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Does celebrity credibility Celebrity

credibility
influence Muslim and
non-Muslim consumers’
attitudes toward brands and 227

purchase intention? Received 1 April 2013

Revised 25 November 2013
Norazah Mohd Suki Accepted 30 November 2013

Labuan School of International Business and Finance, Universiti Malaysia

Sabah, Labuan, Malaysia

Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to distinguish between Muslim and non-Muslim consumers regarding
celebrity influence on brands and purchase intention, and assess the relative importance of celebrity
credibility, in terms of physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise and product– brand congruency.
The study also researches attitudes towards brands, and purchase intention and their ability to predict
consumers’ religion.
Design/methodology/approach – The research aim was achieved through an empirical study
involving a self-administered questionnaire distributed to members of the public recruited from the Federal
Territory of Labuan, Malaysia. Data were collected from 250 Muslim and non-Muslim consumers using a
convenience sampling method. Their participation was purely voluntary. Multiple discriminant analysis via
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer program version 20 was used to answer the research
questions.
Findings – Empirical results of the multiple discriminant analysis indicated that celebrity expertise and
attitudes towards brands strongly predict allocation to Muslim consumers rather than non-Muslim
consumers. The relative importance of the celebrity credibility aspects from Muslim consumers’ perspectives
was: celebrity expertise, celebrity attitudes towards brands, purchase intention, product– brand congruency
and physical attractiveness. Muslim consumers are found to choose expertise but not trustworthiness.
Muslim consumers’ faith or trust may be linked to the perception that products and services endorsed by the
celebrities are in line with Shariah principles which are consistent with Islamic principles.
Research limitations/implications – Respondents were randomly drawn from the Muslim and
non-Muslim population of the Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia. Consequently, they may not represent
the entire population of Malaysia. Future researchers could overcome the limits of generalizability by
increasing sample coverage.
Originality/value – The paper empirically justified the discriminating function among celebrity
credibility elements in terms of physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise, and product– brand
congruency of Muslim and non-Muslim consumer attitudes towards brands and purchase intention. Thus,
the results of this study offer a new forward motion to the findings of prior studies on consumer perception
of celebrity credibility, which is not much covered in the literature in the Malaysian context between Muslim
and non-Muslim consumer perspectives. The findings are able to add literature on Muslim consumer
behaviour in the use of celebrities, as these celebrities could act as inspirational to the consumers. Journal of Islamic Marketing
Vol. 5 No. 2, 2014
Keywords Malaysia, Purchase intention, Celebrity credibility, Celebrity endorsement, Muslim pp. 227-240
consumers © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1759-0833
Paper type Research paper DOI 10.1108/JIMA-04-2013-0024
JIMA Introduction
The use of celebrities as product endorsers and spokespersons on television, radio,
5,2 billboards, banners and in magazine advertising campaigns is on the rise (Kamins
et al., 1989). This has a positive effect on the confidence of consumers, as they
associate themselves more closely with their favourite celebrities. For instance, in
Malaysia, Yuna, a popular singer who wears a hijab, the traditional Muslim
228 headscarf, is a product endorser for Samsung Galaxy tab; Ella is an endorser for
Canon cameras and calculators; Dato’ Lee Chong Wei, a famous badminton player,
and Pandalela Rinong, a famous swimmer, are endorsers for 100 Plus, an isotonic
drink, while Lisa Surihani is a product endorser for Garnier cosmetic products. They
are very persuasive and recognized by the public, are hired by a company or
marketer for a contractual period and are most likely to be from the entertainment or
sports industries.
Celebrities who are well-liked and attractive tend to be effective spokespersons
(Atkin et al., 1984; Freiden, 1984), which helps to enhance the effectiveness of
advertising. Celebrities make advertisements more believable (Kamins et al., 1989),
enhance message recall, create a positive attitude towards the brand (Kamins et al.,
1989), create a distinct personality for the endorsed brand (McCracken, 1989), create
an immediate identity or persona for a product (Cooper, 1984) and generate a greater
likelihood of customers choosing the endorsed brand (Atkin et al., 1984; Bower and
Landreth, 2001; Freiden, 1984; Kahle and Homer, 1985; Kamins et al., 1989; Lafferty
et al., 2002; Ohanian, 1991). Memorable product campaigns result in celebrities
being under greater public scrutiny. Consequently, they have to be vigilant and
ensure that they foster a good image in keeping with their contractual obligations
with the company.
Hiring an appropriate and affluent celebrity as product endorser is costly and risky.
Substantial tensions and pressures are imposed on the advertisers charged with the
responsibility of achieving the firm’s financial objectives (Ferle and Choi, 2005), and
these can affect business sustainability and growth. There have been several studies of
celebrity endorsement in recent years (e.g. Hakimi et al., 2011; Hung et al., 2011; Spry
et al., 2011), including those that expressing individual Muslim identities (Wilson et al.,
2013; Wilson and Grant, 2013). However, there is marginal research comparing the two
religious segments (Muslim vs non-Muslim consumers) in relation to celebrity
credibility aspects, particularly in a developing Islamic country like Malaysia. By
comparing these groups, this study attempts to answer the following two research
questions:
RQ1. What celebrity credibility aspects distinguish Muslim from non-Muslim
consumers?
RQ2. What celebrity credibility aspects are more important than others in predicting
consumer religion?
This research finding is useful, as the comparison is made between Muslim and
non-Muslim consumers in terms of their attitudes towards celebrity credibility. Because
they have different beliefs and their numbers (populations of Muslims and
non-Muslims) are large, this could have great impact on the effectiveness of
advertisements if the factors are given attention by the marketers. They could match the
right credible celebrity with the right target group to ensure that the target audience
clearly associates the celebrity’s image with the benefits of effective product usage. The Celebrity
right combination of celebrity and marketing campaign is likely to improve a company’s
performance through the consumers’ product acceptance. Satisfied customers are
credibility
undoubtedly more likely to spread positive product messages via traditional
word-of-mouth and social networking media such as Facebook and Twitter.
The next section presents a review of literature on physical attractiveness,
trustworthiness, expertise, product– brand congruency and consumer attitudes towards 229
brands. The paper then moves on to discuss the methodology used in the study to carry
out the survey, before analysing the resultant data. The final section describes the
conclusion, considers the implications of the study and outlines suggestions for future
research.

