Presenting a Customer-Centric Digital Value Creation Model for the Insurance Industry in the Digital Economy

Abrofarakh, Mona; Shahroodi, Kambiz; Mirbarg Kar, Seyed Muzafar; Delafrooz, Narges

doi:10.22054/dcm.2025.80137.1247

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

¹ Ph.D. candidate in Business Management, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Business Management, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran

10.22054/dcm.2025.80137.1247

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to develop a comprehensive model for digital value creation for customers in the insurance industry within the context of the digital economy. It seeks to identify key factors, strategies, and outcomes associated with digital transformation in insurance, addressing gaps in the literature on practical implementation and socio-cultural impacts.
Method: This applied research adopts a qualitative methodology grounded in theory. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 insurance managers and experts in 2024, selected through purposive sampling. Additional sources included library research and specialized texts. Interviews were coded and analyzed using ATLAS.ti software, applying open, axial, and selective coding to construct the conceptual model.
Findings: The analysis produced 91 initial codes, organized into 18 core concepts across six main dimensions. Causal conditions include management, technical, systemic, organizational, and human resource procedures. Contextual conditions relate to policies, laws, and the current state of the insurance industry. Intervening conditions involve financial resources, job conditions, and socio-cultural factors. Strategies identified include incentive policies, training and specialization, digitization, and strategic review. The outcomes highlight improved industry efficiency, better customer management, enhanced employee satisfaction, and stronger project management.
Conclusion: The proposed model underscores the importance of continuous adaptation to technological change and market dynamics for success in the digital economy. Key recommendations include implementing automation systems, applying AI for personalized services, strengthening data security, and advancing digital communication channels. This model provides a strategic framework for insurance companies to enhance digital value creation, improve customer experience, and achieve sustainable growth in a competitive environment.

Keywords

References

Amit, R., Zott, C. (2001). Value creation in e-business. Strategic Management Journal, 22(6–7), 493–520. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.187

Ancillai, C., Marinelli, L., & Pascucci, F. (2022). Digital-driven business model innovation: the role of data in changing companies’ value logic. In M. Ratajczak-Mrozek, & P. Marszałek (Eds.), Digitalization and firm performance. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83360-2_4

Anshari, M., Almunawar, M. N., & de Pablos, P. O. (2023). Disruptive Innovation and a Multi-Sided Digital Marketplace. In Handbook of Research on Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Management in Asia’s Digital Economy, IGI Global, 366–377. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-5849-5.ch020

Chin, H., Marasini, D.P., & Lee, D. (2023). Digital transformation trends in service industries. Serv Bus, 17, 11–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-022-00516-6

Constantinides, P., Henfridsson, O., & Parker, G. G. (2018). Introduction—Platforms and infrastructures in the digital age. Information Systems Research, 29(2), 381–400. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2018.0794

Eckert, C., Eckert, J., & Zitzmann, A. (2021). The status quo of digital transformation in insurance sales: an empirical analysis of the german insurance industry. ZVersWiss 110, 133–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12297-021-00507-y

Eckhardt, J. T., Ciuchta, M. P., & Carpenter, M. (2018). Open innovation, information, and entrepreneurship within platform ecosystems. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 12, 369–391. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1298

Erdmann, A. (2024). Pricing 360°: A Paradigm Shift in the Way Pricing Is Managed in the Digital Economy, Matosas-López, L. (Ed.) The Impact of Digitalization on Current Marketing Strategies (Marketing & Technology: New Horizons and Challenges), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, 79-96. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-686-320241005

Eti, S., Dinçer, H., & Meral, H. (2024). Insurtech in Europe: identifying the top investment priorities for driving innovation. Financ Innov 10, 38. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-023-00541-y

Flückiger, I., & Duygun, M. (2022). New technologies and data in insurance. Geneva Pap Risk Insur Issues Pract 47, 495–498. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41288-022-00274-6

Gong, C., & Ribiere, V. (2021). Developing a unified definition of digital transformation. Technovation, 102, 102217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2020.102217

Graesch, J. P., Hansel-Borner, S., & Hensler, J. (2021). Information technology and marketing: an important partnership for decades. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 121(1), 123–157. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-08-2020-0510

Grassi, L. (2024). In a world of Open Finance, are customers willing to share data? An analysis of the data-driven insurance business. Eurasian Bus Rev. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-024-00263-w

Hansen, R., & Sia, S. K. (2015). Hummel’s digital transformation toward omnichannel retailing: key lessons learned. MIS Quarterly Executive, 14(2), 51–66. https://aisel.aisnet.org/misqe/vol14/iss2/3

He, T., Liu, W., & Shao, X. (2023). Exploring the digital innovation process and outcome in retail platform ecosystems: disruptive transformation or incremental change. Electron Commer Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-023-09699-0

Hinterhuber, A., Vescovi, T., & Checchinato, F. (2021). Digital transformation: an overview. In A. Hinterhuber, T. Vescovi, & F. Checchinato (Eds.), Managing digital transformation: understanding the strategic process. Routledge.

