Participation of SMEs prefer your banking reasons; Gaziantep province example

The aim of this study is to investigate the reasons for SMEs operating in Gaziantep province to turn to Islamic banking. In this sense, the reasons why small and medium-sized enterprises prefer participation banking were analyzed by means of a survey. The questionnaire consisting of 20 questions was analyzed with the SPSS 22 program. It is understood from the findings that the participants included in the study turned to participation banking due to their religious values. Although it has been stated that there are investment products suitable for them, a significant portion of the participants emphasize that they do not prefer the services and/or products offered by participation banking on the grounds of investment. Findings indicate that only some of the participants prefer participation banking originating from investment and financial products. Another remarkable result is that it is possible to state that proximity to the workplace is the second most common reason for business owners to open an account in participation banking. This striking result shows how important the « location » of a bank can be for the participants. However, since the question of location factor was not asked, if a « conventional » bank other than the participation bank had been in the same position, would you still prefer the participation bank, its importance remained open to discussion. It is understood that environmental factors are not significant in terms of preference. Participants state that they have a positive effect on their preference for the participation bank they prefer to be a public bank. Finally, the trust in the personnel working in the participation bank and quality service are other prominent factors. In the light of these findings, it can be thought that the products offered by participation banks and the financial/investment tools are not included in the reasons for the participants to turn to Islamic banking, and their products have not been introduced sufficiently in the participation banking sector yet. In this context, it shows that the sector has not yet reached the « toughness » point and there is still a margin in terms of gaining market share.