Search results

Though Murabaha financing experienced substantial growth in several majority-Muslim countries, its market share in the Moroccan banking industry is still very narrow than other conventional banks’ instruments. The current research investigated the ability of an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework to explain the main drivers of attitude and intention to use Murabaha financing among Moroccan households. The moderating effect of Islamic religiosity was also scrutinized.

Data were collected via a survey of 512 Moroccan consumers and analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) technique.

First, attitude toward Islamic banking products is a key predictor of consumer intention to use Murabaha financing. At the same time, consumers’ attitudes are influenced by Islamic financial literacy, subjective norms, behavioral control and profit and loss sharing. Islamic religiosity was also found to positively moderate the link between attitudes towards Islamic banking (IB) and intention to use Murabaha financing, e.g. positive attitudes toward IB are more likely to convert into an intention to use Murabaha financing among Muslim consumers with higher levels of religiosity.

To boost consumers’ intention to use Murabaha financing, Islamic bank managers should consider further investment in advertising to enhance consumers’ awareness about IB products. Islamic banks should also consider digital and social media marketing to increase consumers’ awareness about the products and spread a positive e-WOM with regards to their products. Our findings emphasize the importance of Islamic religiosity in shaping Muslim consumers’ intentions to use Murabaha financing. Islamic banks ought to make sure that Murabaha financing contracts are strictly adherent to and compliant with Shari’ah principles. They should also train their frontline employees on Islamic financing activities so that they can effectively respond to the queries and questions of Murabaha potential consumers.

The study findings contribute to the IB literature by demystifying the key factors shaping Muslim consumers’ intentions to use Murabaha financing. The study also extends the literature by emphasizing Islamic religiosity as a basis for Muslim consumers’ behavior in the context of IB. To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the first to empirically investigate Muslim consumers’ intention to use Murabaha financing in North Africa and the Arab countries.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2022-0680

Despite the digitalization reforms attempting to enhance public service quality, paper-based tendering is still widely used in a number of developing countries (i.e. Morocco). This has led to many issues including waste of time, higher costs as well as labor-intensive issues. E-tendering has been widely recommended as a key resolution. Still, both scholars and practitioners raised concerns related the readiness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to this digitalization process. The current research aims to investigate the key drivers of SMEs intention to adopt electronic tendering in the context of an emerging African market (i.e. Morocco). Specifically, the authors focus on SMEs contributing to the public procurement process and registered in the online portal recently created by the Moroccan government.

To achieve this goal, the authors proposed a conceptual model combining the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and technology acceptance model (TAM). Based on data collected from suppliers participating in Moroccan public tenders, the authors empirically tested the conceptual model using a partial least squares (PLS) estimation.

Facilitating conditions and social influence had a positive impact on SMEs intention to adopt electronic tendering. The study’s findings also convey a negative impact of effort expectancy on SMEs intent to adopt e-tendering. Unexpectedly, perceived performance had no significant impact on the intention to adopt electronic bidding among Moroccan SMEs.

This research filled the gap in the literature with regards to SMEs e-Tendering readiness in emerging markets. With the recent digitalization reforms of public tendering in many developing economies (i.e. Morocco), the study findings can be used to improve not only government implementation of electronic bidding but also SMEs' user experience.

This paper aims to propose and test a theoretical framework in which attitude towards COVID-19 cause-related campaigns mediates the effects of identification with the cause, donation size, emotional arousal and subjective norms on consumer purchase intention. The authors also explore the moderating effect of religiosity in an emerging nation marked by the dominance of the Islamic doctrine.

Survey data from a sample of 561 consumers from Morocco were analyzed to test the hypotheses using structural equation modeling.

