Title: Barriers to Halal logistics operation: views from Malaysian logistics experts

Authors: Mohamed Syazwan Ab Talib; Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid; Mohd Hafiz Zulfakar; Thoo Ai Chin

Addresses: Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia ' UTM International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ' School of Business Information Technology and Logistics, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia ' Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Abstract: There is a growing demand for Halal-certified logistics service, but the supply of such logistics service is limited. This study asserts that there is a potential area for research, and argue that logistics service providers (LSP) are resistant to adopt Halal logistics operation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the barriers in adopting Halal logistics operation. Additionally, this study tries to highlight the core reasons behind the barrier to Halal logistics operation. This study fills in the gap exist between insufficient supply of Halal LSP and the rising demand for Halal logistics. Semistructured interview technique is used to gather information from four Halal LSP in Malaysia. The respondents are identified from purposive judgement sampling. Four major barriers to Halal logistics operation are identified, and there are four core reasons behind these barriers. This study appraised and contributed to the growing knowledge of Halal and Halal logistics. Research limitations are highlighted and future research agendas are proposed.

Keywords: Halal logistics; logistics service providers; Halal industry; Halal services; Islamic distribution; logistics management; operation barriers; Malaysia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2015.071545

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2015 Vol.22 No.2, pp.193 - 209

Received: 08 Mar 2014
Accepted: 26 Jul 2014
Published online: 31 Aug 2015 *

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