Understanding family takaful purchase behaviour: the roles of religious obligation and gender

Takaful is an important and major segment of the finance industry that is poised for growth. Understanding the factors that influence Muslim consumers’ purchasing behaviour is crucial to accelerate the growth in the family takaful market segment. However, research has yet to adequately address the drivers of family takaful purchase behaviour. By integrating religious obligation into the theory of planned behaviour, this study proposed and tested a model of the factors underlying family takaful purchasing behaviour, and further examined the moderating impact of gender. The findings show that Muslim consumers’ intentions to purchase family takaful are influenced by attitude and subjective norm, and purchasing behaviour is influenced by intention and perceived behavioural control. Although religious obligation affects attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control, its influence on family takaful purchasing intention and purchasing behaviour is not supported. These findings differ across male and female groups, emphasising the centrality of gender as a moderator and a boundary condition in the relationships posited in the model. The findings have various theoretical and managerial implications which are highlighted.