Kretschmer, T., Leiponen, A., Schilling, M., & Vasudeva, G. (2022). Platform ecosystems as meta-organizations: Implications for platform strategies. Strategic Management Journal, 43(3), 405–424. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3250

Kubrak, K., Milani, F., & Nava, J. (2023). Digital Technology-Driven Business Process Redesign: A Classification Framework. In: Nurcan, S., Opdahl, A.L., Mouratidis, H., Tsohou, A. (eds) Research Challenges in Information Science: Information Science and the Connected World. RCIS 2023. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 476. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33080-3_13

Lledó, J., & Pavía, J. M. (2022). Dataset of an actual life-risk insurance portfolio. Data in Brief, 45, 108655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2022.108655

Loi, M., Hauser, C., & Christen, M. (2022). Highway to (digital) surveillance: When are clients coerced to share their data with insurers? Journal of Business Ethics, 175, 7–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04668-1

Matarazzo, M., Penco, L., Profumo, G., & Quaglia, R. (2021). Digital transformation and customer value creation in made in Italy SMEs: a dynamic capabilities perspective. Journal of Business Research, 123, 642–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2022.108655

McCrea, M., & Farrell, M. (2018). A conceptual model for pricing health and life insurance using wearable technology. Risk Management and Insurance Review, 21(3), 389–411. https://doi.org/10.1111/rmir.12112

Meier, H.B., Marthinsen, J.E., Gantenbein, P.A., & Weber, S.S. (2023). Financial Digitalization, FinTech, and the Collaborative Economy. In: Swiss Finance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23194-0_11

Nylén, D., & Holmström, J. (2015). Digital innovation strategy: A framework for diagnosing and improving digital product and service innovation. Business Horizons, 58(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2014.09.001

Pallant, J., Sands, S., & Karpen, I. (2020). Product customization: a profile of consumer demand. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 54, 102030. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.102030

Pascucci, F., Savelli, E., & Gistri, G. (2023). How digital technologies reshape marketing: evidence from a qualitative investigation. Ital. J. Mark. 2023, 27–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43039-023-00063-6

Ravula, P. (2022). Monetary and hassle savings as strategic variables in the ride-sharing market. Research in Transportation Economics, 94, 101184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2022.101184

Robinson, P. J., & Botzen, W. W. (2022). Setting descriptive norm nudges to promote demand for insurance against increasing climate change risk. The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance-Issues and Practice, 1–23. 10.1057/s41288-021-00248-0

Russo-Spena, T., Tregua, M., D’Auria, A. & Bifulco, F. (2022). A digital business model: An illustrated framework from the cultural heritage business. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 28(8), 2000–2023. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-01-2021-0088

Ryu, S. (2023). Coupon or my privacy: How consumers choose to disclose their personal information and accept mobile location-based advertising (LBA) through privacy calculus. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 22(5), 1158–1172. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.2192

Schramm, N., Oertwig, N. & Kohl, H. (2023). Conceptual Approach for a Digital Value Creation Chain within the Timber Construction Industry – Potentials and Requirements. In: Kohl, H., Seliger, G., Dietrich, F. (Eds) Manufacturing Driving Circular Economy. GCSM 2022. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28839-5_67

Sewpersadh, N. S. (2023). Disruptive business value models in the digital era. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 12(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-022-00252-1

Shah, D., & Murthi, B. P. S. (2021). Marketing in a data-driven digital world: implications for the role and the scope of marketing. Journal of Business Research, 125, 772–779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.062

Sheth, J. (2021). New areas of research in marketing strategy, consumer behavior, and marketing analytics: the future is bright. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 29(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.2020.1860679

Standaert, W., & Muylle, S. (2022). Framework for open insurance strategy: Insights from a European study. The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance-Issues and Practice, 47(3), 643–668. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41288-022-00264-8

Tabesh, P., Mousavidin, E., & Hasani, S. (2019). Implementing big data strategies: a managerial perspective. Business Horizons, 62(3), 347–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2019.02.001

Tang, Y., & Ning, X. (2023). Understanding user misrepresentation behavior on social apps: The perspective of privacy calculus theory. Decision Support Systems, 165, 113881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2022.113881

Urueña-Mejía, J. C., Gutierrez, L. H., & Rodríguez-Lesmes, P. (2023). Financial inclusion and business practices of microbusiness in Colombia. Eurasian Business Review, 13(2), 465–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-022-00231-2

Van den Boom, F. (2023). Regulating telematics insurance–enabling car data-driven innovations. European Business Law Review, 34(1).

Wang, R. D., & Miller, C. D. (2020). Complementors’ engagement in an ecosystem: A study of publishers’e-book offerings on Amazon Kindle. Strategic Management Journal, 41(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3076

Wirtz, B. W., & Wirtz, B. W. (2021). Digital ecosystem, disintermediation, and disruption. Digital Business and Electronic Commerce: Strategy, Business Models and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63482-7_9

International Journal of Digital Content Management

Presenting a Customer-Centric Digital Value Creation Model for the Insurance Industry in the Digital Economy

References

References

Volume 6, Issue 11
July 2025
Pages 101-125

Presenting a Customer-Centric Digital Value Creation Model for the Insurance Industry in the Digital Economy

References

References

Volume 6, Issue 11July 2025Pages 101-125

Volume 6, Issue 11
July 2025
Pages 101-125