Burdening effect of Shariah knowledge and sales performance in Islamic financial institutions: does female salesforce perform better?

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the burdening effect of Shariah knowledge on the sales performance of salesforce in Islamic financial institutions with special reference to gender heterogeneity. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 324 responses were collected from salesforce in Islamic financial institutions of Malaysia, and empirical assessment was conducted with the measures of model fit and bootstrapping techniques using partial least square multi-group analysis. Findings - Empirical findings indicate that burdening effect is evident among salesforce, and the intensity of burdening effect is relatively lesser in female salesforce compared to male salesforce. Empirical findings suggest that respective authorities of Islamic financial institutions to intensify capacity building for their salesforce, particularly in the area where the Shariah knowledge and nature of underlying Islamic contracts are employed in the financial products. Practical implications - There is a significant competitive advantage in preferring more female salesforce to improve the slow growth of the industry that results from burdening effect of Shariah knowledge. Not least of all, it is highly recommended for Islamic financial institutions to provide more training for the male salesforce to overcome the issue of information overload in sales performance. Originality/value - While there is ample literature documented that examines the gender effect in conventional sales and marketing discipline, little emphasis has been given to the salesforce in the Islamic finance industry. Further, the findings of this study provide vital implications for the management in formulating crucial policies with respect to the salesforce preference and capacity building in dealing with the burdening effect of peculiar features of the Shariah knowledge in the light of the ongoing slow growth of the Islamic finance industry.