Journal of Islamic Marketing

Islamic marketing: bridging the gap between research and practice

Md Shamim Hossain, Sofri Bin Yahya, Shaian Kiumarsi,
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Islamic
Islamic marketing: bridging the marketing
gap between research and practice
Md Shamim Hossain
Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Malaysia, and
Management Studies Department, Faculty of Business Studies,
University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Received 24 September 2017
Sofri Bin Yahya Revised 7 May 2018
Accepted 21 May 2018
Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Malaysia, and
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Shaian Kiumarsi
Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the link between research and practice within the context
of Islamic marketing (IM), an issue which is controversial in the literature. It offers reasonable answers that
bridge the gap between research and practice, as well as the way to mitigate it.
Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a critical approach to analytically review the
literature on IM, and relates it to research and practice.
Findings – The study finds that the advancement of knowledge on IM necessitates research and practice.
There is a gap between research and practice which evolved from decades of objectivity between researchers
and practitioners in the field of IM. It is necessary to search for some practicable solutions that can narrow the
gap between theory and practice.
Research limitations/implications – The basic limitation of this study is that IM has not yet emerged
as a distinct discipline. Hence, there is limited study on IM issues in the context of research and practice.
Originality/value – This study makes essential contributions to the chastisement by research and
practice, a theoretically new field of IM subject.
Keywords Research, Islamic marketing, Gap, Practices
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
The literature has acknowledged and extensively discussed the gap that exists between
research and practice in Islamic marketing (IM) (Al-nashmi and Almamary, 2017; Sandıkcı,
2011; Wilson, 2012; Wilson, Grant, and Wilson, 2013). The field of IM started because of the
convergence of Islamic law and ethics, Halal principles and equity and justice, as well as
customer services and loyalty. These have been enhanced by the remarkable effect of some
procedures that create communication, and provide value for Muslim and non-Muslim
customers (Al-Nashmi and Almamary, 2017; Ahmad, 2018). As a new trend in Muslim
markets, IM provides several opportunities, and it is considered as the basis of value
maximization for Muslim businesses, and the societies governed by Quran and Sunnah
(Abu Daabes, 2018). Hence, Wilson (2014a, 2014b) argued that Muslim economics represents

