This study aims to investigate antecedents of the intention to adopt the Islamic banking system in an emerging economy.
Here, the theory of the planned behavior model was extended with some additional constructs. Primary data were collected from a sample of 313 respondents with a structured questionnaire and analyzed with structural equation modeling using SMART PLS 3 software.
Results indicate that awareness, bank image, complexity, religiosity and Sharia compliance significantly affect attitude, while attitude, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms affect intention, which is consistent with theory of planned behavior models. In addition, awareness, bank image, complexity, religiosity and Sharia compliance can influence the intention only when they are mediated by attitude.
The study is cross-sectional in design and cannot account for changes in customers’ intentions over time, and it did not consider any moderating effect of any variable.
This study contributes significantly to the field of Islamic banking by describing context-specific constructs and relationships and explaining the consumer’s attitude and behavioral intention toward adopting an Islamic banking system.
The study highlights the significance of the factors that influence attitude and intention, which may guide in developing customer insight.
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study empirical effort in Bangladesh to explore the variables influencing attitudes and intentions for the adoption of Islamic banking.