Literature review
The effectiveness of an endorsement is based on the celebrity’s physical attractiveness,
source credibility (trustworthiness and expertise) and celebrity– brand congruency.

Physical attractiveness
Physical attractiveness is related to an individual’s first judgement conveyed to another
person, which is determined by the characteristics and attributes of the endorser (Bardia
et al., 2011), such as weight, height and facial beauty. These sources of attractiveness
create the perception of credibility, which is derived from the extent to which the
celebrity endorser matches the consumer’s definitions of the adjectives “attractive”,
“classy”, “handsome/beautiful”, “elegant” and “sexy” (Ohanian, 1990). If consumers feel
that they have much in common with celebrities, they are likely to see them as more
attractive. Consequently, the effectiveness of an advertisement that utilizes a celebrity
endorser is bound to be enhanced by the physical attractiveness of that celebrity (Chan
et al., 2013; Till and Busler, 2000; Zahid et al., 2002). Furthermore, a brand perception
image can be significantly enhanced by the endorser’s attractiveness (Bardia et al., 2011;
Hakimi et al., 2011; Tantiseneepong et al., 2012). When a celebrity’s physical
attractiveness is congruent with the product he/she is endorsing, consumers develop a
positive attitude towards the product and the advertisement evaluations (Kahle and
Homer, 1985).

Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is related to the validity of the celebrity endorser’s assertions about the
product in the view of the customer (Erdogan, 1999; Hovland et al., 1953). Establishing
a level of trustworthiness is the most effective and useful way to make the customer
more confident about the product (Hakimi et al., 2011; Ohanian, 1990). Advertisers prefer
to choose celebrities with characteristics of higher trustworthiness, affinity and honesty
(Shimp, 2003). Moreover, the good faith of celebrities can bring positive effects to
customers’ value perceptions and further affect their purchase choice (Erdem and Swait,
2004). Evidently, a positive correlation exists between trustworthiness and affinity and
product-related argument strength; for example, when weak product-related arguments
mark the advertising copy, the influence of trustworthiness is more pronounced than it
is for strong product-related arguments (Chan et al., 2013; Priester and Petty, 2003).
JIMA Expertise
Expertise is related to the perceived validity of a messenger or communicator’s
5,2 assertions and knowledge (Erdogan, 1999; Hovland et al., 1953; Ohanian, 1990).
Product-related knowledge was found to be the best measure of the endorser’s expertise
(Ohanian, 1990). Siemens et al. (2008) confirm that the positive impact of expertise on
brand image is fully mediated by perceptions of endorser credibility. However, Eisend
230 and Langner (2010) reported a delayed positive effect of expertise on the brand image
and interaction with attractiveness. This implies that the favourable impact of the high
expertise of the celebrity increases with higher levels of attractiveness. A
knowledgeable endorser (i.e. celebrity) is more effective at persuading the consumer to
buy the product (Bardia et al., 2011) and to have a positive attitude towards the brand
(Chan et al., 2013; Erdogan, 1999).

Product– brand congruency

Product– brand congruency is related to right matches between the celebrity’s image
and the endorsed product– brand (Till and Busler, 2000). The congruency between the
celebrity and the brand depends on the degree of match between them (Misra and
Beatty, 1990). If the celebrity matches or is congruent with the product advertised, it
creates a high level of believability (Chan et al., 2013; Kamins and Gupta, 1994; Kotler,
1997; Thwaites et al., 2012). The celebrity and product match is the determinant for the
advertisement endorsement (Batra and Homer, 2004; Erdogan and Baker, 2000; Fleck
et al., 2012; Spry et al., 2011; Till and Busler, 2000). While Till and Busler (2000) stated
that the celebrity and product match is more effective for measuring a brand attitude
than purchase intention, Kahle and Homer (1985) noted that the more likeable and
attractive the celebrity, the more favourable the attitude towards the advertisement and
the product, and the greater the purchase intention for the product.

Consumer attitudes towards brands

An attitude towards brands is related to the favourable and unfavourable responses of
consumers towards a brand after viewing the advertisement (Phelps and Hoy, 1996).
Oskamp (1999) stated that noting attitude is a very useful way of predicting consumer
behaviour towards a product. Fournier (1998) found that if a brand meets consumers’
wants, it has a psychological effect, whereby they are more likely to remain loyal to the
brand and display an increased willingness to purchase the product. Yang (2009) stated
that an advertising endorser with high credibility can attract consumers in a short time
and increase purchase intention. Similarly, Laroche et al. (1996) also agreed that the
advertising endorser changes consumer preferences and creates a willingness to
purchase. Furthermore, consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intention increase if a
product has higher similarity and familiarity (Kamins and Marks, 1991). Customer
attitudes towards brands have a significant effect on consumers’ purchase intention
(Chan et al., 2013; Fleck et al., 2012; Goldsmith et al., 2000; Tantiseneepong et al., 2012;
Thwaites et al., 2012).
Based on the theoretical perspectives, the following research questions were
investigated:
RQ1. What celebrity credibility aspects distinguish Muslim from non-Muslim
consumers?
 RQ2. What celebrity credibility aspects are more important than others in predicting Celebrity
consumer religion?
credibility

Methodology
The research aim was achieved through an empirical study involving a self-administered
questionnaire distributed to members of the public recruited from the Federal Territory of 231
Labuan, Malaysia. Of 300 questionnaires returned by Muslim and non-Muslim respondents
via a convenience sampling method, 250 responses were found to be usable and these were
used in the data analysis with a valid response rate of 83 per cent. Their participation was
purely voluntary. Besides a structured questionnaire, with closed-ended questions, they
were also exposed to two print advertisements showing celebrities promoting a personal
benefit from product purchase. The first part of the three-section questionnaire contained
general demographic questions, relating to gender, age, level of education, etc., while the
second part comprised questions about celebrity credibility relating to attractiveness (four
items, adapted from Newell and Goldsmith, 2001), trustworthiness (five items, adapted from
Newell and Goldsmith, 2001), expertise (five items, adapted from Goldsmith et al., 1999) and
brand congruency (five items, adapted from Qurat and Mahira, 2012).
The final part of the questionnaire covered questions on consumer attitudes towards
brands (five items, adapted from Goldsmith et al., 2000), and purchase intention (three
items, adapted from Goldsmith et al., 2000). The multi-item statements were designed on
a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer program version 20 was utilized
to calculate the descriptive analysis, including means and standard deviation. Multiple
discriminant analysis was then carried out to distinguish between Muslim and
non-Muslim consumers’ attitudes towards celebrity influence on brands and purchase
intention, and assess the relative importance of celebrity credibility aspects, in terms of
physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise and product– brand congruency;
attitudes towards brands; and purchase intention and their ability to predict consumers’
religion.

