The Embodiment of Muslim Intention Elements in Buying Halal Food Products: A Literature Review

Abstract

Countries with mostly Muslim populations should have more halal-certified products for domestic consumption. In Indonesia, only a few food products are halal-certified, whereas many products are not certified, but are still consumed by Muslims. Therefore, this study aims to reveal the manifestations of consumer intentions in buying halal food products, and how this intention affects Muslim consumers in purchasing halal food products. This is a semi-systematic literature study that identifies and analyzes articles on a highly scientific database spanning a decade. VOSviewer is used to visualize the development of scientific topics that have been published through keywords. These findings provide in-depth insight into the intentions of Muslims in buying halal food products. This study can also assist the study of halal food products that analyze the factors of intention and contribute to the sustainable buying behavior of consumers in the future.

1. Introduction

Food consumption has been influenced by factors such as food availability, accessibility, and choice. It is also influenced by geography, demographics, income, globalization, marketing, religion, culture, and consumer attitudes [1,2,3]. The consumption of processed food has increased due to the increase in people’s income [4]. This has been accompanied by increased public knowledge and awareness about food safety [5,6,7]. Taste, price, safety, appearance, comfort, nutrition, naturalness, origin, tradition, fairness, and environmental impact are physical attributes that become the basic food value sets of consumers’ choices [8].

Béné et al. (2019) and Velten et al. (2015) showed that sustainable agriculture incorporates production systems that protect the environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare [9,10]. In line with this, Tse and Tan (2011) and Elliott (2012) found that food integration ensures that products are safe for the environment, as well as their substance and expected quality. This includes other food production aspects, such as the source of supply, procurement, and distribution, and an honest explanation of these elements to consumers [11,12]. Ruževičius (2004) suggested a need for quality control and safety, the traceability of food products, environmental concerns, and a transformation from mass to specialized production with high added value.

The latest development in the science of quality management is the orientation towards quality consumer values, market actors, social, religious, national, and government policies. Moreover, value and cultural quality orientation are substantial in global economic and trade relations [13]. In this situation, the halal ecosystem is one of the drivers of sustainable development goals. It is a medium to achieve sustainable development goals, including ensuring a healthy life quality and a sustainable lifestyle [14].

Muslim consumers demand more information about food, its production methods, materials used, the source of supply, and whether the producers meet halal standards [15,16]. Ali and Suleiman (2016) stated that sustainable, environmentally friendly, halal food products could become one entity.

In this case, halal food is an example of the food supply chain integrity. The word, “integrity”, based on the English dictionary [17] is the state of being whole and not divided. Halal food and its relation to the environment also become elements of the food supply integrity. This relationship can be seen through the embodiment of the element of intention in consumer behavior, which is a dynamic and sustainable action in the future.

The perception that consumers have about the effectiveness of their behavior makes them potential socially responsible consumers who can be targeted by companies committed to sustainability. Through providing more information about the origin products, production processes, and impacts on society and the environment, the final price can be one of the main brand differentiators [18]. Halal is obtained according to Islamic principles in all processes from the production to the delivery of products to end consumers [19].

Environmentally sustainable growth is achieved when the food supply chain is made effective through eco-packaging. Warehousing and packaging are the two most important factors in successfully implementing sustainability in the halal food supply chain [20]. This is in line with the concept of environmentally friendly sustainable agriculture. The green movement has a balanced goal toward the environment and the halal supply chain to create more value for society and the surrounding environment [21]. Environmental responsibility, followed by spirituality and perceived consumer effectiveness, are the key predictors of consumers’ sustainable purchase behavior [22,23,24].

The halal and tayyib principles meet sustainability and environmental issues, including ensuring that products are safe and clean for consumption [25]. The clean and pure implementation of Tayyiban is embodied in welfare, health protection, environment, animal rights, food safety, and social justice in food production. The Tayyiban concept promotes the production of clean food from the garden to the dining table. It also advocates for ethical behavior and processes according to Islamic principles. Tayyiban is translated as good, clean, and healthy at all stages of production and halal assurance [14].

