The Islamic banking system is gaining momentum. Many international conventional banks have started to open branches which operate in accordance with the Islamic Sharia'h principles in some Islamic countries. The Islamic banking system is expected to face strong competition not only from the Islamic banks but also from well-established conventional banks offering Islamic products and services. In this study, an attempt is made to assess the degree of customer awareness and satisfaction towards an Islamic bank in Jordan. A sample 206 respondents took part in this study. The analysis of their responses revealed a certain degree of satisfaction of many of the Islamic bank's facilities and products. The respondents expressed their dissatisfaction with some of the Islamic bank's services. Although the respondents indicated that they are aware of a number of specific Islamic financial products like Murabaha Musharaka and Mudaraba, they show that they do not deal with them.The authors are grateful to two anonymous referees and editor for their helpful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of the paper.

Understanding the antecedents to and outcomes of customer satisfaction is a critical issue for both academics and bank marketers. Previous research has identified service quality, expectations, disconfirmation, performance, desires, affect and equity as important antecedents of customer satisfaction. The current paper reports findings from a survey which looked into the impact of service quality dimensions and customer expertise on satisfaction. A sample of 167 respondents took part in this study. Findings indicate that both core and relational dimensions of service quality appear to be linked to customer satisfaction. Findings also indicate that expertise is negatively related to satisfaction. The paper discusses implications for bank managers.

This research identifies the impact of the perceived value and perceived usefulness of a halal-labeled product, culture and religion on purchase intentions using data from 10 indepth interviews and 303 self-administered questionnaires. Factor analysis and hierarchical multiple regression are used for data analysis. The results show that perceived usefulness, vertical collectivism, horizontal collectivism and religiosity predict a significant amount of variance in intentions. Specifically, perceived usefulness, vertical collectivism and religiosity have a positive relationship with intentions to buy. Horizontal collectivism associates negatively with intentions to buy. Religiosity moderates the relationships between horizontal collectivism and intentions to buy. Perceived value associates positively only with intentions to patronize stores and religiosity moderates this link. The study is the first to emphasize the need to develop halal labeling to enhance the shopping experiences of British Muslims.

Previous research indicates that the self‐image product image congruity (commonly known as self‐image congruence) can affect consumers’ product preferences and their purchase intentions. Self‐image congruence can also facilitate positive behaviour and attitudes toward products. This paper reports findings from a research study which was conducted to determine the effect of self‐image congruity on brand preference and satisfaction in the precious jewellery market in the UK. A questionnaire was sent to 500 consumers of precious jewellery in five major cities of the UK. Results indicate that self‐image congruity was a very strong predictor of consumers’ brand preferences and a good predictor of consumer satisfaction. Respondents with higher levels of self‐image congruity were more likely to prefer the brand and enjoy higher levels of satisfaction with the brand as compared to those with lower levels of self‐image congruity. The paper discusses the implications for brand managers so that they can position their brands in an effective way.

Purpose -Very little research has investigated the effects of service quality dimensions on customer loyalty. Also, up to now, no research has investigated the direct effect of expertise on loyalty and the moderating effect of expertise on the link between satisfaction and loyalty. This paper seeks to fill these gaps in the literature and to investigate the effects of individual dimensions of service quality in creating and enhancing customer loyalty via customer satisfaction. It also aims to investigate the direct and indirect effects of customer expertise on customer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses a causal modelling approach and proposes a conceptual model after an extensive review of the literature. The paper is based on a sample of 200 bank users in Greece who completed a self-administered questionnaire. The paper uses exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to analyse and confirm the conceptual model proposed in this research. Findings -The paper finds that reliability, tangibility and empathy are positively related to customer satisfaction, which in turn is positively related to loyalty. Furthermore, while expertise is negatively related to loyalty, it positively moderates the link between satisfaction and loyalty. Originality/value -The paper discusses implications for brand managers in terms of targeting and advertising strategies and suggests future research directions.