control is not a critical predictor on behavioral intention ( p. 0.05). However, this finding, contrary to the findings by Bonne and Verbeke (2006), found that Muslims are more willing to put considerable effort in obtaining halal food (Karijin et al., 2007), which means perceived behavioral control is an important factor in influencing consumer to purchase halal food. The study also confirmed that perceived behavioral control has a significant effect on halal food purchasing intention. The relationship is a positive relationship which means that the greater impact of control in explaining variability in behavior is not unusual. Eagly and Chaiken (1993) and Bonne and Verbeke (2006) summary studies concerning various behavioral criteria have reported similar findings. Ajzen (1991) suggested that control could directly affect behavior by increasing effort to goal achievement.

11 Implication of the findings The TPB model appeared to effectively predict halal food purchase intention among consumers in Malaysia. To encourage halal food purchasing from a behavioral perspective, government authority and halal food manufacturing companies might focus on creating social expectations regarding halal food purchasing and improving consumers sense of their ability to buy halal food. Past research may provide guidance in developing these perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. For example, Karijin et al. (2007) reported that halal food assured the quality of the products. Applying TPB 17 Directions of future research Research is needed on application of TPB in Western and Muslim countries. Modification of the model may help to maximize their predictive efficacy (Moon and Kim, 2001). Analysis of non-halal food purchaser perceptions and attitudes should be explored. Data from these individuals could provide insight concerning the factors involved with trying halal food the first time. Learning the reasons for this group s non-halal food usage may help researchers to break down barriers to non-halal food purchasers participation in the food buying learning. Further exploration of the studies of the halal food purchaser behavior in Western countries may also be useful applications in Malaysian companies those intent to export their halal food products in that particular countries. This study considered only three antecedents of halal food purchasing among consumers in Malaysia. There may be well be others that should be considered in future research, such as other aspects of trust, moral obligation, habit, and self-identity (Karijin et al., 2007). Valid and reliable scales for these constructs need to be developed in order to include them in future research (George, 2002). References Ajzen, I. (1985), From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behavior, in Kuhl, J. and Beckmann, J. (Eds), Action Control: From Cognition to Behavior, Springer, Heidelberg, pp Ajzen, I. (1988), Attitudes, Personality and Behavior, Dorsey Press, Chicago, IL. Ajzen, I. (1991), Theory of planned behavior, Organization Behavior and Human Decision Process, Vol. 50, pp Ajzen, I. and Fishbein, M. (1985), The prediction of behavior from attitudinal and normative variables, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 6, pp Anne-Birte, S. (2007), Al Islami Foods, a leading provider of quality real halal food products, paper presented at the World Halal Forum (WHF) Halal Industry Dialogue, Dubai, available at: (accessed 12 May 2008). Anssi, T. and Sanna, S. (2005), Subjective norms, attitudes and intentions of Finnish consumers in buying organic food, British Food Journal, Vol. 107 No. 11, pp Armitage, C.J. and Conner, M. (2001), Efficacy of theory of planned behavior: a meta-analysis review, British Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 40, pp Baradan, K. (2006), Racism alive and well in Malaysia, Asia Times Online Version, March, available at: (accessed 3 May 2009).

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13 JWT (2007), Study reveals one of America s biggest hidden niche markets, available at: www. jwt.com/pdf/news/muslimsfocused pdf (accessed 16 May 2009). Kamariah, N. and Muslim, N. (2007), The application of theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in internet purchasing: using SEM, International Conference on Marketing and Retailing, Petaling Jaya, pp Karijin, B., Iris, V., Florence, B.B. and Wim, V. (2007), Determinants of halal meat consumption in France, British Food Journal, Vol. 109 No. 5, pp Kleinbaum, D.G., Kupper, L.L. and Muller, K.E. (1988), Applied Regression Analysis and Other Multivariate Methods, PWS, Boston, MA. Maria, K.M., Anne, M. and Hustri, U.K. (2001), Attitude towards organic food among Swedish consumers, British Food Journal, Vol. 103 No. 23, pp Mathieson, K. (1991), Predicting user intentions: comparing the technology acceptance model with the theory of planned behavior, Information Systems Research, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp Moon, J.W. and Kim, Y.G. (2001), Extending the TAM for a world wide web context, Information & Management, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp Nunnally, J.C. (1978), Psychometric Theory, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Patton, D. (2008), Why halal label is critical for major exporters, Business Daily, available at: (accessed 30 June 2008). Pavlou, P.A. (2002), What drives electronic commerce? A theory of planned behavior perspective, Academy of Management Proceedings, Denver, CO, pp. A1-A6. Saad, A.-H. and Patrick, L. (2008), Marketing of halal products: the way forward, The Halal Journal, available at: (accessed 24 January 2008). Shafie, S. and Othman, M.N. (2009), Halal certification: an international marketing issues and challenges, available at: (accessed 3 May 2009). Sparks, P. and Shepherd, R. (1992), Self-identity and the theory of planned behavior: assessing the role of identification with green consumerism, Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 55 No. 4, pp Sparks, P., Shepherd, R. and Frewer, L.J. (1995), Assessing and structuring attitudes towards the use of gene technology in food production: the role of ethical obligation, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp Suh, B. and Han, I. (2003), The impact of customer trust and perception of security control on the acceptance of electronic commerce, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp Taylor, S. and Todd, P. (1995), Decomposition and crossover effects in the theory of planned behavior: a study of consumer adoption intentions, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 12, pp Taylor, S. and Todd, P. (1997), Understanding the determinants of consumer composting behavior, Journal of Social Applied Psychology, Vol. 27, pp Thompson, K.E., Hazins, N. and Alekas, P.J. (1994), Attitude and food choice behavior, British Food Journal, Vol. 96 No. 11, pp Venkatesh, V. and Davis, F.D. (2000), Theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: four longitudinal field studies, Management Science, Vol. 46 No. 2, pp Applying TPB 19

14 IJCOMA 21,1 20 Verbeke, W., Vermeir, I. and Vackier, I. (2004), Impact of values, involvement and perceptions on consumer attitudes and intentions towards sustainable food consumption, in De Tavernier, J. and Aerts, S. (Eds), Proceedings of the EURSAFE Science, Ethics and Society, Centre for Agricultural, Bio- and Environmental Ethics, Leuven, pp Further reading Halal and Haram Food (2007), available at: Worldmuslimspopulation.htm (accessed 28 August 2007). Neil, M. (2007), paper presented at Malaysia Plays Host to Global Halal Forum, available at: Forum (accessed 9 May 2009). Sparks, P., Hedderly, P. and Shepherd, R. (1992), An investigation into the relationship between perceived behavioral control, attitude variability and the consumption of two communal foods, Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 22, pp Zahra, S.A. and George, G. (2002), Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp Corresponding author Syed Shah Alam can be contacted at: drsyed2005@gmail.com To purchase reprints of this article please reprints@emeraldinsight.com Or visit our web site for further details: