Investigating the Effects of Islamic Business Ethics and Etiquette on Business Relationships and Customers’ Adoption of Internet Banking

Thanks to technological advancement and growth, banks across the world offer Internet banking (IB) services to their customers. Internet banking services can be considered as a substitute distribution channel for banks, as they lower costs and make it easier for customers to manage their bank accounts remotely 24/7. Despite the obvious benefits of internet banking, large numbers of customers are reluctant to adopt IB services. One reason for their reluctance is because adopting IB services is a form of change, and people have a natural resistance to change. Hence, numerous researchers have studied the factors that influence customers’ adoption of IB services.

Business relationships are considered one of the most valuable keys to business success. ‘Relationship Marketing’ has emerged as a concept that emphasizes establishing, strengthening, and maintaining a buyer-seller relationship. In today’s business environment, businesses focus more on their relationship networks than on the product itself. These relationships are affected by religious and cultural values. Thus, the way people perceive certain behaviours will depend upon their culture and religion. For example, the Islamic culture and ethical values affects the way Muslims behave and perceive behaviours, as Islam covers all aspects of life.

This research is designed to investigate the role of business ethics and etiquette in building high-quality business relationships during the inception stage of the relationship. It also examines the effect of a business relationship on customers’ willingness to adopt IB services. The research was conducted from the customers’ perspective by using a quantitative method; a survey was distributed to a sample from the Jordanian Islamic banking market. Findings of this research indicated a significant positive effect of Islamic business ethics and etiquette on business relationship quality at all of the proposed variables except Ihsan, it also indicated a significant positive effect of business relationship quality on the adoption of internet banking. Results also showed a significant mediating effect of business relationship quality between business ethics and etiquette and internet banking adoption.

This research contributes to the existing body of research in the fields of business ethics and etiquette, relationship marketing, and internet banking adoption. It gives in depth insight on the nature of the relationships of the variables within the research model. This research examined some variables that have not been studied before and provides evidence for future research; it also provides business practitioners with a better understanding of the nature of the factors affecting internet banking adoption and ways to enhance their relationships with their customers.

Keywords: Relationship Marketing, Business Relationships, Business Ethics, Business Etiquette, Islamic Business Ethics and Etiquette, Internet Banking Adoption.