First, attitude toward COVID-19 cause-related campaigns has a significant effect on consumer purchase intention; at the same time, it is influenced by identification with the cause, donation size, emotional arousal and subjective norms. Second, the results confirm the mediating effect of attitude toward COVID-19 cause-related campaigns, e.g. higher emotional arousal triggers positive attitude towards COVID-19 cause campaigns, which shapes consumer purchase intention. Third, Islamic religiosity acts as a moderator, e.g. individuals who feel themselves as highly religious are more likely to develop favorable attitude towards cause brands and therefore form stronger purchase intentions when exposed to COVID-19 cause campaigns.

The findings of this research suggest a number of practical and social implications for both academics and practitioners. Successful cause-related marketing (CrM) campaigns should include facets inducing emotional arousal, superior donation size, identification with the cause and subjective norms, which, in turn, enhances consumers’ attitude toward the campaign, their attitude towards the brand and purchase intentions. Practitioners interested in expanding into majority-Muslim markets should also consider the use of faith-based messages and religious morals when planning CrM campaigns.

While preliminary studies have already attempted to provide knowledge about the impact of COVID-19 on individuals’ health and well-being, potential effects on consumers’ decisions and behavior have not been considered much and are yet to be empirically investigated. This original research is among the first to provide insights about the potential use of COVID-19 cause to shape consumer purchase intention and behavior. This will strengthen our cross-cultural appreciation of the disparities in consumer perception of CrM among Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, most higher education institutes shifted to online learning as the sole alternative to continuing education while mitigating the risks imposed by the pandemic. This has raised several concerns regarding students’ learning experience, satisfaction and academic achievement, particularly in countries where students have restrained technological resources (i.e. developing nations). The current research aims to investigate the key factors influencing students’ attitudes, satisfaction and academic achievement among university students in an emerging market context (i.e. Morocco). The moderating effect of students’ motivation to study online was also scrutinized.

The authors propose an integrated conceptual framework that combines the technology acceptance model (TAM) with the outcomes of prior literature related to online learning. Based on data collected from 850 Moroccan university students, the authors empirically tested the conceptual model using a partial least squares (PLS) estimation.

First, attitude toward online learning and satisfaction positively impact university students’ academic achievement; at the same time, attitude positively impacts students’ satisfaction with online learning. Second, students’ satisfaction and attitude toward online learning were found to be mainly influenced by instructor performance, ease of use of the online learning platform, information quality, interactivity and perceived usefulness (PU). Finally, student motivation acts as a moderator, e.g. students with higher motivation to learn online are more likely to develop a favorable attitude toward online learning and can, therefore, accomplish better academic performance.

The current study makes a considerable contribution to the literature by contributing to the on-going debate about the potentials and challenges of online learning, particularly in an emerging country where education remains a considerable challenge. The study findings can help higher education institutes gauge the quality of online education programs and design efficient strategies to develop high-quality online learning for students. Our findings have implications not only for educational institutions and instructors in developing markets but also for the vendors of online course delivery software.

This study examines the impact of attitudes toward fashion influencers (FIs) on brand attitude and consumer purchase intention. It also aims to identify factors affecting consumers' attitudes toward FIs.

To achieve this goal, the authors propose a conceptual model that combines the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and theoretical outcomes of prior literature related to influencer marketing. Based on data collected from 610 Moroccan respondents, the authors empirically test the conceptual model using a partial least squares (PLS) estimation.

This study illustrates that attitudes toward FIs positively impact brand attitude and consumer purchase intention. The authors also demonstrate that perceived credibility, trust, perceived behavioral control, perceived subjective norms, perceived expertise and perceived congruence positively impact attitudes toward FIs.

The study findings help marketers and advertisers in the fashion industry to understand how influencer marketing contributes to consumer purchase intention. They also allow marketers to understand factors explaining attitudes toward FIs and therefore better select influencers capable of creating purchase intentions among existing and potential customers.

The present paper bridges a gap pertaining to antecedents and factors that impact attitudes toward FIs and consumer purchase intention. To the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to investigate the impact of attitudes toward influencers on both brand attitude and purchase intention in the fashion industry.

