MARKETING CAPABILITIES AND TOURIST SATISFACTION IN MALAYSIA’S HALAL TOURISM SMES: SERVICE QUALITY AS MEDIATOR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55197/qjssh.v7i5.1445Keywords:
halal tourism, marketing capability, service quality, tourist satisfaction, resource-based viewAbstract
The halal tourism industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of the global tourism economy, driven by the rising number and expanding purchasing power of Muslim travellers worldwide. Malaysia, consistently ranked among the leading halal tourism destinations, positions small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the operational backbone of this sector, delivering the food, accommodation, transportation, and retail services that shape the Muslim tourist experience. However, despite favourable policy support and sustained sectoral growth, many halal tourism SMEs in Malaysia remain unable to convert rising tourist arrivals into consistent tourist satisfaction, a shortfall attributable in part to uneven marketing capabilities. This conceptual paper proposes an integrated framework examining how four dimensions of marketing capability, namely digital marketing, customer engagement, branding and positioning, and service innovation, influence tourist satisfaction among halal tourism SMEs in Malaysia, with service quality theorised as the mediating mechanism linking these capabilities to tourist outcomes. The framework draws on the Resource-Based View (RBV) to explain marketing capability as a valuable, rare, and inimitable firm resource. It integrates the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) paradigm to explain how marketing stimuli are processed into service quality perceptions that subsequently generate satisfaction responses. By synthesising recent halal tourism, SME marketing, and service quality literature, this paper addresses persistent theoretical, empirical, and contextual gaps in the field. It offers a testable conceptual model intended to guide future empirical validation. The paper contributes to theory by integrating RBV and SOR within a faith-based tourism setting. It offers practical direction for SME managers and tourism policymakers seeking to strengthen Malaysia's halal tourism competitiveness.
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