Interfaith Marketing: A Cross-Religious Approach

Religious affiliation and religiosity of consumers can give rise to a differentiation of marketing strategy and marketing mix. They influence the values, habits and attitudes of consumers as well as their decision-making and consumption behavior. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge of comparative religious research.

The authors discuss the basic concepts and approaches of this interdisciplinary field. They describe central concepts of religious studies (e.g. intrinsic vs. extrinsic religiosity) and the various world religions. Then, they analyze how religiosity and religious affiliation influence consumer behavior, and what consequences this has for companies that operate across borders. How can or should they take into account the religious characteristics of their target groups?

This original book will be a valuable resource for scholars of international marketing and business, consumer behavior and religious studies.

Katja Gelbrich is Full Professor of Business Administration and International Management at Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, Germany. Her major fields of research are automated agents, digital services, cross-cultural marketing & management, and service recovery. She has published articles in scientific journals such as Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Marketing Letters, Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, and Journal of Services Marketing.

Stefan Müller was Full Professor of Business Administration and Marketing at Dresden University of Technology. His major fields of research are customer behaviour, cross-cultural marketing, international marketing, and interfaith marketing. He has published articles in scientific journals such as Journal of International Business Studies, Management International Review, Journal of Business Research, Marketing Letters, and Journal of Euromarketing.

Frank G. Cabano is Assistant Professor of Marketing at The University of Texas at El Paso. His major fields of research are religion’s influence on consumer behavior, identity-based consumption, and judgment and decision making. He has published articles in scientific journals such as Journal of Service Research, European Journal of Marketing, Information & Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Psychology & Marketing, and Marketing Letters.