As a food safety certification, halal assurance affects the environment. In Islam, performing hygienic procedures protects the environment to ensure its sustainability [26,27]. Halal-certified products assure that the product must be safe or healthy for consumption. This entails minimizing negative environmental impacts, using chemicals, and ensuring food safety [16,28].

Halal food products include all types of food products which are derivatives of agricultural commodities. Based on the rules of the Qur’an for Muslims, all agricultural commodity production is halal automatically or halal-self-claimed, such as rice which produces grain; fruit crops, such as mango, melon, and watermelon; and vegetable crops, such as carrots, tomatoes, and broccoli. However, if there is additional treatment in the processing of agricultural commodities or there are additional ingredients, then the food product is not automatically halal. Therefore, for food products, halal certification is needed to ensure that the food products are free from non-halal ingredients [29].

Halal food products are growing rapidly due to high demand in several countries worldwide, including Asia, which is dominated by Muslim people, and Europe, America, and Australia, where Islam is a minority. In Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, only 10% of food products are halal-certified [30].

Most halal studies are conducted in Muslim-majority countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, specifically on how Muslims consume halal products [31,32]. Global discussion in Muslim and Muslim-majority countries has appeared in many publications. In the United Kingdom, Muslim consumers’ attitude is positively and significantly influenced by the health and safety perception of food products labelled as halal in supermarkets [33].

Macau et al. (2016) found that several religions in Brazil have had regulations regarding food consumption for a long time. When people of a particular religion grow, they have economic power based on the influence of their religious customs. Consequently, the value of the Brazilian halal food chain becomes a competitive advantage through trust and commitment while serving Muslim markets worldwide [34].

In Australia, the reasons for purchasing halal products are quite diverse. Muslims choose to consume food by looking at the halal certification. Although the halal labels are recognized by Muslim consumers in Australia, they are not trusted unless they come from countries with certified organizations and producers [35].

In Malaysia, the main aspect of consuming halal food products is the “rule from Allah” and the “clean” attribute perceived by Muslim consumers [36]. This shows consumers have realized the priority of halal logos attached to food products. Most Malaysian consumers agree that halal is a principal thought in buying [37]. They buy halal food because of a need, and their decisions are based on trust and confidence.

Furthermore, consumers have different beliefs about halal product purchase intentions formed from positive attitudes and subjective norms [38,39]. They seek assurances that producers’ halal processes, food, and logos are intended to convince consumers that the product is appropriate for a Muslim to consume [38]. Muslim consumers use their knowledge to buy food products for consumption, regardless of the halal label [40]. In contrast, religiosity is not a priority in Pakistan, but perceptions of purity, product value, quality, and the awareness of the importance of health are [41].

Globalreligiusfuture [42] showed that Indonesia had 209 million Muslims, or about 87% of the total population, in 2010, supporting the Central Bureau Statistics of Indonesia [43]. However, many foods and beverage products are not halal-certified by MUI, a Muslim organization that issues halal fatwas [44]. Only 10% of food and beverage products are halal-certified [45,46,47]. The MUI data showed 166,018 food and non-food products, and 13,951 companies received LPPOM MUI halal certification in 2019. This number was 18% less than in 2018 when 204,222 products were halal-certified [48].

There are three verses in the Qur’an state that Muslims should consume halal foods and beverages, and they are allowed to be eaten and not prohibited by sharia law, whereas something prohibited by sharia law is referred to as haram. The three verses include:

• “He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Quran Surah Al Baqarah 2: 173)
• “And eat of what Allah has provided for you [which is] lawful and good. And fear Allah, in whom you are believers.” (Quran Surah Al Maidah 5: 88)
• “So eat from the good, lawful things which Allah has provided for you, and be grateful for Allah’s favours, if you truly worship Allah alone.” (Quran Surah An Nahl 16: 114)

Allah forbids things that harm His people, such as the carcasses of animals not slaughtered according to the sharia, flowing blood, pork, and animals slaughtered for anything other than Allah. On Allah’s grace and convenience for Muslims is that Allah makes all these forbidden foods lawful in an emergency [49]. Plants and their products are halal and permissible unless they are poisonous, intoxicating, and harmful to human health [50]. Halal food entails the form or substance, as well as the method of obtaining and processing, serving, delivering, and storing.

