Risk Sharing, Transparency and Customer Satisfaction in Islamic Banking: Evidence from Douala, Cameroon

Purpose: This article examines the effect of risk sharing, transparency and demographic factors on customer satisfaction in Islamic banking services offered by commercial banks in Douala, Cameroon. Methodology: The study employs a quantitative research design using primary data collected from 80 customers across four bank branches. Data analysis involves descriptive statistics, reliability testing, pairwise correlation, variance inflation factor, linear regression, Breusch-Pagan heteroskedasticity test and Ramsey Reset test. Findings: The reliability results confirm acceptable internal consistency across all constructs with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.641 to 0.687. The regression results reveal that transparency exerts a negative and statistically significant effect on customer satisfaction (β = -0.235, p < 0.05), while risk sharing demonstrates a negative but statistically insignificant effect (β = -0.045, p > 0.10). Religion exhibits a positive and highly significant effect on customer satisfaction (β = 0.219, p < 0.01), whereas education and income show no statistically significant effects. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study contributes to the theoretical understanding of customer satisfaction in Islamic banking by demonstrating the primacy of religious factors over other considerations in the Cameroonian context. The findings support the theory of religious congruence and reveal that relationships between Islamic banking practices and satisfaction are more complex than initially theorised, with contextual factors playing important moderating roles. The study provides practical insights for bank management, demonstrating that simplifying product information and tailoring communication strategies enhance customer understanding while strengthening religious compliance mechanisms that resonate with the predominantly Muslim customer base in Douala.