Identification of sustainability assessment components for insurance companies in Iran using fuzzy delphi and clustering techniques

In today's rapidly evolving business ecosystem, particularly in the insurance industry, complexity and pace of change have reached a level where adaptation to these fluctuations and ensuring sustainability are essential for survival. This has a significant influence both on small-scale and on strategic decisions made by business managers. Therefore, understanding the level of sustainability of companies within the dynamic contemporary environment is of utmost importance. This study aims to identify the sustainability assessment components of insurance companies in Iran and classify them based on sustainability using a clustering approach.

The study was carried out as applied work in terms of the objective and as a descriptive and survey work in terms of data collection and analysis approach. The statistical population of the study included all insurance companies in Iran. To determine the assessment indicators, the main indicators of the GRI model were extracted through an in-depth literature review and analysis of the Global Reporting Initiative website. After weighing these indicators, a structured questionnaire was designed and distributed among 12 experts, and the validity of the components was assessed through a two-round Fuzzy Delphi method. After confirming the components in two rounds, a structured questionnaire was formulated and distributed to 28 experts. Following data collection, insurance companies were classified using the k-means clustering method in SPSS.

The research findings revealed 21 main components and 35 sub-components for assessing the sustainability of insurance companies in Iran. According to the results, the Iranian insurance companies were classified into three clusters based on sustainability: the first cluster included companies in the formation stage, the second cluster encompassed companies in the growth phase, and the third cluster consisted of companies in the development phase with regards to sustainability. Specifically, 17 companies were in the first cluster, 6 companies in the second cluster, and 5 companies in the third cluster.

Companies strive to take steps towards sustainable development by providing sustainability reports, and the insurance industry is no exception. The insurance industry acts as a facilitator in promoting social, environmental, and economic activities. It possesses the necessary mechanisms and incentives to facilitate sustainable business activities on a macro level. However, segments within the insurance industry are susceptible to emerging risks stemming from social, environmental, and economic factors. Businesses deal with a variety of necessities at different levels of sustainability, and each insurance company aligns itself with a particular level of sustainability. The flexibility of insurance companies to adapt to changes and environmental transformations also varies. Therefore, insurance companies within each cluster must be adequately prepared for the changes.