Data analysis
Frequencies and percentages of the respondents’ profiles for corresponding
demographic variables are presented in Table I. Of the 250 respondents, 61 per cent were
Muslims and 39 per cent were non-Muslims. In terms of gender, 53 per cent were female
and 47 per cent were male. Close to three-quarters of the respondents (72 per cent) held
Malaysian Higher School Certificate (STPM)/matriculation certification, while a smaller
number (17 per cent) had bachelor degrees.

Reliability analysis
Reliability analysis of each multiple-item measurement was performed using Cronbach’s
coefficient alpha to measure the internal consistency of the scales used. A common rule of
thumb is that indicators should have a Cronbach’s alpha above the threshold value of 0.70, as
recommended by Hair et al. (2010), to judge the set of items as reliable. The reliability
JIMA Frequency Percentage
5,2
Gender
Male 118 47.2
Female 132 52.8
Age (years old)
18-29 171 68.4
232 30-39 47 18.8
40-49 26 10.4
50-59 6 2.4
Level of education
SPM 13 5.2
STPM/Matriculation 180 72.0
Bachelor degree 42 16.8
Master degree 15 6.0
Table I. Religion
Demographic profile of Muslim 152 60.8
respondents Non-Muslim 98 39.2

coefficients for all the variables were carried out and the results (Table II) showed that all
Cronbach alpha values were above 0.70, implying the survey instrument is reliable to
measure all constructs consistently.

Correlation analysis
A correlation analysis was conducted to identify the correlations between physical
attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise and brand congruency with attitudes towards
brands. Next, the correlation between attitudes towards brands and purchase intention
was established. Before that, the average score of the multi-items for each construct was
computed, and the score was used in correlation analysis and multiple regression
analysis. With regards to the correlation with attitudes towards brands (Table III),
product– brand congruency has the highest significant correlation coefficient value (r ⫽
0.476, p ⬍ 0.05), trailed by trustworthiness (r ⫽ 0.414, p ⬍ 0.05). This signifies that when
consumers have a positive attitude towards a brand, they tend to have greater affinity
with it and develop a greater trust of the product. Moreover, there is significant
correlation between attitudes towards brands and purchase intention (r ⫽ 0.476, p ⬍
0.05). The descriptive analysis discovered that the highest means and standard
deviation appear in relation to the trustworthiness (M ⫽ 3.174, SD ⫽ 0.693). The

Variable Number of items Cronbach’s alpha

Physical attractiveness 4 0.775

Trustworthiness 5 0.786
Expertise 5 0.750
Product–brand congruency 5 0.779
Table II. Attitudes towards brands 5 0.790
Reliability statistics Purchase intention 3 0.769
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6
Celebrity
credibility
Physical attractiveness 1
Trustworthiness 0.420** 1
Expertise 0.408** 0.541** 1
Product–brand congruency 0.175** 0.363** 0.477** 1
Attitudes towards brands 0.190** 0.414** 0.376** 0.476** 1
Purchase intention 0.226** 0.240** 0.223** 0.295** 0.470** 1
233
Mean 3.145 3.174 3.140 2.502 2.842 2.840
Standard deviations 0.605 0.693 0.630 0.676 0.657 0.664
Skewness 0.301 ⫺0.183 ⫺0.34 ⫺0.215 ⫺0.162 ⫺0.276
Kurtosis ⫺0.164 ⫺0.045 ⫺0.013 ⫺0.599 ⫺0.49 ⫺0.44
Table III.
Note: ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed) Correlations analysis

skewness for all constructs was below ⫾2.0 and all constructs’ kurtosis was less than
the cutoff value of ⫾10, which indicates a normal distribution or bell-shaped curve.

