ERF 26th Annual Conference
How Do Women Choose their Bank Type in a Multicultural Context?
No.
ERF26_55
Publisher
ERF
Date
July, 2020
Topic
E2. Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy
Islamic banking is an integral part of the global financial system and has the potential to undertake significant changes to mitigate financial exclusion. Customer acquisition is exceptionally challenging in a culturally diverse country like UAE. The proper understanding of gender-specific preferences aids in increasing the customer base. The impact of bank attributes, consumer awareness, and social stimuli on women’s choice between conventional and Islamic banking was analyzed from the responses of 419 females using Structure Equation Modeling (SEM). The results suggest that overall women’s awareness of Islamic banking is the only significant determinant of their choice of an Islamic bank. Multi-Group Analysis (MGA) shows that awareness has got a slightly more impact on non-Muslim females, whereas bank attributes have a significant effect only on the choice of Muslim females. The study is relatively unique in its contribution to the body of literature as well as the Islamic banking system that strives to set up or expand in a multicultural country. Such findings can guide marketing strategies as a tool to achieve financial inclusion of women from different economic strata.
Research Associates
Suzanna Elmassah
Professor of Economics and Sustainability, Zayed University,...