There are many publications on the factors to be tested statistically regarding their influence on Muslim consumers’ purchase intention. Some articles in literature studies also describe these factors, whereas other articles describe a literature review on halal in cosmetic products, halal in food products, halal tourism, intention, intention among non-Muslims intention for halal food products, halal food sustainability, and halal supply chain [51,52,53,54,55]. None of the reviews elaborate the intentions of Muslims in buying behavior for halal food products. This study aims to illustrate an overview of the study of intention towards buying halal food products, and to answer the following research questions: (1) which methods and analytical tools have been taken to the study intentions towards the halal topic? (2) What are the most-tested factors of buying intention in halal food? (3) What are the potential factors in stimulating the positive intentions of a Muslim?

This study contributes in the following three aspects: (1) to provide an overall illustration of the methodology and analytical tools applied in the studies of buying intention, (2) to summarize the factors that have been tested in halal food intention studies, and (3) to identify the gaps in the literature that have been established for Muslim intention elements.

Therefore, this study help to identify all intention elements as behavioral dimensions, and contributes to the literature on halal food products consumer research widely, in terms of the distribution of bibliometric maps and research trends, using VOSviewer software [56,57,58,59,60] and other accessible reference sources regardless of whether or not the search engine has a reputable index.

The remaining parts of the paper are organized as follows: Section 2 reveals the stages of the study, Section 3 presents the findings of the selected articles. Eventually, Section 4 concludes the study and presents the future scope of intentions.

2. Research Method

This study conducted a literature review by collecting and analyzing relevant publications on consumer intentions to purchase halal food products. It aimed to elaborate on Muslims’ intentions to buy halal food, and to provide a conceptual framework capturing the related previous publications.

A literature review is a desk-based study method critically describing and assessing what is already known about a topic using secondary sources [61,62]. This traditional literature review often contributes to the intuition usually abandoned in many exceptions and quality controlled in the systematic review model [62]. The semi-systematic or narrative approach shows many things from various sides and publications.

A semi-systematic literature review or a narrative approach is intended for topics conceptualized differently and discussed by scholars from backgrounds limited by systematic reviews [63]. Semi-systematic studies aim to determine how study in a selected field has developed over time or how a topic has evolved across traditions. The review identifies previous potentially relevant literature with implications for the study topic. Additionally, it was effective to synthesize using narratives that contribute to mapping the study area and knowledge [63,64].

This study used a reference search base from Scopus, and additional literature from Google Scholar, the most comprehensive, accessible, and superior academic search engine. However, Scopus is more advanced regarding reference quality [65,66]. The two are needed to give better results. Oncology studies found 76% of required citation references, with Scopus having the largest citation references. The studies added a search on Google Scholar, and found 94% of citation references [67].

The literature review also supported in establishing a new conceptual model mapping the development of certain study areas over time [64]. Halal studies began developing in 2011, with more than 50% of reviews published between 2011 and 2013 [68]. Therefore, this literature review was limited to 10 years, from 2010 to 2019, to show progress.

Jesson expanded the analytical process in Figure 1, which began with obtaining some papers with information on theories and their empirical applications [62]. The second step involved reading, deciding the approach taken, and analyzing the notes. The third step entailed spotting a knowledge gap and summarizing the key points, authors, and concepts in a table. Figure 2 shows the study framework. In the first stage of this study, articles were selected. The topic was determined at first, and then the article was selected through keyword identification in the Scopus database, and the criteria for the year of article publication started from 2010 to 2019. After the articles were selected from the Scopus database, the next step was searching for the information through articles from Google Scholar to enrich the discussion. The fourth stage was making notes on the analytical process through data analysis from the identity and the results of the article regarding the significant and non-significant factors of the test results in the articles that have been selected. The last stage was reading the material by processing the content of 30 articles in English.

