The Influence of Spiritual Brand Attributes Towards the Corporate Brand Image of Islamic Banking Institutions in Malaysia

Incorporation of religious and spiritual values distinguishes the Islamic banking institution from its conventional counterpart. Yet, only a few studies concentrated to connect the spiritual aspects of Islamic banks with customers’ perceived image. This study attempts to determine the relationship of spiritual brand attributes, corporate brand image, and customer loyalty towards Islamic banking institutions in Malaysia. 499 questionnaires were administered and analysed using the Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling technique. The findings indicate that ethics, corporate social responsibility, and beliefs are significant factors in influencing customers’ perception towards the corporate brand image of Islamic bank. In addition, corporate brand image is also significant in influencing loyalty. The study provides empirical evidence on the effects of a less investigated construct which is spiritual brand attribute towards image. Keywords: Spiritual; brand attributes; corporate brand image; loyalty; Islamic bank ABSTRAK Penerapan nilai-nilai keagamaan dan spiritual membezakan institusi perbankan Islam daripada perbankan konvensional. Walaubagaimanapun, tidak banyak kajian empirikal sedia ada cuba untuk mengaitkan aspek spiritual perbankan Islam dengan tanggapan pelanggan terhadap imej. Kajian ini cuba untuk menentukan hubungan di antara sifat jenama spiritual, imej penjenamaan korporat dan kesetiaan pelanggan terhadap institusi perbankan Islam di Malaysia. Sebanyak 499 soal-selidik telah dianalisa menggunakan teknik Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan etika, tanggungjawab sosial korporat dan kepercayaan adalah signifikan dalam mempengaruhi persepsi pelanggan terhadap imej jenama korporat perbankan Islam. Imej jenama korporat pula adalah signifikan dalam mempengaruhi kesetiaan pelanggan. Kajian ini memberikan bukti empirikal tentang kesan sifat jenama spiritual terhadap imej. Kata kunci: Spiritual; sifat jenama; imej jenama korporat; kesetiaan; perbankan Islam