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Islamic
Shariah board, web-based financial
information and branding of institutions

Islamic financial institutions

Ishfaq Ahmed 717
Hailey College of Commerce, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Received 24 January 2020
Ahmad Usman Revised 2 March 2020
18 September 2020
Institute of Administrative Sciences, 13 October 2020
University of the Punjab Quaid-i-Azam Campus, Lahore, Pakistan Accepted 14 October 2020

Waqas Farooq
Hailey College of Banking and Finance,
University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, and
Muhammad Usman
Hailey College of Commerce, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract
Purpose – With the advent of technology and internet banking, the role and value of bank’s websites have
increased. Additionally, the Islamic banking boom has also increased the role of Shariah-based banking in the
market. But neither web-based information nor Shariah board members have been investigated for their
possible effects on the branding of Islamic banks. Against this backdrop, this study aims to explore web-
based information and Shariah board as a source of branding of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs).
Design/methodology/approach – An interpretivism-based thematic inquiry is carried out through
semi-structured interviews of 22 customers of Islamic banks.
Findings – The findings of the study highlighted the fact that customers’ perceived web-based information
is in line with the Shariah objectives but showed low level of trust on that information. They assumed that the
practices are not consistent with this information. Moreover, the Shariah board members were considered as
brand ambassadors, and customers valued board members more than the Shariah board and Islamic bank
itself. Findings further highlight the more knowledge customers have about the Shariah board members
(experience, qualification, achievements, etc.) the greater is the impact on the branding of the IFIs.
Originality/value – This study offers a novel perspective by considering the value of web-based
information and Shariah board on branding of Islamic banks. As there is no such study available in literature,
up to the best of researchers’ knowledge, the qualitative inquiry may suffice the study objectives and research
questions.
Keywords Brand ambassador, Branding, Islamic banks, Islamic financial services marketing,
Islamic Marketing, Islamic Markets, Pakistan, The Muslim consumer, Shariah board,
Website information
Paper type Research paper

1. Study rationale Journal of Islamic Marketing

Islamic financial institutions (henceforth, IFIs), across the globe, have seen enormous Vol. 13 No. 3, 2022
pp. 717-739
growth since inception, making it a globally competitive financial market (Dusuki, 2008; © Emerald Publishing Limited
1759-0833
Iqbal and Molyneus, 2005). The global recognition of the Islamic financial system could be DOI 10.1108/JIMA-01-2020-0027
JIMA witnessed from the fact that Islamic products and services are accepted irrespective of the
13,3 religion (Abd Aziz, 2018). Islamic financial market across the globe has reached net assets
worth $2.4 trillion with double-digit growth since its inception. It is also expected that the
market will grow to $3.8 trillion by the end of 2023 with an average growth rate of 10% per
annum (Islamic Finance Development Report, 2018). Its signified role is ensured further
when the institutions like World Bank have also established Islamic finance centers (“Global
718 Islamic Finance Magazine”, 2015). The augmented growth of IFIs is not only attributed to
the products based on the religious teachings but the purpose of existence (Niyat) and
operations (Ammal), which are two important considerations for an IFI (Ahmed, 2016).
These considerations are not only focused on the organizational members but societal
members and all stakeholders are valued in Islamic business theology (Ismail, 2002), and
along with commercial objectives welfare of all the stakeholders is also given equal
consideration (Ahmed et al., 2017; Dusuki, 2008; Lewis and Algaud, 2001). The consideration
for stakeholders is highlighted in the basic teaching of religion. For instance, Maqasid al-
Shari’ah (objectives of Shari’ah) are designed and aimed at promoting benefits/welfare and
forbid harms. Imam Ghazali has divided these objectives into two categories namely: deeni
(aimed at the purpose of achievement of deen/religion) and dunyawi (aimed at worldly
purpose). These objectives are divided into five categories mentioned in Figure 1.
These five objectives are collectively represented as social Masalah (social responsibility
of business). Cebeci (2012) while investigating the social Masalah at IFIs commented that
failure is observed from this perspective, as individual Maslah is often seen overreaching the
social perspectives. Moreover, IFIs are not only supposed to offer shariah-compliant
products but the social aspect (often ignored) is also an important consideration for an
Islamic business organization.
Now a business organization being a social member has to take care of these objectives,
as an individual is supposed to do. A business organization, therefore, is assumed to cater to
these objectives aimed at fulfilling the requirements of all the stakeholders, namely:
customers, employees, competitors, environment, public, suppliers, distributors and even
competitors (Ahmed, 2016). Attainment of these objectives is often considered valuable for
an IFI and is often reflected as the purpose of social justice (Iqbal and Llewellyn, 2002).
While thinking these objectives in practice, two schools of thoughts have emerged in
literature; the first school of thought considers fostering social welfare is the prime objective
of one (business entity) and profit-making is secondary objective (Dusuki, 2008; Ahmed,
2016; Ahmed et al., 2019). Another school of thought, on the other hand, believes that social
consideration is the responsibility of state and business entities can increase profits through
fair means (El-Gamal, 2006; Ismail, 2002; Lewis and Algaud, 2001; Satkunasegaran, 2003).

Preservaon
of Din

Preservaon Preservaon
of Wealth of Life

Figure 1.
Maqasid al-Shari’ah
(objectives of Preservaon Preservaon
Shari’ah) of Intellect of Family
But literature mentioning the real alignment of objectives and practices is scare and often it Islamic
is found that IFIs are not good at following those practices (Kamla and Rammal, 2013). San- financial
Jose and Cuesta (2019) found that all Islamic Banks (IBs) are not good at practicing and
disclosing their practices and many banks are often found to be at par with conventional
institutions
banks for ethical conduct. Ullah (2014) also reported that IBs are not good at their Shariah
compliance and often size and bank characteristics influence the level of compliance. He
further reported that lack of knowledge, sincerity, no attention to audit, lack of Shariah
research and Shariah board skills influence the overall compliance of Islamic banks. Along 719
with these challenges, studies highlight the fact that stakeholders are not given due value
(Ahmed et al., 2019). Gilani (2015) further commented that stakeholders should be
considered as taking care of them is the primary objective of any institution that is based on
Shariah laws.