VOSviewer (version 1.6.17 software developed by Nees Jan van Eck and Ludo Waltman at Leiden University in The Netherlands) was used to construct and visualize bibliometric networks in the first stage of identifying topics and keywords. The processed articles were detailed and analyzed regarding the author, article title, journal name, and publication year. In the next stage, VOSviewer was used to reconstruct a network of scientific journals, authors, publications, study organizations, keywords, terms, or countries. The network items were linked by co-authorship, co-occurrence, citations, bibliographic coupling, or co-citation links [69]. VOSviewer also was used to find out whether the topic had been studied by many researchers. VOSviewer processes the targeted keywords, and then graphically maps all articles in Scopus-indexed journals related to the number of publications for those keywords. This can also be used to find trends in this study.

The Scopus database was processed using VOSviewer to determine the development of publications regarding consumer behavior and halal. However, the next step used the Google Scholar search engine to increase the reach of articles not indexed by Scopus. This was a consideration of studies on halal, though not published in the indexed database. Furthermore, the study used additional literature from the latest Google Scholar results in the 2019–2020 period. Although it was unstructured, it provided an overview of the latest halal studies and consumer behavior.

This study identified 599 articles with the keyword, “halal”, and 404 with “consumer behaviour” keywords in the Scopus database. The VOSviewer procedure was used to identify publications on halal and consumer behavior. Moreover, 16,600 articles and 1,620,000 results for “consumer behaviour” were found through Google Scholar using the keyword, “halal”, in the 2010–2019 period. There were 12,200 and 8680 results found using the keywords, “halal consumer behaviour” and “halal consumer purchase intention”, respectively.

This number is too much due to the time and effort limitations. Therefore, the results were modified by adding more detailed keywords with quotation marks to narrow the scope of the articles. The keyword, “halal food purchase intention”, resulted in 44 articles.

Scopus and Google Scholar obtained 65 articles closely related to the study topics and keywords. Moreover, 30 English articles were identified and reviewed by abstracts and content.

3. Results

Consumer attitudes about halal products are classified into the perceived value, food safety, and purchase intention categories [70]. Variables of halal awareness, health reasons, and perceived value significantly and positively affect purchase intention. This shows that the higher awareness, health, and perceived value encourage consumer interest in buying halal food products [71,72].

Muslim consumers should overcome their ignorance of eating halal food. They need to learn that halal transcends slaughter, to contribute to a sustainable food system that promotes their community, environment, and health [25]. The following sections describe a narrative review of the literature showing certain behavioral factors influencing Muslim consumers’ intention to purchase halal food.

3.1. Defining a Topic

The first stage before determining the topic is identifying the scope of the halal concept. Some literature showed that sustainability, food safety, and green marketing are the basic halal food science. This starts from the theory of sustainability and environmental friendliness [13,15,73], food production [1,2,3], and processing and food [6] to consumption and consumer behavior [4,5,6,7]. Halal is an Arabic word meaning permitted according to Islamic law. In some contexts, the word is always followed by “tayyib”, meaning clean and pure. The concept of tayyib implies how food is processed to achieve cleanliness and purity without the potential for toxins [74,75].

The VOSviewer data processing on the keywords, “sustainability,” “halal,” “knowledge level”, and “consumer purchase intention”, produce different visualizations. The results showed four clusters with 611 topics.

The overlay visualization image in Figure 3 shows that limited publications from 2010 to 2019 resulted in many publications on “sustainability” in 2012. In 2015, “consumer purchase intention” was dominated by “tpb” or “planned behaviour”. The red, green, and blue columns contain the red, green, and blue components of the colors of clusters. Each color component must have an integer value between 0 and 255. Moreover, there were many publications on “halal” in 2016.

Figure 4 shows the density of publications on “Sustainability”, “Halal”, “Knowledge”, and “Consumer purchase intention” with “production”, “marketing”, “consumer”, and “purchase intention”. the color of the item is determined by matching the item's color value with the color. However, there are few publications on “Sustainability”, “Halal”, “Knowledge level”, and “Consumer purchase intention” with the topics of “tpb”, “planned behaviour”, “halal logo”, and “food manufacturer”. Most authors were from Islamic countries and have contributed to different related subject areas [31].

Figure 5 shows the density level of the results of file processing. The higher the density of the item, the higher the color value. There have been more publications on “consumer”, “intention”, and “marketing” in bright color compared to publication topics in darker color areas, such as “food ingredients”, “halal slaughter” and “halalness”.