Journal of Islamic Marketing

The authors wish to acknowledge the anonymous editor and reviewers for their detailed and helpful © Emerald Publishing Limited
1759-0833
comments to the manuscript. DOI 10.1108/JIMA-09-2017-0100
 JIMA a bottom-up technique which seeks to make Islamic system via the totality of Muslim
economies stimulating under the umbrella of “Brand Islam”. According to the Quran, IM is
established on two simple requirements, namely, physiological needs and the need of safety
(Quran, 20:118-119; 17:29), which alleviate the demand of customer.
Presently, IM is the commonly taught subject matter in Muslim and non-Muslim
consumer behaviour globally as a complete pledge research and practice archetype (Wilson
et al., 2013). In fact, IM focuses on the present marketing thoughts and practices that exist
within the entire arrangement of Islam, which examine the way Muslim markets’ behaviour
is formed by different religious and cultural conceptions, thereby influencing virtually every
economic decision in these markets (Al-Nashmi and Almamary, 2017). A large number of
conferences and journals have provided platforms to IM to thrive as a field of research
(Choudhury, 2010; Iqbal, Ali, and Muljawan, 2007). As a field of study, IM signifies a
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fundamental platform in the non-traditional rising level of business marketing blocks, for
the teaching of marketing Islam, historical Muslim marketing practices and new “Islamic”
schools of thought. While stressing the importance of the difference between theory and
practice, Kadirov, (2014) highlighted numerous papers that provided generalist Qur’anic
quotes and a hadith (sayings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad). For instance, Riaz
and Mary (2016) posited that the inconsistency between research and practice remained a
crucial issue that had received attention in IM in the past decade.
Apart from the theoretical underpinning, the moralistic facet of IM remains new, and
mirrors an emerging phenomenon that extends beyond the Muslim world. Based on their
professions, researchers and scholars are traditionally concerned about the informative
power of theory, as well as its significance to IM (Adnan, 1996; Kadirov, 2014; Tieman and
Ghazali, 2014). In essence, one key benefit of IM is the instructional implication of
marketing. As a new Islamist social movements, IM addresses the conceptual development
(Kadirov, 2014; Sandıkcı, 2011; J. Wilson, 2012a), as well as marketing of Islamic brands
(Al-nashmi and Almamary, 2017). Thus, many IM researchers have persistently attempted
to create a link between IM and Islamic paradigm (Åström, 2013), as well as optimize the
fulfilment of hasanah (excellence) for all (Kadirov, 2014; Wilson, 2012). Nonetheless, this
study indicates that modern marketing system is a mere concept that hardly practices the
philosophies of IM. Hence, a gap exists between the research and practice (Al-nashmi and
Almamary, 2017; Emari, 2015; Jafari, 2012). Furthermore, Jafari (2012) posited that
consumers consider research as irrelevant, unsupportive and abstract. Despite IM practice
and thought, vulnerable Muslim consumers and Islamic community have their perceptions
about marketing and societal justice.
Since the past two decades, IM represents a field of research and practice in Muslim and
non-Muslim consumer behaviour acquisition and learning which deal with theories of IM
acquisition–consumer behaviour, as well as their implications for marketing. Nevertheless,
it appears that the “gap” between research and practice constitutes a fundamental issue
worthy of investigation with a view to reducing it to its minimum. Hence, this study
attempts to address the following fundamental questions: What is the gap between research
and practice in the field of IM? How did the gap between IM theory or research and practice in
marketing evolved over the years? What are the measures that are capable of reducing the
gap?
The structure of this study is as follows: Section 2 explains the methodology of the
study, whereas Sections 3 contains the literature review, findings and discussion.
Section 4 presents the proposed framework of the study, whereas Sections 5 concludes
the study.
 2. Methodology of the study Islamic
The methodology used in the study is based on the objectives of the study. Previous study marketing
used critical review approach to review widespread literature on the effect of promotion in
IM in relation to research and practice. According to Wilson, (2012), secondary data analysis
broadly refers to analysis of data collected by someone else. Due to its growing popularity,
secondary data analysis has been used by numerous studies to examine IM issues and other
variables in marketing (Jafari, 2012; Riaz and Mary, 2016; J. Wilson, 2012; Zakaria and
Abdul-Talib, 2011). Basically, the scope and quality of the studies surveyed determine the
conduct of a critical literature review. Hence, it may be necessary for critical reviewers to
modify their creative review protocol during the conduct of literature review (Arham, 2010;
Ateeq-ur-Rehman, 2010; Wilson, Grant, and Wilson, 2013). To provide answers to the
questions raised in this current research, a widespread quantity of literature was critically
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reviewed and explained. Particularly, the search conducted on SCOPUS revealed 20 relevant
studies, whereas Google Scholar search revealed 21 relevant studies. In addition, searches
were conducted for peer-reviewed articles in EMERALD, ERIC (EBSCO or CSA), Tylor and
Francis, Elsevier and Social Sciences Full Text (SSFT) of various years with a view to
finding studies that are related to the topic and keywords. The study acknowledges all the
data collected from diverse secondary sources.

3. Discussion on the literature, findings and gap

3.1 The gap between research and practice
In applied or practice-oriented fields, the debate on the gap between theory and practice is
not new, especially in the areas of IM or ethnocentric marketing, Islamic business, Muslim
consumer-targeted marketing, Shariah compliance marketing, etc. (Gibbs, 2012; Hussnain,
2011; Wilson, 2012a). Thus, gaps exist between theory and practice in most applied fields
because not all theories can be used in practice, and/or because researches have not been
able to model our daily practice. As gap exists between research and practice in the field of
IM, should it really be a concern? Evidence from the literature addresses this question in two
ways:
(1) It is suggested that IM should make vital contribution to marketing system, as it
relates to real-world problem-solving, in which Islamization occupies a crucial role
(Choudhury, 2010; Wilson et al., 2013).
(2) Some aspects of applied IM research and the degree to which the other parts of the
research have affected marketing system remain a question that needs answer
(Koku and Savas, 2014; Noor and Omar, 2015; Riaz and Mary, 2016).

Researchers have often assumed a potential problem regarding the application of IM theory
in practice. In the initial era of IM, the application of its research for Islamic promotion was a
critical issue to scholars. Sandıkcı (2011) and Wilson et al., (2013) opined that Islamic
economics intentionally decided to distinguish the consumption practices and values of
Islam from the consumer culture of non-Muslim by regarding the latter as excessive,
wasteful and the origin of several societal problems. However, another sociological
investigation conducted in the 2010s reported a similar incompatible viewpoint of Islam and
capitalism, and Muslim consumer, albeit highlighted different set of reasons. Moreover,
Jonathan A.J. Wilson in 2012 conveyed his observation on the link between research and
practice when he flipped the coin of “Islamic faith”. Nonetheless, Sandıkcı and Ger (2014)
repudiated the contradiction regarding the gap between research and practice when they
posited that research and practice are distinct entities, and the core dissimilarities between
the researchers and marketing officers should be considered in terms of the knowledge
 JIMA which they practice. They distinguished between the two when they declared that
researchers’ knowledge entails the explicit and technical knowledge of specific cases,
whereas marketers or market practitioners’ knowledge involve the practical and implicit
knowledge of particular cases.

3.2 Fairness of Islamic Marketing research and practice

This section discusses the reasons for the gap. IM began with some market practitioners
who sought to gain insights into the way IM consumers procure products and services
(Jafari, 2012; Tieman and Ghazali, 2014). At the beginning, there was no gap because they
used things related to practice for conducting the research. However, Jafari and Tieman and
Ghazali added that with the passage of time, distinct path emerged between the researchers
and IM marketers. Thus, the researchers later focused on IM testing in the laboratory
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environment, with very less attention given to the influence of market-based instruction on
IM. This could be the reason behind the emergence of such gap. Hence, this dichotomy is the
consequence of the protracted divergent practice in IM discipline as a field of research and
practice. Therefore, researchers have conducted studies and continue to carry out research
regarding the rationale for the existence of such division (Riaz and Mary, 2016; Saber et al.
2015; Wilson, 2012). To buttress the discussion, it is necessary to highlight the following
four hypotheses formulated by several scholars:

H1. The research remains insufficiently convincing or authoritative, as the quality of

marketing technique was not directly obtained from Islamic faith; hence, no
unequivocal or authoritative outcomes to market practitioners (J. Wilson, 2012).

H2. The research is irrelevant to practice. It is not adequately practicable; it neither

focus on the questions of market practitioners nor does it satisfactorily recognize
their constraints (Koku and Savas, 2014).

H3. Research ideas are inaccessible to market practitioners. The research findings are
not stated in easily comprehensible ways to practitioners (Riaz and Mary, 2016).

H4. As a school of thought, IM system has a moral compass that makes it difficult to
engage in systematic change, as it inclines towards Islamic ethical norms and
values (Rehman and Shahbaz Shabbir, 2010).
These brief hypotheses are the effective immediate reasons for the emergence of the gap
between theory and practice (Wilson, 2012b). These reasons originated from the problem
surface, and have been distinctly deliberated in the literature. For better insights into the
problem, the reasons are further explained in segments.
3.2.1 Research is not related to practice. Research unrelated to practice is plausibly the
foremost and fundamental reason for the existence of gap between IM research and practice.
In fact, market practitioners are generally unenthusiastic about research because of its
inconclusive nature and lack of practical outcomes (Emari, 2015; Loo, 2010; Wilson et al.
2013). Hence, Wilson (2012) posited that because IM is relatively new, the research seems
more theoretical than practical, thereby making such research to scarcely contribute to the
Muslim world and beyond, particularly in the areas of modifying promotional systems,
consumer perception, market practitioners, learning in the marketing situation, etc.
Moreover, another challenging issue regarding the piloted research in IM discipline is
 (Hassan, Chachi, and Latiff, 2008) that most of them are conducted as a general marketing Islamic
research (Ali et al. 2015; Zakaria and Abdul-Talib, 2011), which is useable to majority of the marketing
contexts. But market practitioners are only interested, and will focus on those things that
will enhance their marketing. Kadirov (2014) also opined that most of the researches
conducted in IM are not directly connected to Islamic faith; hence, these studies have very
little implication in Islamic contexts.
3.2.2 Intricate nature of research paper. Research paper is a complex system because
several aspects are interrelated, for instance, Islamic values and principles about Muslim
consumers and communities (Hossain and Yahya, 2017), Muslim Ummah, Islamic
philosophy, style, etc. Hence, the excessively stringent technicality, formality and ambiguity
inherent in the research process and paper also contribute to the difficulty of reading and
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implementing it (Al-nashmi and Almamary, 2017; Emari, 2015; Wilson, 2012). Therefore, the
intricate nature of research paper is a vital factor that causes gap between the research and
practice. One of such example is proposed theoretical contrast. It will be challenging to
choose between the top-down process (theory-then-practicing) and the bottom-up process
(practices-then- closedtheory) empirical outcome to establish existence (Hussnain, 2011;
Jafari, 2012). For instance, a structural researcher is most likely to consider the bottom-up
process, whereas the generative marketing system is likely to consider the top-down process
for research.
According to Jafari (2012), theoretical consideration represents a perspective
criterion which distinguishes one research from conceptual paper, research paper and
case study. The research method used by researchers could vary between positivism
and interpretivism, because of their distinctive nature. In essence, a market practitioner
could have better understanding, and comfortably apply a particular marketing
technique, while ignorant of other techniques. Therefore, market practitioners have to
be selective based on their knowledge and understanding. Alserhan (1999) and Wilson
(2012) also highlighted other things which hinder the application of research in IM
system such as the simplicity, scope and fruitfulness of the research, as well as the
coherence and testability/validity of theories. Thus, the kind or nature of research
paper remains a vital issue to consider, as numerous scholars and market practitioners
usually encounter ambiguity in understanding and marketing.
3.2.3 Cross professional practice. Market practitioners are scarcely involved in research,
and the research arena hardly welcomes practitioners to the field. Hence, there has often
been a gap between researcher and practitioners. A large number of researchers who are not
conversant with the marketing setting are often bewildered by the negative reactions they
experience from market practitioners in terms of research. The typical assumption is that
market practitioners are basically unintelligent, narrow-minded, inflexible or reluctant to
attempt anything which could dare their prevailing practices (Åström, 2013; Wilson et al.
2013). In fact, it is cumbersome to approach a market practitioner to become researcher
(Cader, 2015; Sandıkcı, 2011). Hence, all the research papers published in famous journals in
IM discipline are mostly written by university scholars thereby reducing the chance of a
market practitioner to become a researcher (Ali et al. 2015; Bahar Teimourpour and Hanzaee,
2014; J. Wilson, 2012a). Besides the above-mentioned problems which are responsible for the
gap between research and practice, other key issues that have aggravated the situation include
busy schedule of market practitioners, freedom of research application in the consumer
behaviour, marketing specialization of practitioners, etc. (Åström, 2013; Bhattacharya, 1997;
Haniffa and Hudaib, 2007).
 JIMA 3.3 Linking the gap
This section discusses the way to blend research and practice. Numerous experts have
stated diverse views on the way to unite research and practice with a view to lessening the
gap between researchers and practitioners. However, researchers and practitioners need to
embark on some pragmatic practices in order to merge research and practice together.
3.3.1 Role of IM researcher. One of the foremost ways in which researchers and market
practitioners can bridge the gap between research and practice is to begin to consider
research via the eyes of others who work in a different setting (Zakaria and Abdul-Talib,
2011). Most times, market practitioners usually believe that the daily problems they face in
their market places are not worthy of research. Conversely, researchers often concentrate on
creating research questions for their studies without considering customers or stakeholders’
prospective. Rather than making both practices secluded, researchers and market
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practitioners should act otherwise. In essence, market practitioners should examine and
share their experiences or issues about their daily market places, while researchers also need
to concentrate on the issues which have direct influence on customers or stakeholders. In
other words, the research worthy of investigation should be related to, and closely piloted in
market places and practice.
3.3.2 Role of Islamic marketing market practitioners. Most researchers are inclined or
motivated to conduct research activities because of scholarly accreditation, promotion
purposes or for journals publications. Undoubtedly, these represent the essential elements
for researchers to advance their professional careers. But, studies should go beyond just
getting published in journals or enhancing researchers’ professional career. Hence, it
behoves on the researchers to share their research findings with market practitioners, with a
view to making the research finding accessible to them. But the question is: How can
researchers share and make their research findings accessible to market practitioners?
Wilson (2012) and Wilson Grant and Wilson (2013) responded to this issue when they
suggested that researchers should prepare the summary, as well as narrate stories that are
related to IM research finding. This should be done in a manner which is comprehensible to
market practitioners. Wilson et al., (2012, 2013) emphasized that telling a story represents an
effective way of making research findings available to market practitioners. This is because
narrative discourse enables practitioners to easily make sense out of research works (Riaz
and Mary, 2016). Now, researchers possess sufficient avenues to share their research
findings on diverse platforms such as personal, newspapers, magazines and blog platforms.
Thus, this study critically elucidate that researchers could regularly make market
practitioners as their acquaintances in order to orally discuss research finding with them.
Rather than being a formal meeting or seminar, an informal meeting could represent an
effective avenue conveying research finding to market practitioners (Wilson, 2012). Hence,
research findings can be transmitted to market practitioners via discussion among scholars.
The discussion of research finding could help them to relate their experiences, as researchers
from universities could also be market practitioners too or know other market practitioners.
For example, during my business marketing program, I had the opportunity to interact with
several practitioners from diverse IM training centres and market places. We often discuss
our research findings with each other, and remarkably could connect the research findings
to our marketing experiences.
Furthermore, unlike academic journal, it seems that newspapers and magazines have
greater popularity among market practitioners and common masses. This is because people
read newspapers or magazines almost on daily basis; hence, research findings could be
presented as article or editorial with a view to making it accessible to market practitioners.
Besides, this is capable of increasing the significance and consciousness of IM in the
 community. In addition, technological advancement, especially the internet, has created Islamic
opportunities to share research findings through many virtual sites such as personal blog sites marketing
including Word press (http://wordpress.com/), and social platforms like Facebook (www.
facebook.com) and tweeter (http://twitter.com/). Other educational, professional and research
sharing platforms such as LinkedIn (http://linkedincom/), Slide Share (www.slideshare.net),
ACADEMIA (www.academia.edu/) and Research Gate (www.researchgate.net/) provide
avenues for sharing research findings with research community and market practitioners.
These sites are easily accessible to scholars and practitioners so as to find recent research
developments with a view to relating the findings to practice. This arrangement will certainly
create a strong network of researchers and practitioners for the purpose of reducing the gap
between research and practice.
3.3.3 Role of Islamic teachings. The crucial role of Islamic teachings in linking research
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with practice cannot be overemphasized. Alserhan (1999) posited that Islamic teaching is
considered as the mechanism of communication between research and practice. This is
because Islamic teachings are capable of raising the consciousness of market practitioners to
conduct research concerning their market and consumer behaviours. In Islamic teachings,
bribery is regarded as a type of corruption, and it is vehemently condemned. The