1.1 Web-based documents and information as marketing tools

Among the various stakeholders, customers are valued the most; for instance,
Kamarulzaman and Madun (2013) commented that the success of IFIs is largely dependent
upon the customers. The value of customers for an IFI is valued in past studies as well like it
is important to have a high level of satisfied customers (Saqib et al., 2016), as the more they
are satisfied the more they intend to have transactions and recommend others. It is also
found that organizations should put attention on customers, as they may create more
customers through positive feedback and word of mouth of IFIs (Mahadin and Akroush,
2019; Sumaedi et al., 2015). Similarly, Suhartanto et al. (2019) highlighted the need for loyal
customers and commented that attachment at an emotional level should be created by the
banks so customers become loyal with Islamic banks. While highlighting the functions of
emotions, Lin et al. (2006) commented that positive emotions further enhance information
sharing among people. So it could be assumed that customers with positive emotions about
the bank and its products will have positive talk about the bank. But Ahmad et al. (2011)
highlighted that customers have limited knowledge about the difference of products of IFIs;
thus, they may tend to have a low level of loyalty and commitment with Islamic banks and
its products.
Knowledge of customers is an important factor, as Altaf et al. (2017) reported that
awareness about brand influences customers’ perceptions about the brand. Thaker et al.
(2018) also investigated the role of awareness in public relations of Islamic banks and
noticed that it’s imperative to have good awareness sessions, as the relationship perceived
by customers is a function of such programs. Ahmed et al. (2019) found that there lies a huge
gap between what the IFIs are doing in Pakistan and what is known by the customers. It is,
therefore, they noticed that customers, employees and other stakeholders (e.g. customers of
conventional banks, employees of conventional banks) of IFIs are not aware of the
objectives, products and services and often perceive it’s similar to conventional banks. Such
an overarching gap was highlighted by other studies as well. For example, Ahmed (2016),
while investigating the dynamics of IFIs market in Pakistan reported that customers and
employees are not given the deserved attention from the Islamic banks, and they are often
unaware of the products and its permissibility. He also highlighted that IFIs need to invest
in the marketing of their purpose of existence, products and services and their profits as all
these factors are areas of inquiries and autopsies. Kamarulzaman and Madun (2013), in the
Malaysian context, also found that the marketing aspect of IFIs is weak and needs
immediate attention. Naser and Moutinho (1997), on the other hand, commented that as the
IFIs deem to operate on innovative and Shariah-based products, the role of marketing
increases, as it is an only a useful tool to communicate information about new products and
JIMA its permissibility. They also noticed that information sharing to customers need the
13,3 attention of policymakers, and there should be a proper mechanism of information sharing
to all stakeholders. Information is important, as it creates knowledge about product and
brand, while Nora (2019) commented that knowledge further influences customers’ revisit/
repurchase decisions.
A profound look at sources of information dissemination highlights that marketing is
720 considered as an effective medium. But literature proves that marketing of Islamic financial
products is not effective, as most customers are found to be either unaware or with limited
knowledge about Shariah-compliant products and its mechanism (Rahim, 2016). Leger et al.
(2014) valued the role of information in emotional responses and found that there is a strong
link between them. Lin et al. (2006) clinched that information and emotions link can be
acknowledged by the fact that humans share information that influence their and others’
emotions positively. Thus, the information is an important source of creating an emotional
link with the products and services of a firm. It is, therefore, believed that marketing (a
source of sharing information about products/services and the firm) is also a viable source of
information sharing.
While looking at the other ways of sharing information to customers, website of the IFIs
is considered an important tool (Kamarulzaman and Madun, 2013). Past studies have
evaluated websites for its contents (e.g. corporate documents: mission statements; Ahmed
et al., 2019; Ahmed, 2016; Ahmed et al., 2013). But the results are startling, as studies of
Ahmed et al. (2019) and Ahmed (2016) found that mission statements of IFIs are not easy to
read, understand and comprehend, thus are unable to share the true objectives and
meanings. Ahmed et al. (2013) investigated corporate documents (mission statements) of 169
Islamic banks from more than 49 countries and found that these documents were unable to
highlight the purpose of the existence of IFIs, thus creating a big information gap. While
studies focusing on the other web contents are scant, thus leaving an unattended gap.
Online contents of firms and its value for organizations is venerated in the past studies,
as Lawlor et al. (2016) commented that online brand contents influence the brand image and
its consumers often convert to be a brand owner instead of merely promoting the brand
through word of mouth. Dreher (2014) also valued the role of technology as a strategic
management tool, as users of social media to disseminate business information, in fact, work
as brand ambassadors. Lawlor et al. (2016) found that online brand contents influence the
brand image and often consumers become brand promoters. While looking at the
information sharing of IFIs and its link with awareness, the research is scant, yet its
importance cannot be disregarded. (Rahim, 2016).
The web-based contents are considered vital for an IFI in the present era, as Islamic
Finance Development Report (IFDR, 2018) highlighted that knowledge and awareness are
two important indicators of growth for IFIs (along with other three namely: quantitative
growth, corporate social responsibility and governance), and one way of meeting these
requirements is by using digital media in increasing knowledge and awareness about
Islamic banking. Past studies have also valued the role of technology/IT/social media is
more promising in today’s business world (Dreher, 2014; Muhammad et al., 2019). So it’s
believed that information available on websites of the IFIs would have an influence on brand
image and more applicants may be interested to apply over there.
But what is the level of use of digital media in effectively disseminating the information
is a question that has yet to be explored in academic literature, while this study aims at very
issue. Additionally, it is attempted to investigate the ability of corporate documents (vision,
mission and purpose statements) to disseminate information on the basic purpose of
existence of IBs (i.e. according to teachings of Islam/Maqasid e Shariah). A profound look
highlights the fact that there is a dearth of literature on the said issues. To explore the Islamic
phenomenon, we have formulated the following research questions for investigation: financial
RQ1. Are the corporate documents (i.e. vision, mission and purpose statements) in line institutions
with the social perspectives, as highlighted by the teaching of Islam (i.e. Maqasid e
Shariah or welfare of stakeholders)?
RQ2. What are the customers’ perceptions about web-based information and does this 721
information influence the branding of Islamic banks?

