Islamic Home Finance in the UK: A Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Abstract

Previous studies assessing the prospects for Islamic home finance in the UK appear to be outdated, predominantly customer-oriented and lacking industry views. This study developed an up-to-date conceptual framework comprising four predicting constructs: extendibility, accessibility, affordability and authenticity, with the target construct being the prospects for Islamic home finance in the UK. The framework was assessed using a sample of 144 mortgage consultants selected through expert sampling. The findings revealed that authenticity had the greatest direct effect on prospects, followed by accessibility. In contrast, the effect of affordability on prospects was found to be insignificant. The mediation analysis showed that extendibility had a significant indirect effect on prospects via the accessibility construct. The multi-group analysis revealed no significant differences between experienced and novice mortgage consultants. Results of the post-hoc importance–performance matrix analysis (IPMA) identified authenticity as the high-priority development area, whereas the affordability of Islamic home finance was found in a low-priority zone. These results, derived from mortgage brokers, along with the combined application of PLS-SEM and IPMA, offer a more robust and industry-driven assessment of the prospects for Islamic home finance in the UK. These industry-driven and up-to-date findings provide valuable directions for policymakers and Islamic banks offering home financing in the UK and contribute new and extensive insights to the existing literature in this field.