Brand image and consumer satisfaction towards Islamic travel packages: A study on tourism entrepreneurship in Malaysia

Entrepreneurial activities in tourism sector has been known to be one of the most powerful economic strategies for quite some time, as one of the most effective approaches for developing a country’s economy and sustaining its competitiveness. The number of Muslim tourists has been snowballing and interesting to be studied. It was assumed that the Muslim population is about 2.14 billion in 2018 and increases to 2.25 billion in 2019 (Muslim Population Worldwide Data, 2019). The increase of 1.84 per cent in the number of Muslim population is advantageous for the market of Muslim consumers. As a result, the Islamic travel packages have become the concern of the Halal tourism market. The information on Muslim behaviours and need can be used to develop the image and offer an Islamic travel package that matches the requirements of the new market. According to Eid (2013), a better understanding of Muslim consumer will allow the tourism activities to expand the Islamic travel package.

For the new market, Malaysia has established halal and Islamic products and services such as Islamic travel package. According to the Islamic Tourism Centre (2014), there were five millions Muslim tourists from the 25.03 million tourists. However, most of the studies in Malaysia only focussed on Islamic brand equity in Malaysia (Shafaei, 2016; Rahman, 2014; Eid, 2013; Zulkharnain and Jamal, 2012) and rarely studied the factors that affect the brand image and consumer satisfaction in Islamic hub. In marketing, the brand image is the awareness about a brand from the view of the consumer (Shafaei, 2016) while consumer satisfaction means the emotion and consumer reaction after purchasing the product (Tu et al., 2012). Satisfaction is attached to a satisfying or pleasant level of consumption linked to fulfilment that leads to a loyal customer (Oliver, 1997).

Although Islamic tourism is expanding worldwide, there is limited understanding on the Islamic package, religious perspective and the need of Islamic consumer (Hughes et al., 2013). According to Kartal et al. (2015), there are still lacking the studies on Islamic tourism and researchers have been very careful on the relationship between religious and tourism (Collins-Kreiner and Wall, 2015). World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO, 2011) stated that religious tourism has not been truthfully studied due to the sensitivity of the field. As stated by Eid and El-Gohary (2015), Muslim consumers are the majority in tourism market. Collins-Kreiner and Wall (2015) affirmed that the relationship between religious and tourism focussed on two different topics which are either religious or tourism. It is believed that better knowledge about tourism cannot be proven without a better understanding about the religious and the significance impacts (Collins-Kreiner and Wall, 2015). Hence, there is the need to conduct a study that examines the connection between religious, tourism, and marketing. Thus, this study aimed to examine the factors affecting the brand image and consumer satisfaction towards the Islamic travel package in Malaysia.

Product quality is connected to brand image, which is basically the consumers’ perceptions of the products and services (Nikhashemi et al., 2017). Zeithaml (1988) stated that product quality refers to the consumer judgement about general product excellence. Juran (1988) stated that product quality is divided into two different terms which are the product degree that meets the consumer needs and wants and the product degree which is free from deficiencies. According to Anderson et al. (1994), product quality depends on the gap between the perceived performance and expected product that can affect the brand image. Caruana and Malta (2002) mention that consumers perceived the quality of the product as the result of the assessment on what was predictable and what was experienced by considering the effect of brand image. Some studies indicated that product quality is the final long-term assessment for brand image that can lead to satisfaction (Sultan and Wong, 2012). The finding by Ghobehei et al. (2019) was consistent with Sultan and Wong (2012), which explained the relationship between quality, image, and satisfaction. Hence, this study proposed the following hypothesis:

The brand image is viewed as a significant element of consumer satisfaction, and the company invested in improving the quality of the product to attract consumers (Chen, 2010). Other than that, the quality of the product helps the company to generate a more positive image which turns into consumer satisfaction (Zhu and Sarkis, 2006). Anderson et al. (1994) mentioned that customer satisfaction needs the consumer to experience with the products or services which can be influenced by product quality and the value of the services. When it is challenging to evaluate the quality of the products or services, the brand image can be a significant factor that inspires consumer assessment of satisfaction with the products or services (Fornell, 1992; Oliver, 1980; Kim and Choi, 2016). It can be concluded that consumer satisfaction is influenced by the perception of product quality, marketing services, and brand image. For marketing studies, brand image is identified, as the perception of product quality is associated with consumer satisfaction. Ghobehei et al. (2019) mentioned that the positive relationship between quality and brand image that can lead to better consumer satisfaction. A positive brand image is considered as a tool of the company’s ability to maintain the market position and brand image that can lead to the satisfaction of the consumers (Korgaonkar et al., 1985). Based on literature review, this study formulated the following hypothesis:

It is important to understand Muslim behaviour through Islamic attribute in the study. The Islamic physical attribute is one of the significant tools when the Muslims decide to buy a tourism product or service. According to Battour et al. (2014), the Islamic physical attribute of Islamic travel packages can attract Muslim consumers such as a restaurant with a halal logo or Islamic free dress code. The finding by Battour et al. (2014) was consistent with Eid and El-Gohary (2014). They mentioned that the Islamic physical attribute in the Islamic travel package should be improved for the purpose to attract more Muslim consumers to purchase the Islamic travel package. Ozdemir and Met (2012) stated that Muslims normally avoid free mixing and they prefer a restaurant which has a halal logo. Muslims prefer to choose a travel package that has the Islamic symbol. Based on the discussion above, this study proposed the following hypothesis:

In the services industry such as marketing tourism, consumer satisfaction is an experience of the consumer that is indefinable and subjective (Sweeney and Soutar, 2001). The Muslim consumers expect that the Islamic physical attributes include prayer facilities, halal food, and Shari’ah-compatible toilet (Eid and El-Gohary, 2015). Eid and El-Gohary (2015) found that Islamic physical attributes can affect consumer satisfaction. In other words, Muslim consumers with a high level of religious believe, perceived the ‘value of Islamic physical attribute’ have a greater importance compared to other factors in choosing a tourism package. According to Rice and Al-Mossawi (2002), the Muslims have a solid Islamic identity that might be interested in Islamic-oriented appeals. It is believed that the product must have an Islamic brand image to attract more Muslim consumers. Thus, the key question is whether brand image of Islamic physical attribute can lead to consumer satisfaction. Therefore, the following is the research hypothesis that supports this study:

The accessibility of the Islamic non-physical attribute is one of the tools that can be used when the Muslims choose the tourism product. Battour et al. (2011) and Eid and El-Gohary (2014) stated that Islamic non-physical attributes such as Islamic entertainment, Islamic dress code, Islamic call of prayer, and general Islamic morality can attract the Muslim consumers to buy the Islamic travel package. Muslim consumers avoid free mixing, as they prefer to have separate recreational facilities (Ozdemir and Met, 2012). Furthermore, Stollery and Jun (2017) emphasised that hosts should not take for granted the importance of uniqueness and differentially in creating delightful experience. Thus, the Islamic travel package may be the best solution for Muslim consumers who follow the Islamic religiosity. It is assumed that Islamic non-physical attributes have a positive effect on brand image. Based on the discussion above, this study proposed the following hypothesis:

Battour et al. (2011) stated that Islamic non-physical attributes might attract more Muslim consumers. The Islamic non-physical attributes include segregated services, Islamic entertainment tool, and arts that do not depict human forms (Eid and El-Gohary, 2015). Eid and El-Gohary (2015) stated that Islamic non-physical attributes have a positive effect on consumer satisfaction. According to Jafari and Scott (2013), the Quran provides guidance from all aspect of human activities; thus, Islamic non-physical attributes can affect the direction of Muslim consumers in choosing their preferred product to satisfy their wants. Although previous studies stated that Islamic non-physical attributes have a direct influence on consumer satisfaction (Battour et al., 2011; Eid, 2013), there were no studies that examined the mediating effect of brand image on the relationship between Islamic non-physical attribute and consumer satisfaction in marketing tourism industry. Based on the discussion above, the following is the hypothesis of this study:

According to Gardiner et al. (2013), the Islamic perspective on brand image and purchasing decision process is preferable in the additional segmentation of variables such as age, gender, and lifestyle, which can be used to detect the market sections. Religious belief can influence the Muslims’ attitudes, behaviours, perceptions, and emotions to choose the products and services (Jafari and Scott, 2013; Essoo and Dibb, 2004). Islam requires a positive practice regarding health and hygiene such as washing before prayer and selecting halal food (Hodge, 2002; Marks and Dollahite, 2001). Due to the importance of these practices, brand image is important when the Muslim consumers are choosing their travel package. However, there were limited research done on the impact of Islamic beliefs on brand image towards Islamic travel package. Based on the discussion above, this study proposed the following hypothesis:

Religious beliefs act as a critical tool in consumer satisfaction among Muslim consumers. Islam teaches the behaviours codes that encourage Muslim to buy or use products with a halal symbol. The brand image for the Muslims should follow their Islamic belief as they might use the products or services that represent the Islamic image that can contribute to the value of consumer satisfaction (Eid and El-Gohary, 2014). For every Muslim, the Shari'ah principles are very sensitive and important as the source of references because it is obligatory for appropriate execution (Alam et al., 2011; Zamani-Farahani and Henderson, 2010). The Quran provides guidance in the aspects of human activities, and the religious beliefs can influence consumer satisfaction as consumers choose products and services based on brand image. Ateeq-Ur-Rehman (2010) mentioned that religion can affect the satisfaction of the Muslim consumers by influencing their beliefs about the products and services. Based on the discussion above, this study proposed the following hypothesis:

Consumers’ knowledge of the products or services has been acknowledged as a tool that affects the buying decisions (Bettman and Park, 1980) and consumers’ phases of knowledge tend to change their opinions through brand image (Laroche et al., 2003). Knowledge about the brand enables consumers to develop a positive brand image that leads to consumer satisfaction (Wang et al., 2019; Mohd Suki, 2016; Laroche et al., 2001). According to Padel and Foster (2005), consumers desire better information about the product based on brand image when they make a purchase that could lead to better satisfaction. Chang and Wu (2015) noted that consumer knowledge and positive attitudes towards brand images can influence the purchasing intentions. Based on the discussion above, this study hypothesised following:

According to Smith and Paladino (2010), the knowledge of the product will positively affect customer satisfaction. However, Padel and Foster (2005) stated that the lack of the information on product knowledge will negatively affect brand image and satisfaction. Several studies stated that the knowledge of the product can positively affect consumer satisfaction (Mohd Suki, 2017; Mohd Suki, 2016; Rahardjo, 2015; Chen and Chang, 2012). Currently, the study on marketing tourism is in its initial stage. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether brand image has a mediating effect on the relationship between brand image and consumer satisfaction towards Islamic travel package in Malaysia. This study formulated the following hypothesis:

In the marketing research, the term brand image is common and it changes according to different authors with different perspectives. According to Hung (2008), brand image occurs in consumer awareness as the consumers perceive and interpret the brand and marketing activities. According to Johnson et al. (2001), brand image is linked to consumer satisfaction that influences customer loyalty. Brand Image is defined as a series of brand associations by the consumers (Keller, 1993). According to Tu et al. (2012), brand image is a company’s intangible assets that are difficult to be copied by competitors. When consumers bought a product, they are not purchasing the product but also the company set value (Ind, 1997). Jeon (2017) found that consumers’ commitment is positively influenced by consumers’ emotional attachments. Chiu et al. (2017) also noted that trust is crucial in creating positive emotional relationship. The positive effect of brand image has increase consumer satisfaction and encourages consumers to re-purchase the product (Johnson et al., 2001). According to Olsen and Johnson (2003), consumer satisfaction can be separated into two meanings which are after purchase and the general decision about the purchasing behaviour. Consumer satisfaction is the combination of consumer emotion and response (Oliver, 1997). Zhang (2015) mentioned that brands image is related to the symbol of the companies that can attract the consumers to buy their products with functional effects. Severi and Ling (2013) mentioned that the strong brand image can strengthen the competitiveness of the brand. They also stated that brand image is one of the factors that can influence consumers’ decision-making by the impression and experience of the consumers. It is believed that a product or service with a good image will turn into satisfaction that could lead to consumers in repurchasing the product (Tu et al., 2012).