1.2 Shariah board members as brand ambassadors

Past studies have highlighted that the literature on the customer-driven marketing aspect of
IFIs is scarce and needs immediate attention (Ahmed et al., 2019; Kamarulzaman and
Madun, 2013). Out of the limited studies, majority have focused on market efficiency
perspective or customer perspective, but little is known about using marketing concepts into
real-time IFIs world. For instance, Mourad and El Karanshawy (2013) attempted to develop
a branding model for Higher educational institutions (HEIs) operating under Shariah
guidelines. Ahmed et al. (2019) investigated the Islamic Banks Brand Personality (IBBP)
model, which assumed that Islamic banks can be considered as a separate brand. Similarly,
While Ahmed and Jan (2015) also commented that IFIs need to focus on branding which is
need for time, and brand personality should be an important aspect. While looking at the
literature about Islamic branding, Wilson and Liu (2010) commented that the field is still
emerging and needs more research on it. Moreover, according to Rahim (2016), the view of
customers about the effectiveness of marketing is varying because of distinct cultural, social
and economic conditions; thus, a better insight needs to be built. As there is a dearth of
literature on branding in IFIs, we ought to borrow literature from conventional marketing.
Borrowing from conventional literature is a practices followed by researchers in the past.
For instance, Kalandides et al. (2013) generalized the general marketing concept of brand
ambassadors and applied it to place branding. They commented that residents of the
location have a strong influence on the brand establishment of that place. Based on the same
lines we assumed that Shariah advisors being associate of IFIs, with high knowledge and
good self-brand image may have a direct bearing on the branding of IFIs. Ahmed et al.
(2019) borrowed brand personality literature to develop IBBP model. Thus borrowing
literature from conventional marketing is found justifiable and useful.
While lending the most effective ways of marketing services from conventional
marketing literature, brand ambassadors and celebrity endorsers are considered to be the
strongest source of information dissemination, trust-building and purchase intentions of
customers. For instance, Andersson and Ekman (2009) commented that ambassadors are
important, as they formulate networks that, in return, become a source of pride for all those
who are involved (e.g. the brand, its members). Wei and Wu (2013) also valued the role of
endorser/ambassador credibility and attractiveness on brand success and attractiveness.
Yang’s (2018) systematic literature review proved that celebrities used in marketing
influence the brand image, reputation and ultimately influences the overall performance of
the firms.
Zakari et al. (2019) commented that celebrities (or ambassadors) personal characteristics
(like attractiveness, trustworthiness and likeability) had a direct bearing on the reputation of
brand and influence effectiveness of celebrity endorsement strategy. It is observed in the
literature that the image of endorser/ambassador (i.e. authenticity) nourishes a bond
between consumer and ambassador (Ilicic and Webster, 2015), and such a situation of
JIMA ambassador reputation influences overall popularity of the brand. Moreover, the celebrity/
13,3 ambassador experience is also taken by the customer as a positive trait that influences
brand popularity (Agnihotri et al., 2018). Seno and Lukas (2007) further added that both the
brand and endorser image synergistically work to determine customer’s brand equity,
which affects overall customer choices, decisions and patterns. Farrell et al. (2000) also found
that to have effective brand ambassadorship program outcomes, the brand ambassador’s
722 expertise should be compatible with the business products and services.
Based on the aforementioned findings from literature, we assume that Shariah scholars
(being the brand ambassadors), and their characteristics (e.g. experience, image, popularity,
reputation, trustworthiness) may have greater influence on customers of IFIs and their
choices of selection of brand i.e. IFIs (Carrillat and d’Astous, 2014). Moreover, we also
assumed that Shariah scholars should be better brand ambassadors as products and
services are often believed to be legitimate and based on the skills and abilities of Shariah
scholars. The said link [between Shariah Board (SB) members with IFIs branding] could be
assumed based on the findings of Ullah (2014) who found that compliance of Shariah laws is
important to for IFIs to maintain their image, and SB members are often responsible for
product development and its compliance with Shariah Laws. Thus, the corporate image of a
bank is influenced, which can be restored by branding and SB can/should be taken as a
brand ambassador. It is, therefore, to believe that the SB composition is an important
strategic and marketing tool, as it influences the strategic direction of business and
disclosure of various business practices, e.g. Shariah governance disclosure (Noordin and
Kassim, 2019).
Moreover, Shariah board (being the brand ambassadors) may also influence other
aspects, as Cervellon and Coudriet (2013) found that brand is powerful when it has all
potential sources of power, and brand ambassadors are one of the important sources. They
further commented that merely providing information on websites may not work alone.
Rather there should be a shift towards customer-driven services for which employees should
be very well versed at knowledge. The same findings can be linked with Shariah board and
websites, and it is assumed that valuing the only website is not enough but Shariah board
(being expert of the field) can also generate repute for Islamic banks. Value of brands in IFIs
could be imagined by the studies of Ahmed and Jan (2015), and Maulan et al. (2016) who
commented that branding is important for IFIs, as the products and nature of services are
dynamic and always improve with understandings, and customers need to believe the
permissibility and authenticity of the products which is only possible through strong brand
position and equity. Ahmad et al. (2011) have also valued branding in Islamic banking as it
was found to be a lacking area in the presence of a good amount of investment in Shariah-
based product development.
Considering the value of SB from a strategic and branding point of view, the need for
branding in Shariah-based institutions (IFIs), and discussion generated above, the following
research question is generated:

RQ3. How much Shariah board members, being the associates of IFIs, are considered as
brand ambassadors by the customers, and how they influence the branding of the
IFIs?
This study adds values to the existing literature by highlighting and qualitatively
investigating web-based information and Shariah board members’ influence on customers’
brand perceptions. (Figure 2) As both information provision and board compositions are
important features of Islamic banking (Noordin and Kassim, 2019), it’s assumed that their
influence on the branding of IFIs would be significant. But past literature on the said
perspectives is either tranquil or scare. The need of such studies is highlighted by Wilson Islamic
et al. (2013), as they commented: “it is vital for “Islamic marketing” scholarship to move financial
beyond simply raising the flag of “Brand Islam” and the consideration of Muslim
geographies to a point where Islam – as a way of life, a system of beliefs and practices, and
institutions
religious and social imperatives – is amply explored” (p.1). Thus this study is in-line with the
need for time and sets a new direction for further studies.

