Determinants of Islamic banking adoption in Tunisia: empirical analysis

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the main factors influencing the adoption of Islamic banking services in Tunisia.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents primary data collected by self-administered questionnaires involving a sample of 239 respondents located in Tunis city. Respondents were conventional banks’ customers who were actually non-users of Islamic banking. A descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to determine consumers’ awareness of Islamic banking.

Findings
The results revealed that Islamic bank reputation, relative advantage of Islamic banking and its compatibility with consumer religious beliefs, values, lifestyle and banking habits influence positively the intention to use it. However, it seems that perceived complexity and risk impact negatively the consumer intention to adopt this new financing system. The major finding of this study is that there is a general lack of consumer awareness about Islamic banking in Tunisia.

Practical implications
By identifying the drivers and inhibitors of Islamic banking acceptance among potential adopters, this research aim to help banks’ managers to target their actions and strategies more effectively.

Originality/value
This study is one of the earliest to be conducted on customers’ perception and willingness to adopt Islamic banking services in Tunisia. It makes a contribution to the Islamic banking adoption literature by extending and testing the diffusion innovation theory (Rogers, 2003) in the context of Tunisia.