stakeholders in bribery activity such as the givers, takers and facilitators are sternly warned
to desist from engaging in such practice. According to Allah (S.W.T), “curse be upon those
who give, and those who take bribes” (Prophet Mohammad). In fact, Islamic ethics based on
Qur’anic commandments are the foundations of Islamic teachings; hence, marketing
executives cannot subject them to ambiguous interpretation to suit their individual desires
and whims Arham (2010). It is strictly forbidden in Islamic teachings to acquire wealth or
property via fraud, theft, deceit or other falsehoods. Hence, marketers who are involved in
fraud are considered to have committed sin (Al-Quran 2:275).
According to Riaz and Mary (2016), IM ethics literature adopts sethical ideals which
typically reflect the marketing practices of Islamic organizations. Thus, Saeed et al. (2001)
presented the IM ethics technique based on Islamic teaching. Hassan et al. (2008) and Saeed
et al. (2001) conducted qualitative studies in which they recommended a framework for the
analysis of marketing practices. They reported that IM represents the principle of value
maximization which is based on equity and justice for the purpose of enhancing consumer’s
broader well-being. As a market practitioners in IM setting, it is expected that practitioners
should possess idea regarding consumers perception, including business ethics, religious
belief, Islamic and non-Islamic culture and Islamic law and Shariah (Alserhan, 1999; Saeed
et al. 2001). Hence, the Quran, states “Let there arise of you, a group of people inviting to all
that is good (Islam), enjoining Al-Ma’ruf and forbidding Al-Munkar, and it is they who are
successful [. . .] (Aˆ l-Imran 3:104)”. A study by Abdullah and Ahmad (2010) opined that
Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) declared “I have been sent only for perfecting good morals”.
When asked “Which Muslim has the perfect faith?” The Prophet (pbuh) answered: “He who
has the best moral character” (Abdullah and Ahmad, 2010; Ali Shafiq, Ahasanul Haque,
Kalthom Abdullah, 2015).
Nevertheless, IM is knowledge with a complete and distinct form in general marketing.
In fact, the best application of IM knowledge is capable of reducing the gap between
research and practice if it chooses and uses the contents of research concerning marketing
adaptation behaviour, that are linked to market place or IM implications. Wilson (2012)
suggested seven principles which are necessary for planning IM subject, and the questions
mainly concern the “what” and “how” question between IM research and practice. In
essence, “what” implies the topics connected to market practitioners, while the “how”
indicates the link between IM research’s technical knowledge and the practical context.
 JIMA Nevertheless, the choice of consumer behaviour and market place associated research in IM
subject is capable of establishing a common ground where prospective market practitioners
could comprehend technical facets of consumer perception and market setting, which were
researched, and could be applied by them.
3.3.4 Role of government. Globally, IM constitutes a fundamental issue in both Muslim
and non-Muslim consumers (Jafari, 2012; J. Wilson, 2012a). Thus, government and
marketing institutions offer religious, ethnical and cultural principles to market
practitioners in order for them to improve their skills of marketing as market promoters
(Abdullah and Ahmad, 2010; Kadirov, 2014). Moreover, Guliz (2013) and London and
Hart (2004) posited that there is a mutual benefits between IM and capitalism which is
regulated by the government. Apart from Muslim countries, IM and Islamic capitalism
have also emerged in America, Japan and Europe, albeit its functions vary in different
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countries, and with diverse governmental and institutional rules and regulations (Guliz,
2013; Sandıkcı and Ger, 2014). Because of the global movements of expatriates and
immigrants even within governmental organizations, IM thrives worldwide, aided by
transnational linkages. Hasan (2008) pointed out that within an IM system, the role of
government can be considered in terms of the performance of marketing, provision for
public goods and market environmental care.
However, it will be productive to have a widespread research workshop concerning
latest findings or developments in marketing activities which are supported and funded
by individual marketing institution or government. For instance, the rudimentary
guidelines contained in the Quran and the Sunnah concerning the ways to perform
business marketing and promotional practices were used in Malaysia in 2010 (Abdullah
and Ahmad, 2010). Another example is Turkey (Guliz, 2013; Keyman, 2007), where it has
become a dominant business commercial player, and seems to encourage a morally
loaded financial modernization which is established on a mixture of IM, free market and
religious values. In fact, a network of business corporations utilizes Islam as a foundation
for partnership and cohesion between local and international manufacturers, as well as a
mechanism for local and global competition. The influence of the Turkey Government is
considered very inspiring. Hence, the access of market practitioners to research is
essential for policy formulations. Therefore, government of other Muslim and non-
Muslim countries, as well as individual institution, can initiate such IM, free market and
religious values, even in a small scale for market practitioners.

