Exploring antecedents and consequences of Indonesian Muslim youths' attitude towards halal cosmetic products: A case study in Jakarta

Abstract

Religion is an important cultural factor to study, because it is one of the most universal and influential social institutions that have a significant influence on people's attitudes, values and behaviours, at both the individual and societal levels. Indonesian Muslims living in multireligious societies are considered more conscious of products that are permissible or halal, and thus the halal cosmetic market is important for both producers and consumers. The existing literature focuses on halal food products, and only a limited number of studies have been about halal cosmetic products. The purpose of this paper is to provide an improved understanding of the influential factors on attitudes toward halal cosmetic products. Empirical evidence from both in-depth interviews and data garnered from 350 surveys was integrated into a conceptual model. The model was tested using structural equation modeling. The causal model was validated using SmartPLS 2.0. The results indicated that attitudes towards halal cosmetic products were important antecedents of intention to purchase halal cosmetic products and mediated the influence of knowledge, religiosity and subjective norm. This study is expected to provide insight into strategies to encourage marketers to adopt halal cosmetic products in the future. This study further contributes by providing a comprehensive framework of the antecedents and consequences of attitudes towards halal cosmetic products on purchase intention.