OBSTACLES AND STRATEGIES IN DEVELOPING HALAL INDUSTRY: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA

Abstract

Purpose of the study: Indonesia is a country with a majority of the Muslim population and the development of the halal industry should be the main focus. This study aims at examining the obstacles of halal industry development in Indonesia. It also attempts to provide strategies on how to accelerate the development of the halal industry in Indonesia. Methodology: This study used a qualitative research approach with the Analytic Network Process (A.N.P.) analysis techniques. This analysis process is supported by Microsoft Excel and A.N.P. software (Superdecisions). The analysis results from A.N.P. are in the order of priority. Because the A.N.P. analysis technique only uses the opinions of the experts, the results of this study will be robust enough. Main Findings: Based on the results of literature and in-depth interviews with experts, there are several important obstacles related to the development of the halal industry in Indonesia. Those obstacles are policy, production, socialization, infrastructure, and human resources. Based on the A.N.P. analysis result, from five groups found, the biggest weight is the human resource, infrastructure, production, policy, and socialization. Applications of this study: This research compiles the development strategy of the halal industry in Indonesia based on the priority obstacles agreed by the experts. This strategy focuses on the role of four economic participants, namely governments, consumers, investors, and industry. Therefore, it will be easier to continue the strategy into the halal industry development program in Indonesia. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study considers the priority of obstacles in the purposing strategy for developing the halal industry in Indonesia, which has never been done in previous studies. In addition, the analysis technique used refers to the opinions of experts in the Indonesian halal industry, so the results can be more applicable.