Relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction during halal certificate application in Kelantan / Mariam Setapa...[et al.]

In Malaysia, only JAKIM and JAIN are given full authority to grant and certify halal certification.
Certain criteria have been set in order for business or individuals to be awarded a halal certification. Even
though the process of applying for a halal certificate may take some time, it can be executed promptly if the
applicant's documentation is ready beforehand as in it complies with the requirements provided. Nevertheless,
some parties contended that strict governance in the process of obtaining the halal certificates preventing the
smoothness of certification process. Thus, this paper intends to study customer satisfaction during halal
certificate application and the respondents came from various backgrounds of business. The independent
variables are assurance, empathy, communication and security taken from SERQUAL model, meanwhile the
dependent variable is customer satisfaction. The population of this study was 100 respondents who have
attended a course organised by JHEAIK, but only 77 (77%) respondents were returned the questionnaire. The
data was analysed using SmartPLS 3.2.1 software. The analysis shows that only empathy determined the
customer satisfaction during halal certificate application meanwhile the other three variables were not the
factors in determining the satisfaction among customers. Thus, the hypothesis 2 was accepted and the rest were
rejected.