Partnership between life insurers and their intermediaries

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study attempts to fill the gap in the literature by investigating partnerships between life insurers and insurance intermediaries, the effects of these partnerships, and the parties' willingness to cooperate. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected in a survey of general managers of the insurance intermediaries in Taiwan and were analysed using in-depth interviews and questionnaires. A structural equation modelling approach is employed to test the hypotheses. Findings – The paper finds that partnership components, communication strategies, conflict resolution approaches, and market orientation are related to partnership performance. The paper also finds that willingness to continue cooperation increases with partnership performance. The results have implications for managers of life insurers and their intermediaries. Originality/value – This research is one of the first studies to conceptualize and empirically examine the partnerships of life insurers and insurance intermediaries. Theoretically, a specification of the linkages between characteristics of the partnership, communication strategies, conflict resolution approaches, the market orientation of the partners, the partnership's performance and both parties' willingness to continue cooperation can provide a useful framework for future research. Practically, this study offers insights into how to proactively manage partnerships in order to improve partnership performance, willingness to continue cooperation and avoid the damaging costs inherent in failure.