The analysis using VOSviewer produced opportunities for the study topic, which is still rarely examined and requires extension by future studies regarding the proposed model. Religion is an important factor that stops or allows humans to act, and should also be considered in future studies. Moreover, future studies should focus on the mediating factors of halal purchase intentions and the role of culture and religious identity in this attractive community [75]. This study did not show the effectiveness of factors such as halal logos and health awareness. It may be context-specific that consumers ignore the halal logo or may not be educated to make rational decisions to buy healthy food [76].

3.2. Defining the Keywords

This study identified the keywords used in selecting articles for the next level as seen in

Table 1. Article Results Found with Specified Keywords.

No.	Dimension	Number of Articles
1	Halal logistics and supply chain	23
2	Halal process, certification, products	12
3	Halal marketing	30

. It explored the topic of “Halal”, commonly used in food, pharmacy, finance, tourism, and other sectors. Therefore, the study searched for keywords with the code, “halal marketing”, “halal logistics and supply chain”, and “halal process, certification, products”, in the Scopus database. Finance, tourism, and pharmacy were excluded because they are too wide from the study focus.

After using VOSviewer to assess the development of study topics in Scopus-indexed journals, the Google Scholar search engine was used to expand the information search. The search engine was employed to find articles with the same keywords without considering their quality. This is because not all articles on halal are accepted or published in Scopus-indexed international journals.

3.3. Information Search: Article Classification

Various studies showed that intention determines the purchase of a product by finding a positive relationship between intention factors and buying behavior. In the next step, the articles were tabulated based on the author’s name, title, journal name, and publication year. This classification facilitated the search for data supporting a theory and concept in the literature study.

The development of halal marketing studies has been published in reputable international journals for ten years.

Table 2. Article Information.

No.	References	Journal	Publication Year	Research Location
1	[77]	International Food Research Journal	2010	Malaysia
2	[78]	Basic and Applied Social Psychology	2011	Not mentioned
3	[79]	Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research In Business	2011	Pakistan
4	[80]	International Journal of Commerce and Management	2011	Malaysia
5	[81]	Journal of Islamic Marketing	2012	Malaysia
6	[82]	Journal of Islamic Marketing	2012	Pakistan
7	[83]	Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing	2013	Malaysia
8	[40]	Journal of Food Products Marketing	2013	Malaysia
9	[84]	Meat Science	2013	Belgium
10	[85]	International Journal of Business, Economics, and Law	2014	Indonesia
11	[70]	Journal of Food Products Marketing	2014	Turkey
12	[37]	Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing	2014	Malaysia
13	[25]	Journal of Food Products Marketing	2015	Malaysia
14	[86]	Management Research Review	2015	Pakistan
15	[87]	Journal of Food Products Marketing	2015	Malaysia
16	[88]	Journal of Islamic Marketing	2015	Malaysia
17	[89]	International Journal of Social Science and Humanity	2015	Malaysia
18	[75]	Journal of Food Products Marketing	2016	Singapore
19	[90]	European Journal of Business and Management	2016	Turkey
20	[91]	International Journal of Islamic Marketing and Branding	2016	Singapore
21	[76]	Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing	2016	Pakistan
22	[72]	Tazkia Islamic Finance and Business Review	2017	Indonesia
23	[92]	British Food Journal	2017	China
24	[93]	Management Decision	2018	Pakistan
25	[94]	Journal of Business and Retail Management Research	2018	Saudi Arabia
26	[95]	Journal of Business Research	2018	Not mentioned (through Amazon Mechanical Turk https://www.mturk.com (accessed on 15 July 2022)
27	[71]	Journal of Food Products Marketing	2018	South Africa
28	[96]	Contemporary Management and Science Issues in the Halal Industry,	2019	Malaysia
29	[97]	Journal of Islamic Marketing	2019	Indonesia
30	[41]	Journal of Islamic Marketing	2019	Pakistan

summarizes halal food products and consumer behavior.

Various designs and methodologies used in the halal food context have expanded the criteria used from the articles in this study.

Table 3. Article Method Summary.

