Baker Ahmad Alserhan

On Islamic branding: brands as good deeds

Purpose – The paper aims to clarify some of the most important issues pertinent to the emerging field of Islamic branding (IB). Namely, it answers the following questions: what does IB mean? Why is it important and what makes it different from conventional branding? What are its types? What is the future of IB?Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual research paper that builds on the authors vast expertise and knowledge of the Islamic market and Islamic marketing and branding practices, ethics, and motivations to answer the various research questions.Findings – Although IB is qualitatively different from conventional branding, international branding experts still view it from the same perspective and, therefore, use conventional branding techniques when branding to Muslims. The motivations to underlying IB are not fully appreciated and the concept remains bound by an abstract understanding of Halal and Haram.Research limitations/implications – This is a conceptual paper and, as such, it is subj...

Researching Muslim Consumers: Do They Represent the Fourth-Billion Consumer Segment?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish whether Muslim consumers qualify as a homogenous billion-consumer group and, if they do, ask if they have been researched adequately in comparison to the other established, three-billion consumer groups: China, India, and women. Design/methodology/approach – A review of articles and conference papers in the field of Islamic marketing was used to indicate the homogeneity or heterogeneity of the Muslim consumer group. This was followed by counting all of the articles that have been published in marketing journals listed in Business Source Premier database which are related to the consumer groups mentioned above. Findings – The article review revealed a near consensus on the homogeneity of the Muslim consumer group. Moreover, the article count revealed that the Muslim consumer segment is under-researched in comparison to all the other major consumer groups. Finally, it was found that only six of the high-ranking Marketing journals ranked within the top ten ...

Naming businesses: names as drivers of brand value

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a new method to assess trade name distinctiveness.Design/methodology/approach – The authors implemented a two‐staged methodology. First, catchwords in trade names in the relevant database were identified and ranked according to how commonly they were used and, second, these names were classified into four distinct categories using clearly‐defined criteria based on their degree of similarity: champions (zero similarity), runners‐up (low similarity), wannabes (high similarity), and washouts (extreme similarity).Findings – The proposed assessment method allows entrepreneurs to create names that are dissimilar to existing ones and hence support a companys later activities designed to enhance the reputation of the name and build brand equity. The scale is applicable in various business sectors.Research limitations/implications – The study is limited by: the number of names compared being relatively small, the terminology used to denominate the various scale le...

Expressing herself through brands: the Arab woman’s perspective

Purpose – This paper aims to extend Wallstrom et al.’s (2010) six-nation study on brand use and notions of self-expression to Arab women in the UAE. Additionally, it extends the scope of investigation to include an extensive qualitative data corpus to inform and explain the consumption practices of this large, very wealthy and under-researched sector of the global marketplace. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses mixed methodology emphasizing qualitative research as a means of building on the results of Wallstrom et al.’s (2010) quantitative study. Findings – Results reveal that Arab women are less committed to the idea that beauty care products are a locus of self-expression, and their purchase choices are based on perceived quality of care products, scene of use and their lack of value in the culture as vehicles of conspicuous consumption cues. Originality/value – The paper offers valuable insights to researchers and practitioners into the use of beauty care products as a means of self-expressio...

MEASURING LUXURY BRAND CONSUMPTION AND FEMALE CONSUMERS' RELIGIOSITY IN THE UAE

Luxury brand consumption by female consumers in the rich Arab Gulf states has never been systematically studied, and thus most of our knowledge in this area remains shaped by preconceived notions that are not likely to withstand scientific scrutiny. This study fills that gap in research and provides significant evidence on the actual consumption behavior of this enigmatic consumer segment. In our study, focus groups and expert feedback were used to construct a Luxury Consumption Scale (LCS) to measure actual luxury purchases, while Tiliouines Scale (RS) was used to measure religiosity. Results show that the sample tended to be religious with moderate luxury consumption, but no relationship was observed between these two. Results also demonstrate that brands transcend boundaries; ridges created by politicians and extremists are bridged by Burberry, Hermes and Versace. Religious Arab women did not perceive a problem in being defined by international brands of non-Muslim origin. This study contributes to the literature by examining the underexplored intersection of female luxury brand consumption and religiosity in the lucrative markets of the Arab Gulf.

Branding employment related public policies: evidence from a non‐western context

Purpose – While the legislative side of workforce nationalization as a key target area for public policies has been extensively studied and scrutinized, the marketing side has not. It remains mostly overlooked, leaving both researchers and practitioners with little or no information to begin with. This “marketing” information gap represents the focus of this paper and it is exactly what the author aims to bridge.Design/methodology/approach – A thorough analysis of how nationalization policy has been perceived by the UAE workforce was carried out and the results of that analysis were used to identify the core components of a balanced strategy that aims at enhancing the image of Emiratisation as a public brand, or a public offering, and hence improving the implementation of the policy i.e. increase the employability of citizens and, at the same time, retain the much‐needed expatriate workforce.Findings – The study, which consisted of 180 interviews collected in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), revealed that ...

Theories of Islamic marketing

In this paper the authors attempt to present a list of theories from the discipline of Islamic marketing. The list is neither complete nor a detailed description of all the attempts toward a theory of Islamic marketing. Indeed, it is not the intention of this work to provide such detail. Rather, this commentary is designed to motivate researchers to begin to address the subject of Islamic marketing in a manner that will pave the way for a more defined theory of Islamic marketing to be constructed, a subject that so far remains clearly under researched.

One Arab woman’s journey to entrepreneurship: a case study

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is pegged as a highly opportunistic market. The region’s unique demographics include a native population that is in the minority and high numbers of women involved in entrepreneurial activities. The latter trend brings women’s issues to the forefront with implications for, among other areas, policymaking, infrastructure access, and new research avenues. This work offers a case study of a Syrian woman entrepreneur in the UAE, highlighting the particular and varied challenges that female immigrant entrepreneurs (FIEs) face. The study’s findings point to a need for policy to introduce support mechanisms, as well as a need for family and community mentoring. Also, more research is needed to assess important elements of economic activity and to measure factors such as social status and self fulfilment. Efforts in these directions will help boost women’s entrepreneurship ventures and influence their evolution, for even greater benefit to the region.