The influence of knowledge, attitude and sensitivity to government policies in halal certification process on organizational performance

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this research is to observe how the industry’s knowledge, attitude and sensitivity of the industry to the government’s current policy regarding the halal certification process influence the organization performance. Design/methodology/approach This study used a self-administered questionnaire with closed-ended questions to measure the human capital factors and the practice of halal requirements. The questionnaire was distributed to multinational companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia, of which 206 responses were usable for analysis. The respondents were halal committee members in the respective companies. Smart PLS version 2.0 was used to analyze the relationship of each construct using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The outcome of this study showed a positive relationship between knowledge of and attitude and sensitivity toward government policies and organizational performance. Findings The outcome of this study showed a positive relationship between knowledge, attitude, sensitivity to government policy and organizational performance. The R2 value for the main model is 0.419, indicating that 41.9 per cent of the variance in the extent of collaboration can be explained by knowledge, attitude and sensitivity to government policies. Result also showed that all the hypotheses were supported and were significant at p < 0.01. It also showed that the control of an organization’s internal resources through human factors ranging from knowledge, attitude and sensitivity to government policies should be emphasized, as it is a contributing factor and it strives to improve organizational performance. Research limitations/implications There were a limited number of respondents. A larger number of respondents would reflect a more accurate study. Besides, this study only focused on the halal food industry operators, while the presence of halal now covers other schemes such as logistics, consumer products and others. Moreover, this study only focused on two main groups: multinational companies and SMEs. Practical implications This study has provided some major implications. First, on behalf of the state, the results of this study clearly show that the human capital factor should be prioritized. Second, on behalf of the industry, this study can fill the void that exists in strengthening the industry through efforts to improve internal controls related to organizations including attending halal food courses and applying values among members of the organization. Third, the implication to theory and literature that the research-based view is suitable for use even in the food industry has been proved. Social implications The results of this study can increase consumer confidence in the management of an organization, especially in the halal food industry. Originality/value Halal’s rapid development has led many researchers to study halal. Till now, there is no research on three major areas of human capital aspects, namely, knowledge, attitude and sensitivity to governmental policies that involve internal halal committee members in the industry as subject of study in one model. Moreover, this research attempts to cover the latest acts, standards, procedures and guidelines provided by the government.

A literature review and classification of the studies on “halal” in Islamic business journals (2010-2018)

“…The study found that research was conducted mainly in the food sector (for instance, Ab Talib, 2017; Azam, 2016; Elseidi, 2018; Fard and Amiri, 2018; Maman et al , 2018; Othman et al , 2017; Rafiki and Wahab, 2016; Sherwani et al , 2018; Zulfakar et al , 2018). However, the halal topic is not solely about food.…”

Role of halal literacy and religiosity in buying intention of halal branded food products in India

“…Consumers' knowledge of halal acts as a decisive factor in the purchase decision of halal products and services (Ngah et al, 2020;Nur Famiza et al, 2017;Nurhayati and Hendar, 2019;Othman et al, 2017). Knowledge in the context of halal food purchasing can be clubbed in two broad categories, namely, halal awareness (halal product knowledge) and halal literacy.…”

Halal Industry’s Organizational Performance Factors: A Systematic Literature Review

“…As highlighted in Figure 3, the selected articles were spread within four publication years. Seven articles were published in 2017 (Ab Talib et al, 2017;Butt et al, 2017;Elias et al, 2017;Othman et al, 2017;Rahman et al, 2017;K. H. Tan et al, 2017; C. N. L. Tan et al, 2017), six were published in 2018 (Abdullah & Oseni, 2017;Ab Talib & Ai Chin, 2018;Baharuddin & Ismail, 2018;Fard & Amiri, 2018;Khan et al, 2019;Salindal, 2018), three published in 2019 (Karia, 2019;Supian et al, 2019;Zailani et al, 2019), and four articles were published in 2020 (Hendayani & Febrianta, 2020;Katuk et al, 2020;Liat et al, 2020;Ratnasari et al, 2020).…”