Multiple discriminant analysis

Multiple discriminant analysis was performed to:
• distinguish Muslim from non-Muslim consumers regarding celebrity influence on
brands and purchase intention; and
• assess the relative importance of celebrity credibility aspects, in terms of physical
attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise and product– brand congruency;
attitudes towards brands; and purchase intention and their ability to predict
consumers’ religion.

An examination of descriptive findings in Table IV depicts that among the celebrity

credibility aspects such as physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise and
product– brand congruency; attitudes towards brands; and purchase intention,
Muslim consumers expressed highly favourable opinions of celebrity expertise
(M ⫽ 3.151, SD ⫽ 0.625), while non-Muslim consumers were highly concerned about
trustworthiness (M ⫽ 3.251, SD ⫽ 0.669). This implies that there are significant
mean differences between Muslim and non-Muslim consumers on celebrity
credibility aspects. Only one canonical discriminant function was used in the
analysis, as two religious groups were investigated, i.e. Muslim and non-Muslim

Muslim consumers Non-Muslim consumers

Factors Mean SD Mean SD

Physical attractiveness 3.146 0.607 3.144 0.606

Trustworthiness 3.125 0.706 3.251 0.669
Expertise 3.151 0.625 3.123 0.641 Table IV.
Product–brand congruency 2.505 0.673 2.497 0.686 Mean values for factors
Attitudes towards brands 2.849 0.687 2.831 0.610 between Muslim and non-
Purchase intention 2.847 0.676 2.829 0.649 Muslim consumers
JIMA consumers, with results of Wilks’ ␭ ⫽ 0.913; ␹2 ⫽ 37.237; df ⫽ 6, p-value ⬍ 0.001,
which was considered significant. Hence, the model was a good fit for the data. The
5,2 religious correlation was 0.318, indicating that the six celebrity credibility aspects
explain 10.1 per cent of the variance in the dependent variable.
The standardized canonical discriminant function coefficients and discriminant
loadings for each of the celebrity credibility aspects, in terms of physical attractiveness,
234 trustworthiness, expertise and product– brand congruency; attitudes towards brands;
and purchase intention, are shown in Table V. The standardized canonical discriminant
function coefficients designate the partial correlation coefficient of each of the celebrity
credibility aspects with the discriminant function. The larger the standardized
canonical discriminant function coefficients, the greater the contribution of the
respective aspects of celebrity credibility to the discrimination between categories of
Muslim and non-Muslim. The discriminant loadings denote the correlations between the
constructs and the discriminant function. Discriminant function loadings are more valid
than religious coefficients in prediction because of their correlational nature (Hair et al.,
2010). Results of the canonical discriminant function coefficients and the discriminant
function loadings indicated that celebrity expertise and attitudes towards brands were
most important for discriminating between Muslim and non-Muslim consumers.
Celebrity expertise had the highest discriminating power and represented the main
contributing factor and the strongest predictor with respect to celebrity credibility
aspects (discriminant loading ⫽ 0.782) in discriminating between Muslim and
non-Muslim consumers. It further noted that the next largest absolute correlation
between each variable and any discriminant function was found in the attitudes towards
brands with discriminant loading ⫽ 0.716, implying ⬎⫾0.30, Hair et al. (2010). These
two variables with large coefficients stand out as those that predict stronger allocation
to the Muslim consumers than the non-Muslim consumers. Overall, the relative
importance of the celebrity credibility aspects from Muslim consumers’ perspectives
was: celebrity expertise, celebrity attitudes towards brands, purchase intention,
product– brand congruency and physical attractiveness, with all factors carrying a
positive value. The remaining factor that is trustworthiness had loadings less than the
cutoff value of 0.30, which is considered a less important variable and less successful as
a predictor of Muslim consumers. The equation for the discriminant function includes:

DF ⫽ 0.050 ⴱ Physical attractiveness ⫺ 1.103 ⴱ Trustworthiness

⫹ 0.465 ⴱ Expertise ⫺ 0.065 ⴱ Product-brand congruency
⫹ 0.438 ⴱ Attitudes toward brands ⫹ 0.277 ⴱ Purchase intention

