Is social media or word-of-mouth more effective in halal-based mobile application usage?

Purpose This paper aims to examine the different types of communication mechanisms in motivating the use of halal-based apps among Brunei Muslim students in higher education institutions abroad. Design/methodology/approach Using a convenience sampling procedure, 100 online structured questionnaires were accumulated from various higher education institutions abroad with a 60% response rate from Brunei Muslim students. Descriptive analysis, Binomial Logit and the Binomial Probit model were used to test different types of communication mechanisms in motivating the use of halal-based apps among Brunei Muslim students studying abroad. Demographic profiling such as gender, age, university programs and length of the program was also considered in the study. Findings Based on the statistical analyses, the word-of-mouth (WOM) mechanism is significant and more effective in influencing halal-based app usage among Muslim students abroad. Moreover, halal-based app usage with the combination of WOM mechanism and social media platform play a vital role in spreading halal awareness. Research limitations/implications The sample was taken from random higher educational institutions abroad and respondents were selected using convenience sampling. Therefore, it may not be fully representative of the population of Brunei Muslim university students studying abroad. Second, there may also be missing variables that have not been considered in the study. Practical implications This study generates important insights from Muslim consumers on halal-based app usage. Stakeholders can integrate halal-based apps with digital word-of-mouth and social media interfaces to promote halal awareness and halal-based app usage effectively. Originality/value This research adds to the current limited knowledge of halal-based app usage among Brunei Muslim university students abroad.