A CORRELATIONAL STUDY OF RELIGIOSITY, GUILT, AND COMPENSATORY CONSUMPTION IN THE PURCASE OF HALAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN INDONESIA

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to understand the correlations of religiosity, guilt and compensatory consumption in the purchase of halal products and services among 331 Muslim respondents in Jakarta, the capital city as well as the largest metropolitan city in Indonesia. Jakarta has become the meeting point of various local cultures and foreign ones and the frontier of modernization (and westernization) in Indonesia. Despite the significant growth of Halal businesses in the country, the purchase of Halal products and services are suspected to be a compensatory mechanism. The researchers employed correlational research; the results were then tabulated and compared across groups of respondents and descriptive statistics were generated for the purpose of exploring linkages between religiosity, guilt and compensatory consumption. The results of this research indicated that Indonesian Muslims purchased Halal products and services as a compensatory mechanism although the intensity of such motive was considerably low. In general, Indonesian Muslims were high on religiosity and guilt levels. The research concluded that religiosity, guilt, and compensatory consumption had significant correlations whereby religiosity and guilt were positively correlated; meanwhile, both religiosity and guilt were negatively correlated with compensatory consumption.