2. Methodology
723
Considering the gaps in existing literature and research questions of the study, the
researchers entailed a qualitative investigation (grounded theory approach) of the
phenomenon, as we assumed that reality is hidden in the social phenomenon and needs in-
depth investigation. Grounded theory is valued, as it is inductive and comparative
methodology (Jørgensen, 2001) and covers naturalistic approach where researcher moves
with data and tries to get best out of it, thus at the end generates a theory. It is also
considered important for its usefulness for studying people’s view about the world and their
social contexts (Potter, 1998). For inquiry purposes, we selected the Pakistani market as it is
growing but still immature. The study entailed finding answers to three research questions
(RQs) demanding different measures and tools of data collection. RQ1 was investigated by
probing the vision, mission, and values of Islamic banks working in Pakistan. The said
documents were investigated for their quality of contents through readability and thematic
analysis. The same sample responded about the quality of vision, mission and value
statements and compared it with objectives/Maqasad e Shariah highlighted by the
teachings of Islam. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, while the
evaluation was done through thematic analysis. Furthermore, the qualitative description
was used to probe the difference in perception about Islamic brands. RQ2 and RQ3 were
also investigated through semi-structured interviews of the same sample. The selection of
customers is cherished in past studies, as Davies et al. (2003) commented that customers are
the most important stakeholder, as they influence the profitability and growth of a firm. Past
studies have focused on customer adoption of Islamic banking (Gilani et al., 2013), while
potential customers’ perspective has been ignored. For instance, Pérez-Castro et al. (2017)
commented that potential customers should be a focus by banks. Thus the sample consisted
of students of the MBA executive program. These students had either salary or other forms
of accounts with Islamic banks. The said sample was considered suitable as they were well
acquainted with the banking knowledge and had gone through from the subject of Islamic
business/finance/trade. Thus the sampling technique for the study was Purposive sampling
(as only those students who met the said criteria were selected for study). The main reason
for using this strategy was its ability to highlight the invisible realities in a social setting.
The aforementioned details also met the basic criteria of use of grounded theory, i.e.
constant comparison, theoretical sampling, theoretical coding, theoretical sensitivity and
theoretical saturation (O’Reilly et al. (2012).

Web-based
Informaon

Branding of
IFIs
Shariah Board
Figure 2.
Members
Conceptual model
JIMA While looking at the sampling in the qualitative investigation, the size differs due to the
13,3 nature of the investigation. According to Guest et al. (2006), the sampling should continue till
the time of saturation (i.e. a point where data stops offering new insights), and this point
depends upon the nature of respondent groups. In this inquiry, data saturation started after
19 interviews but continued further interviews to validate the trends (ended with 22
interviews; following guidelines of Latham, 2013). Crouch and McKenzie (2006) called this
724 sample size as “sweet spot”, as it enables the researcher to find exhaustive data avoiding
superfluous details. Such a form of investigation, sample and strategy have been used in
past studies to investigate the social phenomenon and to unveil the perceptions of customers
about Islamic banks (Gilani, 2015; Mourad and El Karanshawy, 2013).

3. Findings and discussion

3.1 Personal characteristics of interviewees
In all, 13 of the interviewees were male, where the average age of interviewees was
31.45 years. All of them had a masters’ degree and had a bank account for last (average)
10.75 years. The average gap between bank transactions by the customers was 5.9 days.
The personal characteristics of respondents thus help us assume that the personal qualities
of interviewees suffice the purpose of the study. Their education level, age, and bank-
customer relation in the past make them able to understand the study and respond in
befitting manners. The experience with banks may make them able to understand banking
practices and the factors that are most important for branding.

3.2 Analysis procedure

Data collected through interviews were transcribed into the English language. The
transcription and translation were shown to two experts and they agreed with the
transcription and translation procedures. After transcription, data analysis was done using
Creswell’s (2012) guidelines of narrative research, which was being used to interpret texts
and information. Here two-phase coding was done, where at first stage holistic (open) codes
were generated, while in the second phase these open codes were grouped to form selective
and axial codes. Later on, these codes were presented through mind maps depicting the
conceptual flow of information elicited through a questionnaire. Details against each
research question are presented in the following sections.

3.3 Strategic documents and customers’ perceptions (RQs 1 and 2)

3.3.1 Quality and contents of strategic documents. RQ1 was aimed to probe whether the
website-based strategic documents (vision, mission and value statements) were in line with
the objectives prescribed by Shariah (welfare &/or Maqasad e Shariah).
To anticipate the perceptions of customers about those documents, the foremost analysis
was carried out to investigate the quality of these strategic documents by the interviewees.
For this purpose, customers were inquired for their level of understandings of those
documents. The customers were enrolled in an executive degree program, had an account
with Islamic banks for, at least, last three years and knew Islamic business/finance/trade.
They evaluated the strategic statements’ compatibility with the Shariah objectives. The
interview-based inquiry was evaluated through thematic analysis, where open codes
(themes) are provided in Table 1 and Figure 3.
The interview generated three major themes, where the first one focused on objectives
mentioned and valued in the strategic statements as provided on the websites of the Islamic
banks. The second theme was related to the usefulness and value of that information while
the thirst code/theme was related to customers’ perceptions about challenges or hindrances
 Views about display of objectives in strategic documents (motivators)
Open codes Description

Societal objectives/ The prime objectives of Islamic banks as shown in their vision, mission and value statements
Community
Economic stability It’s one of the ultimate objectives which is obtained through offering quality and Shariah-based banking services
Best Islamic bank To become a leading bank based on Shariah principles
Shariah-based bank To offer all the products and services which are based on Shariah principles
Clients-focused services Islamic banks aim to offer services which are focused on clients and customers (concerning Shariah compliance,
quality of service, employees professionalism, innovation)
Improvement of internal procedures Banks focus on internal processes (i.e. customer dealing, employee engagement, customer services) to provide the
customer-driven services
Value for stakeholders Focus is on all stakeholders (i.e. society, economy, clients, employees, shareholders)
Value of information for customers
Trust on information provision The level of trust customers have on that information
The usefulness of the information in the Customers value the information provided at the websites of IBs and how this information influences their decision
selection of bank of selecting IB.
Information–practice gap The difference between what is desired (in statements) and what is practices
Criteria of selection of bank Which are the basic consideration while selecting a bank
Hindrances/hygiene factors (areas need improvement)
Winning customers’ involvement/value of The level of belief customers have in those statements and are they willing to take up the objectives shown in those
strategic documents statements
Staff knowledge of Islamic products and Level of staff (employees) knowledge of products and services of Islamic banks
services
Understandability of strategic documents/ The level of understanding of customers of strategic statements
statements

