Unpacking behavioral control: Muslim choices in the ‘No Pork, No Lard’ dilemma

Abstract

Currently, the phenomenon of 'no pork, no lard' is often found in several restaurants in Indonesia.  This has confused the community, especially Muslims who question the halal-ness of restaurants that declare their products ‘no pork, no lard’. The theory of planned behaviour approach is used to examine the behaviour of Indonesian Muslim consumers towards their purchase intention on products with halal labels or simply with the label ‘no pork, no lard’. This study aims to determine the effect of attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control on purchase intention moderated by religious commitment. The sample in this study were Muslims of productive age 15 to 64 years in Semarang City, with as many as 100 respondents. Data analysis in this study used a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach using SmartPLS 4 software. Attitude and perceived behavioural control have a positive and significant direct influence. Religious commitment can provide a positive and significant moderating influence between attitude and purchase intention. This finding can help companies to be more sensitive to consumers by providing halal label certificates rather than ‘no pork, no lard’ labels so that Muslim consumers are not confused. This research elaborates that understanding the theory of planned behaviour can be used to resolve Muslim confusion regarding halal labels.