Awareness of Halalan Toyyiban, HAS Practices, Export Readiness and Food SMEs’ Business Performance in East Coast Region, Malaysia

Abstract

: Halal food refers to food and beverages that are strictly prepared as per the rules emphasised by Islamic dietary law. According to the law, alcohol, blood, pork, animals that died before slaughtering, and animals that were not killed in the name of Allah are considered haram or not allowed to be eaten. In addition, halal food is packaged and stored in utensils that have been cleaned in accordance with prescribed guidelines. This study aims to investigate the importance of halal compliance and export readiness in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) halal food industry and its impact on business performance in the East Coast region of Malaysia. In addition, this study also tested the relationship between Halalan Toyyiban Awareness and Halal Assurance System (HAS) Practices. There are four research constructs included in this study, including halal and toyyiban awareness, HAS practice, export readiness, and business performance. The questionnaires were distributed to the SME food companies, of which 205 can be used for organisation-level analysis. The research design method used in this study is quantitative, and the main data collection method is a questionnaire survey. A simple random sampling method was used to select the sample. The data was analysed by the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26.0 for descriptive, reliability, correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis. The results showed a significant correlation between Halalan Toyyiban Awareness and HAS Practices. There are also noteworthy relationships between HAS Practices, export readiness, and business performance. Export readiness partially mediates the relationship between HAS Practice and business performance. In general, this shows the importance of HAS Practicess and export readiness in boosting SMEs’ business performance. It may persuade government agencies to provide more incentives or programmes in both aspects (HAS Practicess and export readiness) to assist SMEs in the halal food industry.