Title: The influences of religious attributes of halal products on export marketing strategy: preliminary findings

Authors: Hazlinda Hassan, Jamil Bojei

Addresses: Graduate School of Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. ' Graduate School of Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract: Marketing halal products in an international setting warrants additional care not only in meeting the specificity of the target markets but also in securing the |halalness| aspect of the products. In relation to product attributes, Muslim consumers particularly are more sensitive to the integrity of the halal status than other quality aspects of the product. As Islamic values are attached to products, the religious attributes of halal products are expected to play a role in influencing the implementation of the export marketing strategy. Based on face-to-face interviews with the experts from Mufti, HDC and MATRADE office, and also halal food exporters, the qualitative findings have revealed two main dimensions of halal product attributes and seven emerged themes on the export marketing strategies. The findings have given some thought on the development of the export marketing theory, specifically on the marketing programme adaptation in the context of the halal industry.

Keywords: religious attributes; Islamic values; exports; marketing strategies; religion; Islam; halal products; target markets; market specificity; halalness; product attributes; Muslim consumers; halal status; halal integrity; quality aspects; Mufti; Halal Industry Development Corporation; HDC; Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation; MATRADE; food exporters; export marketing; food industry; marketing programmes; programme adaptations; global challenges; Asian markets; Asia; globalisation; business advancement.

DOI: 10.1504/JGBA.2011.041501

Journal for Global Business Advancement, 2011 Vol.4 No.2, pp.181 - 191

Published online: 25 Jul 2011 *

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