Levels of coding
Table 1.
Islamic

725
institutions
financial
JIMA

(as shown in Strategic statements)

Societal objecves
13,3

Objecves of Islamic Banks

Economic Objecves

Best Islamic Bank

Movang
Shariah Based/Compliant Factors
Client driven Services
726 +
Value for Stakeholders

Improvement of Internal procedures

Branding
Trust in Informaon

Communicaon
Effecveness
Value of Informaon
-
Informaon-Pracce Gap

Customers’ Bank selecon criteria Hygiene

Factors/
Figure 3. Customers’ Belief Hindrances

Challenges
Mind map of web-
based information Employees Knowledge
and its value Understandability of Statements

or hygiene factors (as these factors need to be removed to improve customers’ satisfaction
and perceptions about the brand).
3.3.1.1 Perceptions about objectives of Islamic banks (highlighted in the strategic
documents). Both Table 1 and Figure 3 highlight the perceptions of customers in
systematic manners. Findings highlight the fact that information available on the websites
of the Islamic banks had both positive (named as motivators) and negative aspects (called
hygiene factors), to ponder at. For instance, as per the perceptions of customers, the
objectives of Islamic organizations are highlighted well in the strategic statements given on
the webpages of those banks. It is observed that almost all of the customers had belief that
the strategic statements (vision, mission and values) of the Islamic banks highlights certain
basic purposes (covering communal and economic development of society, compliance of
Shariah, customized services, taking care for stakeholders, improvement of internal
processes), which means that the banks categorically expressed their intentions to offer
products and services which are Shariah-based and overall objectives of Islamic institutions
are displayed by their statements. The highlighted points in the strategic statements seem
compatible with the objectives of Shariah (Maqasad e Shariah). As one of the respondents
commented that:
[. . .] the core aims highlighted by the documents cover the value for Shariah compliance, and
stakeholders’ considerations and both these words cover the notion of Islamic banking. (R3)
Along with these objectives, the communication gaps and challenges have also been driven
from the interview transcription, a few of the interviewees had an opposing view, as one
commented:
[. . .] Islamic banking should have unique objectives and the foremost is to take care of the
welfare of all of the stakeholders, but the display of mission and purpose/value statements
highlight that in reality all of the stakeholders are not given due and equitable attention.
(R5)
Further probing proved that the perception was led by the customers’ level of trust. It was Islamic
observed that customers believed that the information is not to act upon, rather the reality is financial
hidden in the practice, which is far away from the provided information.
One of the customers’ commented in the following manner:
institutions
The information provided on the websites of banks is the description of an ideal environment,
while realities are always different. I, therefore, believe that the information in these statements
(strategic statements) is only a dream or goal to achieve and practices are far away from them. 727
(R15)
Yet another respondent commented that:
Statements (strategic statements) are the ultimate direction to follow and dreams to achieve, but
the external forces (e.g. state bank guidelines, market conditions, customer’s preferences, and
competitors’ practices) determine what the reality of business is! (R7)
The gap was believed to be true, as often it was highlighted by interviewees that the
employees of Islamic banks were not aware of the objectives of Islamic banks. One of the
interviewees highlighted the fact in the following way:
These (strategic) statements are only directions to achieve and practices are far away, and these
statements are even (either) not shared or not commonly known by the employees. (R4)
3.3.2 Web-based information and branding of IFIs. RQ 2 was aimed to elicit the responses
of customers about the usefulness of web-based information and its influence on brand
perceptions of customers (see Table 1 and Figure 3). This question was inquired through
pre-post qualitative inquiry, where interviewees were asked to respond about their
perceptions of the brand. Findings of the study are highlighted in the following sections.
At first instance, interviewees were inquired about their perceptions about Islamic
banks. The inquiry was made in two phases, where the respondents were inquired before
their exposure to the website of Pakistani Islamic banks and after their exposure to the
websites of those banks. There was a significant difference noticed between both the phases,
where at first instance most of the customers were found to have low levels of products’
information. While probing the reason for the low level of information, it was witnessed that
customers were more involved with only those products/services they were using or
intended to use. As one of the respondents added that:
[. . .] I sought not to have too much information about Islamic banking products, as I keep myself
concerned with only those products/services that are meaningful for me. (R1)
Yet another interviewee highlighted that they are neither informed nor motivated to know
the products and services, as she narrated that:
[. . .] customers come to the bank by choice, and it rarely happens that a bank walks to the
customers and help them in making a choice. It is because of the lack of knowledge one may
refrain from adopting Islamic banking. (R11)
While questioning further we inquired about the selection criteria of Islamic banks (in
absence of limited knowledge of Islamic banking). Most of the interviewees again responded
that the selection of banks was the prime consideration based on services, branches
approachability, and relationship with staff, on-line services, service quality, accessibility
and religious factor. While inquiring for Shariah and religion as a determinant of bank
selection, it was observed that interviewees selected Islamic banks due to the tag i.e.
“Islamic”, and often services information or knowledge is not given due attention. It was,
JIMA therefore, found that before access to information customer had less focus on products and
13,3 services of the IFIs. One of the respondents commented in the following words:
I select Islamic banks not because of the bank is Islamic, rather I prefer services, the proximity of
the branch and (yes) for me the tag Islamic is enough while I intend to avoid Riba. (R8)
In follow-up, customers were exposed to information available on websites of Islamic banks;
728 the websites were shown in class, and students (customers) were assigned tasks to create
assignments about the products and services of their selected bank. After exposure to the
websites, the customers were again inquired about their preferences and knowledge of
products of Islamic banks. At this stage, it was noticed that the visit to those sites proved to
be a way of gaining information. All the visitors reported that the websites were designed
well, contained useful information about products and services, covered the operational
areas of banks and displayed management information well. The value of this visit could be
witnessed by the saying of one of the interviewee, as R11 reported that:
I wish I had visited the websites before, as I have cleared many of my reservations and doubts,
am much clear about the Islamic banks’ products, management skills, and abilities.
Yet another interviewee responded that the provided information may be (un) true and may
only contain the information and practices that may not be the same. She commented in the
following words:
These are only the best things one imagines to do/achieve, though there may exist theory-practice
gaps and same is true for Islamic banks. (R14)
Further probing was made to investigate the link of information and branding. Here
respondents highlighted that merely information is not enough from branding and practices
are, in fact, the real determinants of branding for Islamic banks. One of the respondents
stated his viewpoint in the following words:
[. . .] I can’t build an image about Islamic banks by just focusing on the information provided on
the website or at their branches, rather I can only comment on the quality of a bank by
experiencing its products and services. (R16)
Another respondent commented in the following words:
Products and services are more important than merely providing information on websites. (R20)
3.3.3 Discussion on the findings. The findings of the study highlight that there are both
positive (motivators) and negative (hygiene) factors present at web sites. The motivators
include factors like clarity of objectives, Shariah compliance, value for stakeholders, client
driven services and improvement of internal procedures. These factors attract the customer
attention and are source of motivation while making choices of IFIs. Furthermore, the
hygiene factors include lack of trust in information, information-practice gap, customer
preferences/beliefs, employees’ understandings of products and understandability of
strategic statements. Thus these findings highlight that there is a communication gap and
information dissemination through web sites is not effective. While looking at the need for
information and knowledge about Islamic banking the need had been felt in the past. For
instance, IFDR (2018) reported that information sharing through information technology is
an important source of competitive advantage and Islamic banking has to focus on that.
Dreher (2014) has also valued the role of information as a source of competitive advantage in
the present world. Empirical findings also value the role of information, for instance, Lawlor
et al. (2016), Rahim (2016) and Muhammad et al. (2019) also valued information role in the
branding of a business. But our findings highlight the areas requiring further attention. Islamic
Furthermore, the results are in-line with past studies, where it has been observed that the financial
strategic documents (i.e. mission statements) have often been unable to express the
objectives of the business (Ahmed et al., 2019, Ahmed, 2016, Ahmed et al., 2013). It is thus to
institutions
highlight that information management is an area that needs immediate attention from the
top-level management of Islamic banks in Pakistan.
While probing further about the difficulties and areas of further improvement, it was
noticed that almost all of the interviewees reported that the information available on the
729
websites are overloaded and finding useful and true information is not easy. These findings
highlight the value of the contents of the web pages. These findings are in line with the past
studies, as Ahmed (2016) and Ahmed et al. (2019) found that the strategic statements
provided on websites of Islamic banks are not easy to understand. These findings are also in
line with the results shown in the previous section which proves that the vision, mission and
purpose statements are not easy to understand. Moreover, the message hidden in those
statements was not easy to understand by the interviewees. The lack of trust, information-
practice gap, lack of knowledge of employees and customers’ beliefs on statements show the
emotional level responses of the customers. The findings are further supported by the work
of Wilson and Liu (2011) on emotions and Islamic branding, where the authors commented
that the Islamic brands and their branding is influenced by the emotions and often brands
could be attributed to the Muslims than Islam. They also highlighted that it’s challenging
for marketers “to identify, understand and respond to this phenomenon” (p. 40). They
further highlighted that the cultural and religious lens influences perceptions of customers,
the findings contradict the findings of Ahmed et al. (2013) who found that strategic
documents of 69 Islamic countries were not at par with readability standards. But the
contradiction is also justified by the current study, as we found that the customers’
perceptions changed with the increased disclosure to the web-based information. Thus the
stance of Wilson and Liu (2011) about the branding of Islamic products is an emotional
phenomenon stands valid. The findings of the above mentioned thematic analysis, Figure 3
and Table 1 highlight that the exposure to the websites and information cannot be the only
source of branding, rather customers confer a brand based on the quality of products and
services offered. These results thus highlight an area that needs attention from the
management and directors of those Islamic banks.