References	The Sample Sample Size	Sampling Design	Analytical Tools
[77]	Non-Muslim, n = 400	Randomized sample in the supermarkets	The logit procedure
[78]	Unclear consumer religion in 4 studies N = 79 (Study 1) N = 79 (Study 2) N = 85 (Study 3) N = 89 (Study 4)	Non-probability sampling	Regression analysis
[79]	Muslim consumer n = 528	Non-probability sampling	Cronbach’s alpha, confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson product correlation Matrix
[80]	Muslim and non-Muslim n = 258	Non-probability convenience sampling method	Multiple regression analysis
[81]	Non-Muslim n = 800	Randomly at several supermarkets	The binary logit model
[82]	Muslim n = 150	Convenience sampling method	Regression analysis
[83]	Non-Muslim n = 226	Randomly on streets and around shopping malls	Structural equation modeling (sem)
[40]	Muslim n = 390	Conveniently selected	Multiple regression analysis
[84]	Muslim n = 202	(Non-probability) snowball sampling technique	Factor analysis
[85]	Muslim n = 135	Non-probability sampling	Multiple linear regression analysis
[70]	Muslim n = 724	Unknown sampling method	The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (kmo) measure of sampling adequacy, Bartlett’s test of sphericity, factor analysis, and multiple regressions
[37]	Muslim and non-Muslim n = 288	A nonprobability sample	Contingent Valuation and conjoint analysis
[25]	Muslim and non-Muslim n = 1860	Unclear sampling	Probit procedure
[86]	Muslim n = 273	Systematic sampling technique	Correlation and regression analysis, factor analysis
[87]	Muslim and non-Muslim n = 2014	Stratified random sampling technique	Structural equation modelling
[88]	Muslim n = 110	Non-probability, convenience sampling	Structural equation modelling
[89]	Muslim n = 110	Convenience sampling method	Multiple regression analysis
[75]	Muslim n = 332	Nonprobability basic sampling; the combination of several methods for distributing the questionnaire, through the mail and self-administration	Linear correlations and multiple regressions
[90]	Muslim n = 650	The convenience sampling method	The PLS-path modelling analysis
[91]	Non-Muslim n = 214	Non-probability convenience sampling	Multiple regression analysis
[76]	Muslim n = 282	Convenience-sampling techniques	Structural equation modelling technique
[72]	Unknown religion n = 193	Purposive sampling	PLS-SEM method
[92]	Muslim n = 436	Snow-ball sampling technique	Regression models
[93]	Muslim n = 347	Convenience sampling technique	Structural equation modelling
[94]	Unknown religion consumers n = 395	Non-probability sampling technique (convenience sampling)	Partial least squares (PLS-SEM) technique
[95]	Muslim and non-Muslim Study 1 n = 391 Study 2 n = 197	Unknown sampling design	Hierarchical regression model, two multiple mediation analyses
[71]	No religion identified n = 230	A random sampling method	Structural equation modelling
[96]	Muslim and non-Muslim n = 323	Random sampling	Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.
[97]	Unknown religion n = 418	Nonprobability sampling	Multiple regression analysis
[41]	Muslim n = 90	Purposive sampling method	Exploratory study, NVivo data analysis

shows the sample size, sampling design, and analytical tools used in the articles.

The list of published articles that became the reference in this literature review showed that various sample sizes were used. A quantitative calculation shows an average of 391 respondents in studies on consumer behavior, specifically intentions. The median value of the sample size used is 277. This means that the literature review sources use a sample size of more or less than 277 respondents. Data with a sample size exceeding 277 respondents are large, but still use non-probability sampling, with only a small percentage using probability sampling. Non-probability sampling is used because it is easy, fast, and inexpensive to measure the response. The method acquires a response from many respondents, and is applicable when the population is not homogeneous. Additionally, this approach is feasible, even with no inference concerning the population and no sampling frame [77,91,92,95,98]. Some studies use probability sampling presumably because the technique is credible and meets the requirements [25,71,87,97].

Studies using a probability or non-probability sampling design could still be published in a reputable international journal to explain Muslims’ intention factors. This study identified the factors using multiple regression, factor analysis, partial least squares (PLS-SEM), structural equation modelling (SEM), and other qualitative methods.