Factors Standardized canonical coefficients Discriminant loadings

Physical attractiveness 0.050 0.609

Trustworthiness ⫺1.103 ⫺0.758
Expertise 0.465 0.782
Table V. Product–brand congruency ⫺0.065 0.646
Results of discriminant Attitudes towards brands 0.438 0.716
analysis Purchase intention 0.277 0.661
Further examination revealed that the discrimination between Muslim and non-Muslim Celebrity
consumers with respect to celebrity credibility aspects, in terms of physical
attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise and product– brand congruency; attitudes
credibility
towards brands; and purchase intention was successful in classifying 51 per cent of the
original grouped respondents (Table VI), signifying the research findings have obtained
classification accuracy greater than 25 per cent achieved by chance and have
cross-validated the earlier discriminating results as suggested by Hair et al. (2010). 235
Discussion
This study distinguished between Muslim and non-Muslim consumers’ attitudes
towards celebrity influence on brands and purchase intention, and assessed the relative
importance of celebrity credibility aspects, in terms of physical attractiveness,
trustworthiness, expertise and product– brand congruency; attitudes towards brands;
and purchase intention and their ability to predict consumers’ religion. Empirical results
via multiple discriminant analysis revealed that celebrity expertise was the most
important for discriminating between Muslim and non-Muslim consumers with respect
to celebrity credibility aspects. Further investigation of the study found that
trustworthiness is less successful as a predictor of Muslim consumers.
Muslim consumers are found to choose expertise but not trustworthiness where these
two are quite related. The possible explanation for why Muslim consumers are different
from non-Muslims is based on religious perspective where better knowledge and skills
have some influence on Muslim consumers’ views of a brand. Consumers tend to believe
claims about a brand and are willing to purchase the advertised brand when the product
is endorsed by credible celebrities who have relevant knowledge, skills or experience
about the product which could improve brand credibility. Specifically, Muslim
consumers’ faith or trust may be linked to the perception that products and services
endorsed by the celebrities are in line with Shariah principles which are consistent with
Islamic principles. Indeed, all food consumed by Muslims must be halal according to the
teachings of Islam and conform to halal principles. In other words, they have deep
spiritual and behavioural similarities that set them apart. Halal status is used to reduce
risk elements in consumer behaviour (Wilson and Liu, 2011).
The informed opinion of the celebrity giving testimonials about the benefits of using
a product influenced consumer purchasing ability, signifying that Muslim consumers
are convinced and attracted by the product information after viewing the
celebrity-endorsed advertisement. Thus, different levels of knowledge on products
reflect their attitude on a search for information. This finding reiterates previous
research of Bardia et al. (2011), Chan et al. (2013) and Goldsmith et al. (2000). The
effectiveness of the message in the advertisement represented by the celebrity depends
on the effectiveness of the celebrity’s trustworthiness in terms of believability, honesty
and ethics (Belch and Belch, 2001; Chan et al., 2013), as celebrities are an influential
reference group.

Predicted group membership

Religion Muslim consumers Non-Muslim consumers Total

Muslim consumers 84 (55.3 per cent) 68 (44.7 per cent) 152 Table VI.
Non-Muslim consumers 60 (61.2 per cent) 38 (38.8 per cent) 98 Classification results
JIMA Besides that, other factors of significant importance in the classification functions of
consumers’ religion among the 250 respondents are attitudes towards brands and
5,2 purchase intention. A Muslim consumer’s attitude towards a brand is likely to be
positive when he/she is familiar with the celebrity who appears in the advertisements
and is likely to have more faith in the product– brand congruency and purchase
intention. Care should be exercised to ensure that product information which is
236 presented by the credible celebrities is understandable, relevant, clear and trusted to
enable informed consumer decision-making. This result is consistent with the study of
Chan et al. (2013), Chao et al. (2005), Fleck et al. (2012), Goldsmith et al. (2000),
Tantiseneepong et al. (2012) and Thwaites et al. (2012), who found that a consumer who
has a positive perception of the brand will be inclined to develop a greater willingness to
purchase the product and subsequently actively seek out the product in a store.
Additionally, the study further reports that product– brand congruency and physical
attractiveness are the fourth and fifth factors, respectively, able to predict Muslim
consumers. The first implies that product– brand congruency fits the image of the
celebrity endorser in persuading and motivating Muslim consumers to purchase
products. Thus, when the image of the celebrity is congruent with the brand he/she is
endorsing, it is likely to influence consumer attitudes towards the brand, encourage
sales and improve product acceptance. The results are comparable with those of Chan
et al. (2013), Kamins and Gupta (1994), Kotler (1997), Thwaites et al. (2012), Fleck et al.
(2012) and Spry et al. (2011), who stated that a high-level product match would influence
the customers in their brand selection. The second infers that more physically attractive
celebrities were seen to influence Muslim consumers’ attitudes towards the product
brand. When the pictures of the celebrity were shown in the product literature and
advertisements, the Muslim consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intentions were
affected.