3.4 Shariah board and branding of Islamic banks (RQ3)

RQ3 was aimed to elicit the impact of Shariah board members on the branding of IFIs. Here
researchers inquired respondents through interviewee questions. The interviewees were
asked about the role of Shariah board in bank selection criteria and image about the overall
value and worth of the Islamic banks. At first instance, customers were inquired about the
role of Shariah board, where an agreement was noticed among customers and two main
codes were generated: (i) to develop Shariah-based products and (ii) to ensure that the
products/services offered are in line with Shariah principles. The opinions were common
among the respondents, as one of the respondents said:
Shariah Board is hired to work on the product development for Islamic banks. (R17)
Yet another respondent commented that:
Islamic banks are not aimed to offer Shariah-compliant products rather they have to ensure that
the products work based on Shariah principles [. . .] and Shariah Board is responsible for both
these objectives. (R12)
JIMA In follow-up, customers of Islamic banks (respondents of the study) were inquired about the
13,3 Shariah board of their respective bank (awareness about Shariah board). Astonishingly,
almost all of the customers were unaware of the Shariah board members (except customers
of Meezan bank). The customers of Meezan bank repeatedly quoted one name i.e. Mufti
(Justice) Taqi Usmani, as he is a religious scholar of great fame. His scholarly verdicts are
accepted and given valued. While probing about other members of the board, the customers
730 were again ignorant. It was, thus, strange to share that customers, by large, were not aware
of the Shariah board. One of the respondents commented that awareness of the Shariah
board has never been a consideration, as he quoted:
While selecting Islamic bank, I prefer to select a bank that is close to my location, easy to
approach, with good services [. . .][. . .][. . .].though Shariah board members are also important all
follow same religion. (R6)
Yet another respondent concluded that:
Shariah compliance lies with the name of the bank and State Bank is there to look after the
compliance matters [. . .][. . .][. . .]., Moreover Shariah board works under those lines. (R9)

Shariah Board is valuable when there is a known scholar within it, for instance, Taqi Usmani (sb),
so banks should have a scholar of fame to win the trust of customers. (R7)
Interestingly, respondents were also of the view that Shariah board is a combination of
scholars who are aimed to work and follow Shariah, so the products designed by them
would always be Shariah-compliant, as one of the respondents commented:
Shariah is the core/essence of Shariah board and compliance stands tall with the components of
Shariah board members. (R8)
In follow-up investigation, it was also inquired that what is the role of individual board
member/s (e.g. Mufti Taqi Usmani) instead of the overall composition of the board, and it
was inquired that what will be the perception of customers if a bank selects a person of great
fame in its Shariah board. Here the results were found interesting, as the majority of the
respondents valued the role of such an individual and considered him to be a source of
greater trust.
As respondents narrated that:
[. . .] [. . .] composition of Shariah board is not known but the fame of its members. (R3)