The following sections describe the literature review on behavioral factors influencing halal food product consumption, and how they may predispose individual intentions.

3.3.1. Attitude, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Control

The theory of planned behavior states that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived control are significant predictors of intention [98]. This is supported by empirical results in several publications and various applications. Studies showed that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived control generate intention. This is realized by finding a positive relationship between attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control and one’s intention to act [76,83,92,93].

Consumer attitudes affecting intentions are determined by consumer characteristics variables, including beliefs, age, education level, and area of residence [80,81]. Furthermore, some variables explain perceived control, such as food safety, being environmentally friendly, and animal welfare. These variables are also significantly related to Muslims’ intentions to purchase halal food products [78,82].

The most important determinant of behavior is behavioral intentions. The two theories have almost the same variables tested to influence consumer behavior. The TRA was developed to help understand the relationship between attitudes, intentions, and behavior, whereas TPB added perceived control. The control beliefs about the presence or absence of a facilitator and barriers to behavioral performance determine the perceived control [99]. Several publications involving TRA and TPB resulted in factors with different levels of influence and significance as shown in Figure 6.

The intention is the deliberate will to act, literally meaning al-qashd or desire. In syar’i, intention implies sincere worship for Allah SWT and lies in the heart (heart) [100]. When people intend to bring about one state of affairs to obtain another, the first act is the means adopted to realize the outcome [101]. The factors influencing intentions also affect consumers’ behavior toward buying halal food products, as shown in Figure 6. Hussain et al. (2016) stated that the factors positively influencing consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions subsequently affect their purchase behavior. According to H.R. Bukhari, No.1 and Muslim, No.1907, the Messenger of Allah stated that every action depends on the intention, and people get what they intended [102].

This study ascertained the factors tested regarding the intention to purchase halal food products in published articles. It developed a diagram to help understand the elements embodying a Muslim’s intention to buy halal food products.

The Muslim intention elements shown in Figure 7 and

Table 4. Other Most-Tested Factors of Purchase Intention in Halal Food Products.

Factors	Significant	Non-Significant	Direct/Indirect
Emotional States	[87]		Direct
Personal conviction	[92]		Direct
Personal societal perception	[86]		Direct
Pleasure value	[70]		Direct
Motivation	[94]		Indirect
Interest/preference	[70,91]		Direct
Halal marketing	[84,91]		Direct
	[86]		Indirect
Halal awareness	[72,84,87]	[77]	Direct
	[40,71]		Indirect
Halal logo	[85]	[76]	Direct
Food labeling	[87]		Direct
Halal brand image	[84,94]		Direct
	[94]	[72]	Indirect
Halal brand satisfaction	[93]		Direct
Halal brand trust	[93]		Direct
Halal brand loyalty	[93]		Direct
Halal price product	[85,95]		Indirect
Halal product assortment	[94]		Indirect
Halal principles	[81]		Indirect
Halal certification	[37,84,87]	[96]	Direct
Physical risk	[70]		Direct
	Auf et al. (2018) [94]		Indirect
Health consciousness	[72]	[76]	Direct
Food safety, environmental-friendliness, animal welfare	[78,82]	[72]	Indirect
Food safety concern	[76]		Indirect
The ingredients of products	[76]		Indirect
Store location	[94]		Indirect
The processing	[40,77,95]		Indirect
Perceived ability		[91]	Direct
Perceived awareness		[97]	Indirect
Perceived value	[77,95]		Indirect
Moral obligations	[97]		Direct
Perception of religion	[76]		Indirect
Religion	[96]		Direct
Inter-personal religiosity		[82]	Direct
Intra-personal religiosity	[82]		Indirect
Religious self-identity	[97]		Direct
Religiosity	[70,86,91]		Direct
	[90,95]	[41]	Indirect
Religious belief		[86]	Direct
	[79]		Indirect
Knowledge	[87]		Direct
	[40,88,95]	[79,90]	Indirect

Note: “indirect related” means that the factor does not affect the intention directly, but through other variables that affect or are affected by the intention.

