How education level polarizes halal food purchase decision of Indonesian millennials

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Indonesian Muslim millennials’ decision-making process in purchasing halal food by introducing knowledge variable into the theory of planned behavior framework and education level (EL; i.e. low vs high) as the moderating variable. Design/methodology/approach There were 400 questionnaires that were distributed to obtain responses from Indonesian Muslim millennials consumers. SmartPLS was used as the structural equation modeling approach to perform the multi-group analysis. Findings EL plays an important role that determines Indonesian Muslim millennials’ decision-making process to purchase halal food. Research limitations/implications The EL was distinguished based on the Indonesian formal education system, which excluded the religious education system from the analysis. Practical implications The information conveyance of halal food product attributes should be conducted gradually according to the millennial consumers’ EL. Millennial consumers with higher EL are more likely to internalize the credence attributes of halal food compared to the lower EL counterpart. Originality/value This study found the significant differences in terms of halal food purchase decision-making between the two groups of lower EL and higher EL.