Individual member like (Taqi Usmani sb) wins trust and people follow him (instead of a bank).
(R19)
These respondents thus highlighted the value of individual member and his/her image, fame
and trust. Customers were found to be influenced by personal factors of board members
rather than overall board characteristics. Another respondent highlighted that the choice of
bank selection is based on the individual members of the Shariah board (instead of the
complete board), as she commented that:
[. . .] I will discuss my case, as I selected Meezan bank not because of its Meezan rather because
Usmani sb is the head of Shariah Board over there, and his (Usmani sb) experience, knowledge,
and personal image overweighs the Meezan value. (R16)
Based on these findings it was drawn that Shariah board composition is not important for
customers, rather they select banks while considering factors like convenience and services.
Additionally, instead of the composition of the Shariah board, individual members were
found to be more important. It was interesting to find that Shariah board members’ Islamic
experience, knowledge, skills and personal image had greater value in creating an image of a financial
bank. To ensure the findings researcher tried to validate the reported results by further
probing. Here researchers inquired about the shifting of such a renowned scholar (Shariah
institutions
Board member) to other banks and whether the customers will change their bank. Here
respondents showed that their trust and loyalty will move with the board member, as one of
the interviewees quoted:
731
[. . .] for me, the reliable Shariah board member/s is/are important and I want to preserve my faith.
(R10)

If a board member leaves a bank, the image of the bank would be negative as the customers, in
response, may doubt the products/services of the bank. (R13)
As there is increased competition and scholars may not be attached to so many banks, it’s
often noticed that banks try to have different board members. But one such practice is to
have the siblings or relative names from the Shariah board of a successful brand. To see the
impact of referral branding, we probed customers about the Shariah board members
belonging to one of the renowned names (e.g. Usmani Family in Pakistan – the siblings and
relatives of Mufti Taqi Usmani).
Customers also valued such affiliations and narrated interesting responses, as most of
them felt that the referral, relationship and attachment with a big name have a positive
impact on the image of the follower. For instance, a scholar who has been a relative of
renowned scholars has been representing the bank Shariah board. Here researcher
introduced the board members and their affiliation to customers and noticed the change in
perceptions. The results were interesting, and it was found that referral and relationship
with a famous board member have a direct bearing on the perception of customers. For
instance one of the respondents narrated that:
If a student or brother or son of a renowned scholar is there in aboard the trust level would be
high, yet the sibling had to prove his worth. (R14)

It can be believed that the groomed under the roof of a scholar would have the same belief system,
so the influence would replicate. (R16)
Thus, it is to believe that not only board members oneself, but his/her affiliation is also
considered valuable and customers are often influenced by such personal characteristics of
board members (Figure 4, Table 2).
3.4.1 Discussion on the findings. The third research question of the study aimed at
findings the influence of Shariah board on the branding of the IFIs. The findings of the
study highlight that some of the Shariah board characteristics (size, working, members,
tenure and dual/multiple membership) have no effects on the brand equity of the customers.
This information seems more tangible in nature and often customers are not inclined to get
informed about. But there is certain information that influence the choice of customers’
which includes knowledge of board members, their referent power, experience and personal
brand. The findings are unique in nature as there is dearth of literature focusing on such a
branding aspect. But the work of Wilson and Liu (2011) provides a direction for such study.
As they commented that:
Within the halal industry, it is Islam and more specifically halal which assumes this position
conceptually, rather than any corporate or product brand. Therefore, it is halal instead of
branding which becomes the paradigm. (p. 35)
JIMA They further commented that the spiritual ethos and meanings of halal in branding are
13,3 distinctive and often the business commodity is evaluated for such standards, thus the
branding of product is cherished. Our findings also highlight that the tangible factors like
board size, number of members and their tenure are not important rather emotional-level
stances (family background, experience and perceived knowledge) are important in
determining the value in branding. Thus, the spiritual aspects are overrun by the intangible
732 but emotional-level constructs.

4. Summary and conclusion

The findings of this thematic exploratory study are unique and different, as no such study
has been carried out in the past. This study aimed to find answers to three research
questions, where the first two questions (RQ1 and RQ2) were aimed at finding the value of
web-based information and how that information contributes to creating branding (brand
image and equity) of Islamic banks. While RQ3 was aimed to elicit the customers’ views

Shariah Board Size No effect

Shariah Board
Composion
Shariah Board working

(Overall)
Shariah Board Members

Brand Equity or
Shariah Board Tenure

Brand Trust
Board membership in other banks

Knowledge of Board Member

Characteriscs
Shariah Board

Referent Power
Member

Figure 4. Experience of Board Member

Mind map of Shariah
board and branding Personal Brand of Board Member
Posive Effect