. They describe the studies regarding the intention to purchase halal food products without a particular ranking or category. Figure 7 shown that these elements are variables often tested in analyzing consumer intentions in buying halal food products. Elements in grey color are used more than those in blue.

3.3.2. Another Potential Factor in Stimulating a Muslim’s Positive Intentions

The importance of intention in Muslim behavior is stated in the Holy Qur’an. “Intention” is expressed in the words, “sincere” and “mukhlis”, as in the Q.S. Al Baqarah (verse 139), Q.S. Al A’raf (verse 29), Q.S. Yunus (verse 22), Q.S. Al Ankabut (verse 65), Q.S. Az Zumar (verse 2, 11, 14), Q.S. Luqman (verse 32), and Al Bayyinah (verse 5). It is an important element in every human step, determining whether a human being’s behavior is accepted by God (Allah SWT). The Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad SAW, stated, “Indeed, the action depends on the intention, and a man gets what he intended.” (H.R. Bukhari and Muslim). Muslim consumer behavior is largely predisposed by Islam ideology. In this case, consumers are more concerned with the value of halal food than its haram elements. For instance, consumers in Pakistan do not mind consuming food, provided it is free of haram items [79]. In Belgium, Muslim consumers are willing to pay high prices for halal-certified meat in Islamic butcher shops. They pay 10% above the actual price for halal-certified meat [84].

Knowledge

Knowledge relates to the intention to purchase halal food products [25,40,79,88]. According to Vanany (2019) and Ahmad (2015), knowledge and subjective norms do not influence intention. Similarly, Bashir (2018) stated that only attitude is significantly related to intention, whereas many publications show that subjective norms and attitudes significantly affect intention. This necessitates future studies to re-measure knowledge regarding its relationship and significance on the Muslim consumers’ intention to purchase halal food products. The studies should use different sampling and analytical tools.

Religiosity

Religiosity was unconnected to sustainably-minded food consumption [95]. Although religion is an almighty source of religious beliefs for Muslim consumers, highly religious people may lack a high awareness about halal food [79]. Religiosity significantly impacts the preferences for halal food products in the community. This affiliation dominates people’s lives, choices, eating habits, and social environments [70,76,103,104] This study found a positive association between the consumer perception of religion and their intentions to purchase halal products. Similarly, religious self-identity and moral obligations were powerful predictors of halal food consumption in Indonesia. Consumers are convinced that food products with halal logos are halal [77,87,97,98]. However, Awan (2015) and Bukhari (2019) found that direct or indirect relationships to intention, religiosity, or religious belief did not significantly affect intention.

Other Variables

The extended TPB model is opportune for figuring consumers’ adoption intentions. The latest elaboration of consumer intention was seen from the scientific search engine. Some studies still use TPB and predictive variables such as religiosity, halal certification, consumer characteristics, brand trust, food safety, and halal labeling as strong consumer intention determinants [105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114].

These purchase intention factors can support Muslim intentions in buying food products that have been certified as halal; with Muslim intentions, it will raise the possibilities of buying behavior for halal food products compared to those that have not been certified as halal. This exposes opportunities for future research directions to test whether the intention factors directly influence the buying behavior of halal food products.

4. Conclusions

The findings provide comprehensive insight into the literature on halal food consumption. This study emphasized the gaps in the literature, and suggested directions to advance the understanding of Muslims’ or general consumers’ behavioral intentions as a contribution to halal food product science.

On social implications, intention is an important behavioral element that is often associated with the concept of sincerity. The Qur’an, the Muslim way of life, expresses intentions with the words, “sincere” and “will”. Increasing the purchase intention of halal food products can be applied through the elements that have been tested in many of these published articles. The intention will manifest into the behavior of purchasing halal food products in order to increase their obedience to Allah SWT.

Managerial implications related to the results of this study can focus on the opportunities, challenges, efficiency of intentions, and possible improvements to other embodiment intentions beyond what has been realized in this literature study.

Hence, though this study relied only on the Scopus database complemented with Google Scholar, future studies should utilize various data sources, such as Web of Science. This study was also limited to English language articles; therefore, future studies should examine articles published in the languages of the nations most productive in halal food publications, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, to identify halal knowledge expansion.