According to Mohammaed and Rashid (2018) and Giebelhausen et al. (2016), satisfaction refers to the emotion and pleasurable degree of brand experienced by consumers. Wu (2011) mentioned that brand image is considered as a critical antecedent of consumer satisfaction. Davies et al. (2003) found a positive relationship between brand image and consumer satisfaction. The result is consistent with Martineau (1958) who proposed a theory that the consumers will develop a certain degree of satisfaction when they support the brand image of the company. Brand image is important for customer satisfaction that can lead to the success of the businesses. Studies found a positive relationship between brand image and consumer satisfaction (Tu et al., 2012; Wu, 2011; Ibrahim and Najjar, 2008; Oliver, 1997; Selnes, 1993). Based on the discussions, the following hypothesis is proposed:

This study used a cross-sectional design and quantitative method to examine the factors affecting brand image and consumer satisfaction on Islamic travel package. The platform was Google form to collect the data. This platform is chosen due to its features such as linking Google account and Docs editor. Then, the data were imported into Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) and Smart-PLS for further analysis.

The questionnaire for the online survey was designed using simple and unbiased wordings so that the respondents could easily understand the questions. Table I shows the summary of each variable and its sources. A seven-point Likert scale (very strongly disagree, strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree, and very strongly agree) was used for all the variables.

The target population for this study was customers who participated in Islamic travel package from several companies that offer Islamic products and services. This study calculated the minimum sample size using G-Power software which required a sample size of 146 to test the model with six predictors. The researcher obtained a list of 2,000 customers who travelled with Islamic travel packages offered several companies. An email with an online survey link was sent to the listed customers and a total of 163 respondents completed the form within a week, which was more than the required sample size.

The data were collected from customers who participated in Islamic travel package. The majority of the respondents were female (77.9 per cent). A total of 118 respondents (72.4 per cent) were in the age range of 21 to 30 years old. For income status, 96 or 58.9 per cent of the respondents have an income of RM 2,000 and below. For marital status, the majority of the respondents were single (85.9 per cent) and 23 respondents (14.1 per cent) were married.

Table III shows the reliability and validity measured for all the items. Table II shows that all the Cronbach’s alpha values exceeded the 0.7 threshold (Nunnally, 1978), indicating that all the items in this study are reliable. Without exception, all the composite reliability values in this study exceeded 0.7 (Hair et al., 2011), showing a high internal consistency of indicators measuring each item and verifying the construct reliability. Additionally, the Dillon–Golstein rho was used to evaluate the construct reliability. In this study, the Dillon–Golstein rho values for all indicators are more than 0.7 which confirm the reliability of all items. This study examined the average variance extracted (AVE) for convergent validity. Table II shows that all AVE values for all constructs exceeded 0.5 which indicate acceptable convergent validity. The multicollinearity issues are measured by calculating the variance inflation factor (VIF) to determine the redundancy.

The presence of discriminant validity is examined by cross loading and the Fornell–Larcker criterion (Hair et al., 2014). Table III shows that all the indicator loadings exceeded 0.7 which indicate that all the components are reliable and all the indicator loadings are higher than the entire cross loading which confirm the discriminant validity.

According to Hair et al. (2011), the primary evaluation criteria of the structural model are the level and significance of path coefficients. Table IV presents the path coefficient between product quality, Islamic physical attribute, Islamic non-physical attribute, Islamic belief and knowledge on brand image. The path coefficient value for product quality is positive (β = 0.372) and significant (p-values of 0.000 < 0.05). Thus, H1 is accepted. For H2, the coefficients value for Islamic physical attribute on brand image is 0.296 with a p-value of 0.000 < 0.05, indicating that Islamic physical attributes have a positive and significant effect on brand image; H2 is accepted. However, the coefficient value for Islamic non-physical attribute (H3) has a positive (0.087) and insignificant effect (p-value more than 5 per cent level of significance) on brand image. Thus, H3 is rejected. For H4, the coefficient value of Islamic belief is 0.103 with a p-value of 0.039. Islamic belief has a positive and significant effect on brand image; H4 is accepted. For H5, the coefficient value for knowledge on brand image is 0.102 with a p-value of 0.090, indicating that knowledge has an insignificant positive effect on brand image and H5 is rejected. Finally, the coefficient value for brand image on customer satisfaction (H6) is 0.706 with a p-value of 0.000, indicating that brand image has a positive and significant effect on consumer satisfaction. Hence, H6 is accepted. Looking at the effect size (f ^2) of Islamic physical attribute, it has a small effect size on brand image. In contrast, product quality has a large effect size on brand image. However, the effect size of Islamic non-physical attribute, Islamic belief, knowledge on brands image are not significant. Finally, the effect size of brand image on consumer satisfaction has a large effect size.

