Islamic Marketing: Fad, Fashion or Obligation

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to uncover hidden truth regarding the fate of Islamic Marketing in Pakistan. The paper addresses three key questions; isn’t Islamic Marketing is the real need of the market, isn’t knowledge of Islamic marketing should be mandatory for all business graduates, and isn’t knowledge of Islamic Marketing provides any competitive edge in recruitment and selection. To have a real insight on these questions, expert opinion from key practitioners and academia were managed. Five professors and eight marketing professionals were interviwed. Data were collected through participant observation methods and the Socratic elenchus as suggested by Wilson (2012). Encouragingly, Islamic Marketing has been acknowledged as the need of the time. Islamic Marketers intend to bridge a gap between companies’ offerings and fundamentals of Islam. Amazingly, it is reported that companies are seeking authenticated knowledge and managerial guidance to align their marketing strategies incordance with the principles of Islam. These findings suggest opportunities with respect to Islamic Marketing and proposed new academic avenues for academia. Despite of market potential, still Islamic marketing isn’t declared mandotory due to inadequate theoratrical foundation and practical research. Finally, results revealed that due to lack of market practices, knowledge of Islamic Marketing still doesn’t considered as competitive weapoen to attain market position. The paper shed light on the need of Islamic Marketing in Pakistan and provide meaningful managerial implications for effective marketing stratgeies.