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TopIntroduction
Companies are investing in new technologies to attract new customers, keep current ones, and stay competitive. One of the most competitive sectors in the world is finance, and also it is the one that is greatly affected by technological developments (Frame & White, 2014). Considering current technological advancements, mobile banking (m-banking) has become one of the most utilitarian and practical service platforms in the last few years in user experience (Martínez-López et al., 2014). However, it becomes far from being competitive since almost all banks are adopting m-banking. The challenge becomes to convince customers to use it. One way to achieve it is to promote it by introducing game mechanics to the services supplied in m-banking. Placing game mechanics in m-banking services for ordinary transactions, such as sending money, paying bills, and managing savings, could change how m-banking operates. Venkatesh, Thong, and Xu (2012) stated that providing an entertaining environment increases technology use.
For banking operations, gamification is a tool that can be successfully used to enhance the relationship with bank customers and m-banking. However, as they try to operate according to Islamic principles, Islamic banks could be concerned that gamification can be understood as gambling. As Islamic banking customers' concern is the starting point, one aim of the current study is to analyze how they are affected by gamification, provided by their banks' m-banking, in their behavioral intention (BI). Another aim of the research is to investigate the adoption of m-banking applications of Islamic banking customers. The extended UTAUT model (UTAUT2), proposed by Venkatesh, Thong, and Xu (2012), is utilized to reach the aim. As proven by Venkatesh, Thong, and Xu (2012) and Chang (2012), UTAUT2 is more potent than UTAUT in explaining BI. Besides its power, the utilization of the UTAUT2 model in this study is its proven success in identifying the factors responsible for adopting any technology (Baabdullah et al., 2019). The UTAUT2 model is enriched by adding gamification as a new construct. A third aim is to understand the moderating effects of gender and age on all model variables.
To sum up, the current study aims to answer the following research questions:
- 1.
Is gamification an influential variable in predicting the BI of the m-banking use when the customers have Islamic concerns?
- 2.
Are the variables in UTAUT2 the significant predictors of the BI of the m-banking use for Islamic banks' customers?
- 3.
Are age and gender moderating the gamification and the variables in UTAUT2?
TopBackground
Islamic Context In Banking
Like many other religions, Islam is a religion that encompasses every area of life with its principles and rules. These rules and regulations take place in the Qur'an, which is the primary source of Islam. The banks operating within this financial structure has alternative names as “participation bank,” “profit-loss partnership bank,” or “interest-free bank.”
The main difference between the conventional banking system and the Islamic system lies in interest (Lewis & Algaoud, 2001). Many verses in the Qur'an and the words of the Prophet Muhammad prohibit interest (Atar, 2017). Islamic banking refers to a structure within the Islamic financial system that engages in interest-free banking (Lewis & Algaoud, 2001) and risk sharing (Chong & Liu, 2009). Profit and loss are shared between parties causing the protection of the rights of the parties. In Islamic banking, there is the prohibition of excessive risk and speculation, the application of payment of money to the seller in exchange for invoices in the buying of goods, and the provision of financing in return for a good or service (Aktepe, 2014).
There are behavioral differences between Islamic banking customers and conventional banking customers. The aforementioned interest sensitivity has played an influential role in the bank preference of these customers. To investigate Islamic banking customers' selection criteria, the study conducted by Okumuş (2005) demonstrated that “religious reasons” were the most crucial selection criteria. Another research conducted by Lee and Ullah (2011) pointed out that customers prefer Islamic banks because they act in accordance with Islamic law.