Table V shows the path coefficient of mediating effect on brand image. The coefficient value for product quality has a positive and significant effect on consumer satisfaction. This result indicates that brand image has a mediating effect on the relationship between product quality and consumer satisfaction; thus, H7 is accepted. For H8, the coefficient value for Islamic physical attribute on consumer satisfaction is 0.209 with a p-value of 0.000 < 0.05, indicating that the brand image has a mediating effect on the relationship between Islamic physical attribute on consumer satisfaction. Hence, H8 is accepted. Islamic non-physical attribute has a positive and insignificant effect (p-value more than 5 per cent level of significance) on consumer satisfaction. Brand image has no mediating effect on the relationship between Islamic non-physical attribute and consumer satisfaction; thus, H9 is rejected. The coefficient value for Islamic belief on consumer satisfaction is 0.073 with a p-value of 0.037. This result indicates that brand image has a mediating effect on the relationship between Islamic belief and consumer satisfaction; hence, H10 is accepted. Finally, the coefficient value knowledge has a positive (β = 0.072) and insignificant effect (p-value more than 5 per cent level of significance) on consumer satisfaction. This result indicates that brand image has no mediating effect on the relationship between knowledge and consumer satisfaction; hence, H11 is rejected.

The results of this study confirmed that product quality has a positive and significant effect on brand Image. The findings support H_1 and the result was consistent with the findings by previous studies (Ghobehei et al., 2019; Nikhashemi et al., 2017; Sultan and Wong, 2012; Caruana and Malta, 2002; Anderson et al., 1994). For H2, Islamic physical attribute is a factor that can significantly affect brand image. Therefore, H_2 is accepted and the results are consistent with the findings of previous studies (Battour et al., 2014; Ozdemir and Met, 2012; Eid and El-Gohary, 2014). For H4, the result reveals that Islamic beliefs can affect brand image and H_4 is accepted. The result is consistent with the findings of previous studies (Gardiner et al., 2013; Jafari and Scott, 2013; Essoo and Dibb, 2004; Marks and Dollahite, 2001). For the mediating effect of brand image, H_7 is accepted in which brand image has a mediating effect on the relationship between product quality and consumer satisfaction. This result is consistent with the previous studies (Ghobehei et al., 2019; Chen, 2010; Zhu and Sarkis, 2006; Anderson et al., 1994). For H8, brand image has a mediating effect on the relationship between Islamic physical attribute and consumer satisfaction; H_8 is accepted. This study is consistent with previous studies (Eid and El-Gohary, 2015; Rice and Al-Mossawi, 2002; Sweeney and Soutar, 2001). Finally, H10 is accepted in which brand image has a mediating effect on the relationship between Islamic belief and consumer satisfaction. This result is consistent with previous studies (Eid and El-Gohary, 2014; Alam et al., 2011; Ateeq-Ur-Rehman, 2010; Zamani-Farahani and Henderson, 2010).

The marketing department in tourism companies can use the results as brand image has a positive relationship with consumer satisfaction as supported by Jeon (2017) who stressed that brand is one of the powerful tools in marketing. As such, tourism companies can enhance their brand image by improving the products and services based on religious perspective that can lead to the increase in consumer satisfaction. For example, tourism companies can improve the quality of Islamic travel package and allow Muslim consumers to have access to the most updated Islamic travel package. These improvements can directly increase the satisfaction of Muslim consumers and the image of Islamic travel package. It is discovered that brand image can significantly affect consumer satisfaction towards Islamic travel package in Malaysia. Tourism companies can focus on these elements to make a long-term connection with loyal customers. Future research can use a different design to examine the relationship of quality or loyalty. Besides that, the research can focus on different industries.

This study was funded by the RMIC, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia, under the grant titled “Short Term Research Grant (SGJP)” Project title: The roles of Islamic religiosity, brand image and knowledge on the relationship between perceived value and tourist satisfaction in Malaysia. Total Grant: RM 5,000.00 (Ringgit Malaysia).