Integrating wearable technology products and big data analytics in business strategy. A study of health insurance firms
| Published date | 13 May 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JSIT-08-2018-0109 |
| Date | 13 May 2019 |
| Pages | 255-275 |
| Author | Bishwajit Nayak,Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya,Bala Krishnamoorthy |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Integrating wearable technology
products and big data analytics
in business strategy
A study of health insurance firms
Bishwajit Nayak
School of Business Management,
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies University, Mumbai, India and
Department of Health Insurance, Future Generali India Insurance Company Ltd,
Pune, India
Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya
Department of Strategic Management,
National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, India, and
Bala Krishnamoorthy
Department of Strategy,
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies University, Mumbai, India
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to explore the impact of the adoption of wearable technology products for
Indian health insurance firms. It identifies the key dynamic capabilities that health insurance firms
should build to manage big data generated by wearable technology so as to attain a competitive
advantage.
Design/methodology/approach –A qualitative exploratory studyusing in-depth personal interviews
with 53 Indian health insuranceexperts was conducted with a semi-structured questionnaire.The data were
coded using holistic and patterncodes and then analyzed using the content analysis technique. The findings
were based on the thematicand relational intensity analysis of the codes.
Findings –An empiricalmodel was established where all the propositionswere strongly established except
for the moderate relationship between wearable technology adoption and product innovation. The study
established the nature of the interaction of variables on technology policy, organizational culture, strategic
philosophy, product innovation, knowledge management and customer service quality with wearable
technologyadoption and also ascertained its influenceon firm performance and competitive advantage.
Research limitations/implications –From a dynamic capabilities perspective, this study deliberates
on wearabletechnology adoption in thehealth insurance context. It alsoexplicates the relationshipbetween the
variables on technology policy, organizational culture, strategic philosophy, product innovation, knowledge
managementand customer service qualitywith wearable technologyadoption on firm performance.
Originality/value –This study is one of the first studies to add the context of wearable technology and
health insurance to the existing body of knowledge on dynamic capabilities and sustainable competitive
advantage for the service sector. It would help existing and prospective players in adopting or setting up
appropriatebusiness models.
Keywords Competitive advantage, Dynamic capabilities, Big data, Firm performance,
Health insurance, Wearable technology
Paper type Research paper
A study of
health
insurance firms
255
Received28 August 2018
Revised12 January 2019
7 May2019
Accepted9 May 2019
Journalof Systems and
InformationTechnology
Vol.21 No. 2, 2019
pp. 255-275
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1328-7265
DOI 10.1108/JSIT-08-2018-0109
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1328-7265.htm
1. Introduction
Health insurance has been a critical and sensitive requirement for society as it provides
protection against unforeseen health risks (Gupta and Trivedi, 2005). Health insurance has
been a key healthcare financing mechanism to address the needs of a large population that
does not have proper access to quality healthcare (Gottret et al.,2008). With the increasing
burden of lifestyle diseasesin emerging economies such as India, the role of health insurance
has become vital in providing preventive and wellnesssolutions compared to curative care.
The younger generation engagedin white collared jobs are prone to lifestyle ailments due to
their sedentary lifestyle and fast food consumption (Kanaya, 2018). Non-communicable
diseases such as cardiovascular, cancer, chronic respiratory ailments and diabetes
contributed to 60 per cent of all deaths in India ahead of injuries and communicable,
maternal, prenataland nutritional conditions (Kaveeshwar and Cornwall, 2014).
Only 15 per cent of the 1.3 billion population in India has been covered by health
insurance and out of pocket health expenditure remained high at 69 per cent of total
healthcare expenditure (Chatterjee et al.,2018). In such circumstances, identifying risk
groups and targeting interventionsthrough health insurance mechanism could bring about
desired improvements in the healthstatus of the population (Pandey et al.,2018). The health
insurance needs and health risks vary by the age group, gender, lifestyle, occupation and
economic status of individuals.Segmentation of the population based on their health status
would allow health insurers to offer appropriateproducts targeted at the health needs of the
population. The adoption of health insurance would be higher if customized products are
developed for identifiedrisk groups instead of standard products for all individuals.
Adoption of digitalplatforms by health insurers has been gradually becoming inevitable
to remain relevantin the marketplace (Cappiello,2018;Nayak and Bhattacharyya,2019). The
application of wearable technologyhas been extensive in the field of healthcare (Chan et al.,
2012). Mobilehealth devices have been used to trackthe progress of cardiovascularailments
(Fortino et al.,2019;Rouast et al.,2018) and improve the quality of life for the elderly
population suffering from chronic ailments (Chiarini et al.,2013). Wearable technology
provides individuals with a preventive and curative approach to healthcare (Franklin et al.,
2015), and thus, could appeal to all demographic sections. As health insurance firms deal
with the long-term risk management of individuals, the adoption of wearable devices could
help in makingfocussed healthcare interventions (Marashi andHamidi, 2018).
This paper is intended to highlight the impact of wearableproducts and its implications
on the health insurance industry in India. It also intends to identify the key dynamic
capabilities that could help insurers manage big data generated by wearable technology to
attain competitive advantage(Fosso et al.,2015).Big data usage in healthcare could improve
health outcomes (Talboom and Huentelman, 2018) and help firms generate new business
through appropriateanalytics (Wang et al., 2018).
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 1 deals with a discussion on
dynamic capabilities required to exploit big data generated from wearable technology
products; Section 2 provides research gaps and propositions that emerge from literature
review followed by the conceptual framework in Section 3; Section 4 describes the research
design followed by the findings and discussion of results in Section 5; and Section 6
concludes with the theoretical and practical implications of study, scope and future
directions for research.
2. Theoretical framework
Competitive advantage is critically dependent on firm resources and the way they are
mobilized towards the achievement of the firm’s objectives (Barney, 1991). The sources of
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