Motives, consequences and variety in the adoption of Halal practices in Australian restaurants

There is a growing adoption of halal in some form in restaurants around the world. The objective of this research is to understand the varieties of halal adoption and identify the complex interplay between cultural and business motives. Data collected from semi-structured interviews of 50 halal restaurateurs and the analysis shows the reason for adopting halal varies across restaurants: it can be symbolic, explicit or core existential. In terms of motivation, three themes and eight subthemes were identified.

A market orientation theme relates to passion for food and quality, competition and reducing business uncertainty. A cultural orientation theme relates to religion, loyalty to culture, and loyalty to traditional and regional food styles. There is also a personal development theme that relates to being independent.

Running a halal restaurant may have little to do with religion per se, and different motivations are associated with the three variations in the degree of halal adoption. The motivation, variety of adoption and performance of the restaurants were coded by independent raters and a multivariate regression analysis was conducted on the relationship between motivations, adoption of halal and market performance. The only significant predictor of a restaurant’s market performance is its offering of a regional food style, indicating that adherence to regional traditions and provenance is a core driver of market performance rather than having a certificate or the degree of halal adoption in particular.

This research has practical implications for the restaurant industry, both in Australia and across the globe, informing restaurateurs who are contemplating adopting halal. It provides an opportunity for restaurateurs to re-assess motives and optimise business decisions in order to make their restaurant more successful and gratifying in a multicultural society.