The COVID-19 crisis has sped up digital transformation and technologies by several years. Customers have dramatically shifted to online channels, and businesses have quickly responded by offering additional canals for online shopping and payment. Customers have also been exhibiting greater preferences for contactless payments, and mobile banking has therefore become a norm in both developed and developing countries. This study aims to understand the antecedents of mobile banking actual usage in an early adoption stage setting (i.e. Morocco) through a comprehensive conceptual model combining the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, the DeLone and McLean IS success model and additional constructs extracted from extent literature. The moderating effects of age, gender and education are also examined and analyzed using multigroup analysis.

Based on data collected from 616 Moroccan users, the authors empirically tested the proposed conceptual model using structural equation modeling.

First, consumer M-banking actual usage has a significant effect on customer satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty; at the same time, attitudinal loyalty was significantly influenced by customer satisfaction. Second, while M-banking actual usage was significantly influenced by effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value, habit, service quality, trust, attitude and perceived security, the results show no significant impact of system quality and information quality. Third, the relationship between M-banking actual usage and its antecedents was significantly moderated by age, gender and education.

The findings help bank practitioners to understand the importance of meeting customers’ needs and expectations as a prerequisite in enhancing actual usage, satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty. More importantly, the authors emphasize the need for demographically oriented strategies to target different demographic segments of customers.

The study bridges a gap in M-banking literature by offering a thorough understanding of consumers’ mobile banking use during the pandemic. The findings provide evidence of the applicability of the conceptual model proposed in this research. Furthermore, the reflection of the moderating effects of gender, age and education emphasizes the mobile banking usage disparities among dissimilar demographic segments.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the upward trend of organic food (OF) consumption is no longer restrained to western markets but has also extended to emerging markets in different parts of the world. Still, extent post-pandemic literature has devoted little attention to the factors shaping consumers' intent to purchase organic food in developing markets. The current research empirically investigates the antecedents of consumers' attitude and intent to purchase organic food in an emerging market context (i.e. Morocco). This research also explores the differences between OF consumers' manifest attitudes prior to and following the COVID-19 pandemic.

To achieve the study's objectives, data were collected from 1,060 Moroccan respondents using online self-administered questionnaires in two different eras: prior to the COVID-19 pandemic with a total of 441 valid responses and following the pandemic with 619 valid responses. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to validate the data, and a partial least squares (PLS) estimation was used to test the hypotheses.

First, attitude towards OF has a significant impact on consumers' purchase intention; at the same time, it is influenced by subjective norms, organic labeling, perceived behavioral control, health consciousness, and environmental concern. This study's findings also suggest subjective norms, organic labeling, perceived behavioral control, health consciousness, environmental concern, age, and income as the key determinants of consumers' intention to purchase OF. Second, the IPMA analysis suggests that while health consciousness, organic labeling and perceived behavioral control are the most important constructs influencing attitude towards OF, consumers' purchase intention is mostly influenced by health consciousness, attitude towards OF and age. Finally, the PLS-Multigroup Analysis conveyed few discrepancies in the results when comparing the two eras (i.e. subjective norms and age had more significant impacts on consumers' purchase intent following the COVID-19 pandemic).

This study provides organic food retailers and practitioners with a deeper understanding of the key aspects shaping consumers' intent to purchase organic products in emerging markets. The comparative analysis will also provide important insights on how to shape consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions in a new-normal marked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study's findings contribute to the growing literature on consumers' behavior in the organic food industry, particularly in developing countries where research is still narrow. This study's study is the first of its kind to compare consumers' intention to purchase organic food before and following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has created a new wave of first-time online shoppers in both industrialized and emerging countries. More interestingly, scholars and practitioners expect this transition to online shopping to eventually persist in the next few years. The current research study aims to investigate the factors explaining attitudes toward online shopping. The authors propose an integrated model in which trust mediates the effects of relative advantage and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on attitudes toward online shopping. The moderating effect of gender was also assessed using the multigroup analysis (MGA).

Based on data collected from 378 Moroccan online shoppers, the authors empirically tested the hypothesized model using a partial least squares (PLS) estimation.