4. A proposed framework
This section proposes a framework that links all identical stakeholders together. The
involvement of all stakeholders (such as consumers, researchers, market practitioners
and government/institutions) is necessary for research to effective work in marketing,
particularly in IM. From earlier discussion, a framework of collaboration was established
with roles explicitly specified accordingly. If there is absence of collaboration of
stakeholders, complete realization of IM research into marketing practices could be
impossible (Figure 1).

5. Conclusion
This study seeks to determine the rationale behind the gap between IM research and
practice which had evolved over the years, and to proffer some practical solutions with a
view to reducing the gap. IM “ambassadors” (market practitioners) need to classify the areas
where research approaches, methods and practices can fill gaps (Wilson, 2012a) and provide
unique and convincing ways to accomplish better marketing. In conclusion, without an
 Role of IM Researcher
i. Research based on context.
ii. Research should be relevant to IM
practitioners work.
iii. Publish and make result available
to IM practitioners.
Role of Islamic teaching Islamic
i. Import research findings that have
contextual and critical relevance in the marketing
market place.
ii. Export the research findings to IM
practitioners so that they can relate and
implement the findings in the market
place.

Role of IM market practitioners Role of Government Figure 1.

i. Implication of relevant and i. Arrange free market and religious
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contextual ideas about consumer. values IM practitioners with the latest

A framework that
ii. Involving themselves in the market research in the field. combines different
or marketing activities in order to ii. Encourage and give full freedom to stakeholders of
contribute to the advancement of the market practitioners to engage
themselves in marketing.
research and
field.
practice together

inter-communal link between researchers and practitioners as well as feeling the desire of
both research and practice, bridging the broken link will be impossible. Therefore, bridging
theory and practice is important so that learning could be considered as a subject that
should be created, rather than as a created IM subject (Åström, 2013). The solutions
highlighted above will to some extent work effectively to make the situation better.

6. Limitation and future research

The extant literature provides only theoretical discourse on the gap between research and
practice, but this current study attempts to provide practical solutions to the prevailing gap
between research and practice with a view to bringing researchers and market practitioners
together. However, the use of secondary data in this current study implies that the research
results cannot be generalized to all the constructs in the hypothesized framework of
bridging gap between research and practice. Consequently, it is suggested that future
studies should empirically test the propositions that link research and practice. So, empirical
evidence which could be attained using the current framework could contribute to the
developing literature on IM. Finally, future research should consider the projected
framework of the study from different role of stakeholders on IM performance to take an
extensive view of the findings.

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 JIMA About the authors
Md Shamim Hossain is Assistant Professor of Management Studies Department Faculty of Business
Studies University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. He is doing PhD research at Graduate School of Business
in Universiti Sains Malaysia. His current research focuses on the community development from
Islamic banking. He is President, Prosfutito Natore Bangladesh (PNB), Assessor for Bangladesh
Television (BTV) School Debate Programmes. He is interested in community development (CD)
activity that aims at economic and social value creation, both in the context of established and newly
created organizations. Md Shamim Hossainis the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
shamim.pnru@gmail.com
Sofri Bin Yahya is former Dean and Associate Professor of Accounting and Strategy of Graduate
School of Business in Universiti Sains Malaysia. He is currently Director of Islamic Centre Universiti
Sains Malaysia. He earned his PhD in accounting from Southampton. He is Vice President, Asian
Academy of Management, Senior Assessor for Accounting and Doctoral Programmes, Malaysian
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Qualification Agency (MQA) Certified Coach (Professional/Life) (Malaysian Association of Certified

Coaches, MACC). His research interests include research and consulting in accounting, innovation,
strategic leadership and Islamic financing/banking.
Dr Shaian Kiumarsi is currently a Teaching Fellow at the Graduate School of Business, Universiti
Sains Malaysia, where he recently earned his PhD. His bachelor degree is in computer software
engineering and master degree in business administration with specialty in service science,
management and engineering. He is interested in business IT, service innovation, marketing, and
tourism. His current research focus is on innovation–business information technology. He has several
journal articles and conference presentations to his record. He has eight years of educational
experience, as well as sufficient work experience.

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