The Impact of Electronic Insurance Implementation on Agility, Competitive Advantage and Profitability in Selected Insurance Companies in Iran

The aim of this study was to investigate the electronic insurance implementation and its impact on organizational agility, competitive advantage and profitability in selected insurance Companies in Iran.

This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of method. The information of this research was based on the library information sources. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to examine three performance factors of insurance companies (i.e., market share, profitability, and wealth level). The research population includes academic professors and experts of insurance companies such as Iran, Asia, Parsian, Pasargad, Kausar, Alborz, Dana, Tejarat Nou, and Ma. These companies together have more than 70 percent of the market shares in the stock sector and are among the first-tier companies in Iran's insurance industry in terms of profitability and wealth factor. About 320 professors and insurance experts were selected by simple random sampling. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Inferential statistics were also used to test research hypotheses and determine the relationship between independent variables and dependent variables. Data analysis was also done using structural equation method and statistical analysis in social science and partial least squares statistical software.

All hidden variables had Cronbach's alpha value and composite reliability above 0.7, which indicates the internal consistency of the questionnaire. Also, the average value of the extracted variance for the variables was higher than 0.5, which indicates the degree of correlation between the structure and its indicators. Therefore, the convergent validity of the measurement model is also desirable. The Fornell and Larker criteria were used to test the divergent validity of the measurement model. Based on the results of this criterion, acceptable divergent validity was reported. The results of research hypotheses showed that the implementation of electronic insurance has a positive and significant effect on all three variables of agility and its dimensions, competitive advantage and profitability of insurance organizations Meanwhile, the effect of electronic insurance implementation on agility (β=0.611) was more than competitive advantage (β=0.476) and profitability (β=0.299).

Considering the new approach of insurance companies towards e-services, it is crucial to pay attention to the key success factors of such programs. Due to the very high importance of the successful implementation of electronic insurance for insurance companies and due to the lack of similar and comprehensive studies, it seems very necessary to carry out such research. The results of this research showed that successful implementation of electronic insurance has a positive and significant effect on the company's agility, competitive advantage, and profitability. The findings of the research provide practical suggestions in the field of information technology infrastructure development to the managers of the insurance industry and for future researches. For example, web technologies and service-oriented architectures can guarantee the agility of insurance by reducing the response time to customers, creating flexibility in responding to external needs. On the other hand, the use of electronic insurance allows companies to get strategic resources in the market faster and new complementary skills are created in the company so that they can maintain their superiority in the competition. Also, the implementation of electronic insurance reduces the costs of administrative bureaucracy, organizational levels and hierarchies, costs of purchasing paper and items, personnel costs, evasion and insurance frauds and other cases. It directly and indirectly affects the company's income and profitability.