Entrepreneurial orientation and product innovation of private health insurers in South Africa.
Date
2013-02-21
Authors
Streak, Milton Alfred
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Abstract
This research study analyses a conceptual model investigating the relationship between the level of health insurer product innovation and entrepreneurial orientation (EO); the relationship between the level of health insurer product innovation and external collaboration between health insurers and healthcare service providers. This study also analyses whether low presence of perceived strategic regulatory factors, necessary for encouraging health insurer product innovation in the private healthcare industry in South Africa, weakens the relationship between the level of new health insurer product innovation and EO, as well as the relationship between the level of new health insurer product innovation and external collaboration between health insurers and healthcare service providers.
The research study, focusing on major actors in both the demand and supply side structures of the private healthcare value chain, found that organisational-level EO is a very strong predictor of health insurer product innovation in the South African private healthcare industry. The research study also found that external collaboration between health insurers and healthcare service providers is a weak predictor of health insurer product innovation. An important finding of this study was that the low presence of strategic regulatory factors (which are necessary for encouraging health insurer product innovation in the South African private healthcare industry) means that the relationship between health insurer product innovation and EO is not moderated, and neither is the relationship between health insurer product innovation and external collaboration between health insurers and healthcare service providers.
These findings contribute to the South African private healthcare industry in terms of innovation, regulation, external collaboration and entrepreneurial orientation literature and studies.
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Keywords
Health insurance, South Africa, Healthcare, Product innovation