Conclusion and recommendations

This research has further consolidated the important roles of celebrity expertise and
attitudes towards brands that distinguish between Muslim and non-Muslim consumers
in celebrity influence on brands and purchase intention, as different groups of people
may have differing perceptions about celebrities and develop widely varying levels of
attitude, trust and affinity towards them. Indeed, the findings of this study point to the
fact that Muslim consumers’ attitudes towards brands and purchase intention are
influenced by advertisements featuring credible celebrities where consumers are highly
susceptible to emotional appeals presented in advertisements.
Overall, the results of this study offer a new forward motion to the findings of prior
studies on consumer perception of celebrity credibility, which is not much covered in the
literature in the Malaysian context between Muslim and non-Muslim consumer
perspectives. This study contributes to a better understanding of these issues in
emerging economies whereby several implications of the research findings are put
forward. The implications of the current study to policymakers and marketing
practitioners are that empirical results could be a useful source of information to the
marketers whose products are for Muslim consumers, where they can adapt their
regulative actions, marketing offers and marketing communications appropriately.
Specifically, the findings are able to add literature on Muslim consumer behaviour in the
use of celebrities, as these celebrities could act as inspirational to the consumers. The
impact of this study upon society in influencing public attitudes and affecting quality of Celebrity
life is positive and it adds considerable strength to the economic environment, as it
educates marketers to pay attention to the importance of religion on marketing and
credibility
consumer behaviours.
Marketing communications practitioners should design marketing messages with
attractive emotional appeals and use credible celebrities who can successfully express
these appeals effectively in the product advertisements to encourage sales and market 237
demand for product purchases. Advertisers should consider not only the product
attributes to be established, but also the broader meanings associated with the endorser
when selecting a celebrity. In their efforts to foster business sustainability and growth,
it is important for marketing communications practitioners to have an in-depth
understanding of the role played by celebrities in terms of their expertise, attitudes
towards brands, purchase intention, product– brand congruency and physical
attractiveness in influencing Muslim and non-Muslim consumers. Multinational
corporations should encourage Muslim consumers towards more Shariah compliance to
better shape this segment. Muslim consumers tend to be more intense information
seekers for product purchases as their levels of information search for the purchase of
food and personal hygiene products vary, depending on their level of trust in
information presented on labels and product packaging endorsed by celebrities.
Next, marketing communications practitioners should also obtain more information
about the demographic and psychographic profiles of consumers to develop a deeper
understanding of the relative importance of celebrity credibility aspects and their ability
to predict the demographic and the psychographic profiles of consumers after having
seen the advertisements involving credible celebrities. It will be equally insightful to
ascertain whether there are similarities and differences with regards to consumer
attitudes towards brands and also purchase intention among a particular demographic
market segment. Moreover, there might be other variables worthy of investigation, such
as cultural background, prestige and product prices. Finally, this study could also be
replicated in other countries with larger sample sizes, and the results could be used for
comparative purposes and to overcome the limits of generalizability in sample coverage.

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About the author

Norazah Mohd Suki is an Associate Professor at the Labuan School of International Business and
Finance, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Labuan International Campus. She has successfully
supervised several postgraduate students at MBA and PhD level. Her research interests include
electronic marketing, E-commerce, M-commerce, consumer behaviour, mobile learning and areas
related to marketing. She actively publishes articles in international journals. She is the
editor-in-chief to Labuan e-Journal of Muamalat & Society, a member in advisory board for several
outstanding journals. She has sound experiences as speaker to public and private universities and
in government bodies on courses related to structural equation modelling, Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) and research methodology. Norazah Mohd Suki can be contacted at:
azahsuki@yahoo.com

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