Title: Public perceptions of Islamic finance across Lebanon

Authors: Dina Naser; Ibrahim Tabsh; Elias Moukayed; Nizar Najem

Addresses: La Sagesse University, P.O. Box 50-501, Beirut, Lebanon ' College of Business Administration, Fahad Bin Sultan University, Tabuk 15700, Saudi Arabia ' La Sagesse University, P.O. Box 50-501, Beirut, Lebanon ' La Sagesse University, P.O. Box 50-501, Beirut, Lebanon

Abstract: Islamic finance is a relatively new branch of finance that has gained global prominence in the last two decades, but it has so far failed to take prominence in Lebanon, a country with a vibrant and dynamic banking sector. The research aimed to investigate if the Lebanese society was aware of the distinctive features of Islamic finance, and its willingness to switch to Islamic banks or invest in Islamic financial products. A questionnaire was sent to a sample of 200 public respondents. The answers were compared based on gender, age, religion, managerial position and investment agents. Results showed that public respondents understood the difference and were willing to invest in Islamic-compliant products when made available. This was mainly due to being Shariah-compliant and because of their lower risk potential. However, they had doubts about banks' credibility and were concerned about the lower returns that they may get.

Keywords: Islamic finance; public perception; banking industry; Lebanon; Islamic banks; gender; age; religion; managerial position ; investment agents; Shariah-compliant; risk assessment; bank credibility; return on investment; ROI.

DOI: 10.1504/JGBA.2014.064080

Journal for Global Business Advancement, 2014 Vol.7 No.3, pp.209 - 221

Published online: 30 Apr 2015 *

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