The Mediating Role of Ethical Brand Equity: A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling in Moroccan Islamic Banking

Abstract

Most research in marketing ethics focuses on the ethics of the marketing professional or salesperson, while information on the consumer perspective is scarce (Vitell, 2003). According to Laczniack and Murphy, only 5% of research in the marketing ethics literature focuses on the consumer context. As the main actors in commercial transactions, consumers are increasingly crucial to companies, requiring a thorough understanding of their opinions on brand marketing ethics (Al-khatib, 2005).  Clearly, ethical business practices influence consumer behavior, prompting brands to gear their practices more towards morality, as buyer behavior, in turn, impacts these companies' bottom lines (Fan, 2005). An ethical brand is one that strives to do no harm to the public good, acting with integrity, honesty, responsibility, acceptability and respect (Fan, 2005).  Islamic banking is often interpreted as a solution to the moral crises inherent in the conventional, debt-ridden financing models promoted by Western financial institutions. It represents an alternative financial system in line with Islamic principles, offering an interest-free approach that promotes justice and fosters social cohesion (Abdul Hassan, 2008). Several studies have attempted to examine branding from the spiritual perspective of the Islamic brand (El Amir and Burt, 2010) in order to assess the impact of beliefs on corporate branding (Maula et al.,2016). In Islamic banking, beliefs and a sense of connection with the creator represent an important spiritual attribute in the customer's relationship with the brand (Abratt and Kleyn, 2012). In this article, we study the contribution of perceived brand ethics to the development of brand trust in Moroccan Islamic banking using the structural equation modeling partial least squares (PLS) method.