Shariah board as a branding source

Open codes Description

Importance of Shariah board

Product development Customers value the information provided at the websites of
IFIs and how this information influences their decision of
selecting IFI.
Conformity of compliance of products with The level of trust customers have on that information
Shariah
Shariah awareness
Composition of Shariah board Covering several Shariah advisors, their age, experience,
working, and board member in other banks
Role of Shariah board Influence Shariah board have on the selection of Islamic bank
Board member characteristics
Knowledge of board member The level of knowledge individual board member possess
Referent power The religious or family attachment a SB member had
Experience of board member Experience with Shariah organization and IFIs
Table 2. Personal brand of board member Personal credibility, image and followership in the (both
Levels of coding religious and finance) market
about the Shariah board and how much it contributes to branding of those Islamic Financial Islamic
Institutions (IFIs, or Islamic banks in this study). financial
As the questions were exploratory the most useful study approach was qualitative
(thematic) with an interview-based survey. The interviews were transcribed and further
institutions
analyzed by conducting a thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that web
information was an important source of displaying objectives of Islamic banks. Most of the
respondents were able to identify the objectives of Islamic banks, where societal/communal
and economic development, Shariah-based practices, customers/clients driven services, 733
value to stakeholders and improvement in internal services were the objectives highlighted
in the statements. Customers believed that these objectives were in-line with the Shariah
objectives (Maqasad e shariah) and welfare considerations. It is thus to infer that the
websites of Islamic banks contain those documents and statements that highlight the
objectives of Islamic banks well. Moreover, the basic consideration highlighted by Shariah is
given due value in these statements. These findings are in-line with the past studies (Ahmed
et al., 2019; Ahmed, 2016), where it has been noticed that statements provided on websites
display an image of an institution. We called these factors as motivators (the factors that
may influence customers positively), as these factors determine the basic Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) for an Islamic bank.
The follow-up investigation highlights something considerable factors (we named them
hygiene factors–the factors that need improvement) as customers did not find this
information useful while deciding to select a bank or transacting with it. Moreover,
customers should low level of trust in these statements. The responses highlighted that
customers believed that this information is provided to merely show the basic objectives but
not the practices. They also commented that these statements highlight the ultimate
direction or destination to reach and banks merely follow those directions. The majority of
the respondents further highlighted that there exist a theory and practice gap, thus
highlighting a low level of trust. Further probing proved that they did not select banks
based on this information rather proximity of branches, types and quality of services and
the word “Islamic” itself is enough while choosing bank-client relations.
We also found some other hygiene factors that have a negative bearing on customers’
perceptions and need attention. We called such factors as challenges (sub-theme of Hygiene
factors), and it covers the challenges like the value of these documents for customers, staff
(employees of Islamic banks) limited knowledge about these documents and
understandability of these documents. All these points create a situation of dismay as these
factors were found to cause distrust on Islamic banks and their products and services. It is
thus to infer that the hygiene factors are influencing the image of Islamic banks negatively
and the overall brand. These findings are different but still in-line with past literature.
Though there was a dearth of literature on the branding of IFIs (here Islamic banks), past
studies have focused on the value of the points under consideration. For instance,
Kamarulzaman and Madun (2013) reported that customers of IFIs are often unaware of
Islamic banking and the absence of information for them influences the overall image of an
IFI.
This study also aimed to elicit the responses on the Shariah board’s influence on the
branding of Islamic banks. Though no such study was carried out in the past, its value was
cherished (Rahim, 2016). The findings of the study revealed that customers were not aware
of the composition of the Shariah board, thus highlighting that the board is not an important
consideration for customers. The follow-up highlighted the fact further, as interviewees
commented that the Shariah board is not a consideration for many while choosing a bank.
Thus, overall board composition was found not to influence customers as a whole. Another
JIMA important finding revealed through the study was about the members of the Shariah board.
13,3 It was found that individual members of the Shariah board were considered more important.
For instance, in the case of “Meezan bank”, the customers were only familiar with the name
and presence of Mufti (Justice) Taqi Usmani, a known religious’ scholar. It was observed
that customers were only familiar with his name out of all. Additionally, the findings
highlighted that such board members have more value than the overall board composition
734 as customers were more loyal to such names. Customers even highlighted that they may
shift to another Islamic bank if board members (like Taqi Usmani) shift his attachment. It
was thus valuable to infer that the Shariah board independent members are stronger brands
than the Shariah board or banks itself. A bank is also believed to be a strong brand when it
has a Shariah board member which is known for his knowledge, skills and expertise.
These findings also provide a new perspective to the literature of Islamic marketing, as
Wilson and Grant (2013) highlighted that the Islamic marketing is a “torch-bearer” that
directs others to a destination. They challenge the metaphor that Islamic marketing is
something different, but argue that its existence is universal and penetrated to the depths
already. Thus, through their viewpoint, they highlight that the Muslims are rebuilding their
image/branding through more feminine perspectives and highlight the soft aspects of the
Islam; thus, the marketing should also be viewed differently and not attributed to the
conventional paradigms about the religion. The findings of the current study also highlight
that soft and intangible characteristics of the Shariah board members and valuing the
stakeholders (through societal, economic, customer focused and stakeholders aimed
practices) are the prime considerations of the IFIs. These practices are adopted by the
western firms in the recent past, while a 360° performance evaluation criteria has been given
the Islam a thousand years back. The findings further highlight that the dissemination of
information is important to generate, improve and revive brand image. Based on these
findings and comments of Wilson and Grant (2013), we argue that branding of the religion
and Muslims could be built on the basis of disseminating the fair and true information about
the religion to the western world. This will not only improve the image of religion or
Muslims but will also pave the way for Islamic marketing and other subjects driven from
the core thoughts of religion. For instance, the familiarity with Maqasid-e-Shariah would
change the image of the Islamic organizations perceived globally. Furthermore, the
objectives of Islamic, as dictated by the religious scripts, would also improve the brand
image of Islam and Muslims.

5. Limitations and future directions

Though this study offers findings on unexplored phenomenon about IFIs (Islamic banks
here) the study is still not free from limitations. The foremost is the inquiry based on a small
sample size (only 22 interviewees). This study also entails the investigation of customers of
Islamic banks only, while customers of conventional banks may offer a different viewpoint.
Future studies could consider various customer segments that may have varying opinions
about the branding of IFIs, as Melewar et al. (2015) divided Malaysian customers into five
segments and found that they have different brand perceptions and values. Ahmed et al.
(2019) and Ahmed (2016) also found that customers of Islamic and conventional banks have
different opinions about Islamic banking. Future studies could also be conducted with
quantitative designs (e.g. readability and understandability of statements thorough
quantitative measures). This study also covers only Islamic banks operating in Pakistan
only, while the future studies could be carried out on the Islamic banks of other countries
and regions as the cultural characteristics may offer different results.
6. Implications of the study Islamic
This study offers useful findings both for literature and practice. The findings of the study financial
add value in the existing body of knowledge by exploring an unattended phenomenon while
the findings offer interesting findings. The findings highlight that customer value services
institutions
the most while selecting Islamic banks. Additionally, Shariah board composition is not an
important consideration while choosing a bank, rather the individual members of the
Shariah board have a stronger impact on board and bank image. The findings also highlight 735
a valuable message for the management of the Islamic banks, as they should hire a name of
fame for their Shariah board, as customers are more influenced by the fame of individual
board members than the overall board composition.

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Corresponding author
Ishfaq Ahmed can be contacted at: ishfakahmed@gmail.com and ishfaqahmed@hcc.edu.pk

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