Patronage Behavior of Islamic Bank’s Consumers: The Importance of Shariah Compliance within Total Islamic Banking System

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the patronage behaviour of Islamic banks customers and the importance of Shariah compliance, within a total Islamic banking system, compared to other criteria in their selection decisions. The sample consists of 395 valid and complete responses of bank customers. Factor analysis is used to classify a set of 23 items submitted to participants for their opinion. Findings revealed that within a pure Islamic banking system Shariah Abidance of the Islamic bank is the most important factor in bank patronage. The study has many implications for marketers in designing and planning their marketing strategies and plans and future investments of their organizations, especially when intense competition exist in the industry. The study adds to the existing literature on consumer bank patronage behaviour in Islamic banking system in the context of Sudan.

Keywords: Islamic banks, Customers patronage behaviour, Selection criteria, Sudan