Explanation of Skepticism and Trust Dialectic in Buying Behavior of Life Insurance Consumers: A Grounded Theory

The lack of comprehensive understanding of the policyholders' buying behavior as a process and aspect of social and human interaction is one of the main reasons for the undeveloped life insurance market in Iran. The purpose of this study is to explain the life insurance buying behavior (LIBB) role as a cognitive, psychological and behavioral process based on the lived experience of individuals.

The qualitative approach and the grounded theory strategy of Corbin and Strauss (4th edition) was used as the research method. In-depth interviews with 27 participants including prospect and actual policyholders, sales representatives and life insurance experts have been conducted using theoretical sampling. Open coding, axial coding (for themes) and selective coding (for context, process and integration) was applied using the strategies of questioning, comparisons, and the memos, diagrams and paradigm tools (Through MAXQDA 12 software) concluded to the LIBB model.

The result of this study represents a model of Life Insurance Buying Behavior(LIBB) in Iran.

The result of this study represents a model that considers LIBB in Iran as a dialectic between skepticism and trust and a process towards building trust. In this context, the superiority of doubt or trust at each stage of the process leads to different behaviors.