Are Board Member’s Strategic Orientations Associated with Customer Focus? Empirical Evidence from Insurance Companies in Uganda

Abstract

This paper investigates the potential association between the strategic orientations of board members and customer focus within Ugandan Insurance firms. The evaluated strategic orientations encompass analysis, proactiveness, futurity, defensiveness, riskiness, and aggressiveness. Using a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, the research was conducted among a population of 131 insurance companies licensed in Uganda for 2023. The study’s effective sample revealed a 74.7% response rate. The study findings reveal that board members’ strategic orientations are positively and statistically significantly associated with customer focus. The findings further reveal that the most important board member strategic orientations in the insurance sector in Uganda are analysis, defensiveness, and futurity with a customer focus. The study findings further reveal that futurity is negatively and statistically significant with a customer focus. The study concludes that board member strategic orientations are strongly associated with customer focus in the insurance companies in Uganda. The study recommends that top management enhance strategic orientation awareness among board members, align with customer-focused goals, select board members with diverse orientations, and conduct regular board member evaluations.