First, relative advantage, eWOM and trust significantly impact consumer attitudes toward online shopping; at the same time, trust is influenced by relative advantage and eWOM. Second, results confirm that trust mediates the effects of relative advantage and eWOM on attitudes toward online shopping. Third, the MGA reveals that female consumers tend to exhibit a stronger effect of eWOM on trust and on attitudes toward online shopping.

Most relevant studies have focused on the main predictors of attitudes toward online shopping but did not suggest mediating and moderating factors that can help in explaining indirect effects. The present paper bridges a gap pertaining to antecedents of attitudes toward online shopping by incorporating the mediating effect of online trust. The authors also examine gender disparities related to the predictors of trust and consumer attitudes toward online shopping. This study is the first of its kind to investigate the antecedents of attitudes toward online shopping in an African country.

This paper aims to examine a model that uses customer service quality as an intervening mechanism in the relationship between customer relationship management (CRM) practices and organizational performance in two different banking structures: conventional and Islamic. The study focuses on organizational and technological practices of CRM, as both have been demonstrated to be critical to CRM success.

The analysis is based on responses from 247 managers from conventional banks and 141 managers from Islamic banks operating in Morocco using a self-administered questionnaire. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique is employed for data analysis.

Findings demonstrate that customer service quality plays a mediating role between CRM practices (organizational and technological) and organizational performance in both conventional and Islamic banks. Our results confirm the positive impact of CRM practices on organizational performance in the two banking structures.

This study enhances our understanding of how CRM practices contribute to improving customer service quality and organizational performance in both conventional and Islamic banks. Bank managers, who aim to deliver superior service quality and achieve customer satisfaction and retention, should capitalize on the benefits of implementing CRM organizational and technological practices.

The present paper bridges a gap pertaining to key practices and factors that impact CRM success in the banking industry. It is the first of its kind to investigate the effect of CRM practices on organizational performance with customer service quality as a mediating variable. The study also contributes to the field of CRM literature, as CRM has rarely been addressed in an Islamic banking context.

This paper aims to identify the antecedents of giving charitable donations (Sadaqah) during the pandemic in a majority-Muslim country. This paper proposes and tests a theoretical framework in which attitude toward giving donations mediates the effects of perceived behavioral control, subjective norms and past behavior on giving charitable donations (Sadaqah). The authors also investigate the mediating effect of attitude toward giving donations and the moderating effect of Islamic religiosity in an emerging nation characterized by the dominance of the Islamic doctrine. Gender, age and income have been examined as control variables.

Survey data from a sample of 377 respondents from Morocco were analyzed to test the hypotheses using structural equation modeling.

The results indicate that past behavior, subjective norms, attitude toward giving donations and intention to donate are key predictors of giving charitable donation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper also confirms the mediating effect of attitude toward giving donations, e.g. subjective norms trigger positive attitude toward giving donations, which increases respondents’ donation frequency. The results also suggest a significant moderating effect of Islamic religiosity, e.g. individuals who feel themselves as highly religious are more likely to develop a favorable attitude toward giving donations and are therefore more likely to donate during the pandemic.

The findings suggest practical and social implications for both academics and practitioners. As attitude, subjective norm, past behavior and intention are found to significantly influence giving charitable donations (Sadaqah), fundraising organizations should give serious attention on these factors to improve individuals’ charitable giving (Sadaqah). Such organizations should also consider the use of faith-based messages and religious morals when planning their advertising campaigns in majority-Muslim markets.

Although preliminary studies have already attempted to provide knowledge about the factors influencing giving donations among both Muslims and nonMuslims, potential antecedents of giving donations (Sadaqah) during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been considered and are yet to be empirically investigated. This paper provides new perceptions on factors influencing giving donations on a majority-Muslim majority country where no zakat institution operates. Such findings can be useful for both academicians, fundraising organizations and policymakers in Morocco to promote charitable actions and boost its socio-economic affects.