The influence of microtakaful products on the sustainability of halal small businesses in Malaysia

Abstract

Microtakaful has opened a new paradigm of micro protection for halal small businesses; however, the extent as to which microtakful products have contributed to the sustainability of halal small business is yet to be explored. Microtakaful plays crucial roles in sustaining halal businesses around the world by allowing the owners to run their businesses with less worry about unexpected events that can slow them down or bring the businesses to complete halt. As such, this study examines the influence of microtakaful products on sustainability of halal small businesses in Malaysia. The study explores a range of microtakaful products that can contribute to the sustainability of halal small businesses. The study was motivated by the fact that microtakful products are essentially risk management, which can help to minimise the potential impact of disaster and ensure halal business sustainability. In addition, halal industry and takaful sector in Malaysia have attracted global attention in terms of regulatory standards, particularly with respect to managing social protection risk. Moreover, this study was motivated by the fact that halal small businesses contribute significantly to the Malaysian economy and they require appropriate tools to recover from unforeseen disasters. Based on the objective of this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted, and relevant statistical analyses were employed to assess the influence of microtakaful products on the sustainability of halal small businesses. Following an extensive review of literature, survey questionnaire was developed and used to collect data from 238 halal small business owners and workers in Selangor, Malaysia based on purposive and snowball procedures. The results indicate positive and significant influence of disability microtakaful and family microtakaful products on sustainability of halal small businesses in Malaysia. Whereas property microtakaful and health microtakaful products were found to be positively but insignificantly contributed to the sustainability of halal small businesses in Malaysia. Thus, it is envisaged that the findings of this study would help halal business owners and workers to have a better understanding on why microtakaful products are crucial for the sustainability/ continuity of their businesses.