Developing the Islamic Financial Services sector in Italy: An institutional theory perspective

Abstract

The growth of the Islamic financial services (IFS) sector has received much attention recently due to the resilience demonstrated by the sector during the financial crisis. While IFS continue to grow rapidly in much of Asia, there has been limited institutional support for the development of the sector in Europe, which has historically been slow to realize the sector's potential. Italy is one such country in Europe that has a growing Muslim population but has yet to develop the IFS sector. Using the institutional theory perspective, we highlight the role the Italian government can play in developing the regulative elements that facilitate the establishment of the IFS sector, and the introduction of Islamic financial products in the country. We propose that a developed IFS sector in Italy would help attract investment from countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, and would also facilitate the financial inclusion of the Muslim population in the domestic market.

Marketing Islamic Financial Services: A Review, Critique, and Agenda for Future Research

“…Finally, it will offer diplomatic advantages in dealing with the Muslim dominant and rich nations in the Middle East, especially to attract more lucrative direct investment in the country. Moreover, in the case of many non-Muslim majority countries, the scholars have only focused on some marketing issues as well as on the feasibility and regulatory constraints in marketing Islamic finance (e.g., Opromolla 2012; Petracci and Rammal 2014;Trakic 2012;Hussain 2014;Tameme and Asutay 2012;Mirza and Halabi 2003). Considering the above phenomena, future studies can contribute to the topic by going deeper into the following research questions.…”