Linking “satisfaction” to “intention-to-sell” and “sales performance” of individual agents in the health insurance market: Empirical evidence from India

¹The information collected from the organization on agents was kept confidential in order to respect the wishes of the patron. The explanation about the agents’ performance variables is also kept to a minimum for the same reason.Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science.

Abstract

This study attempts to analyze the antecedents of agents’ satisfaction (AS) and its influence on their intention-to-sell (ITS) and sales performance (SP) in the health insurance market in India by way of developing and testing a model by using path analysis. Results suggest that perceived product quality (PPQ), perceived service quality (PSQ), perceived incentive and reward system (PIRS), perceived supervisory behavior (PSB) and perceived organizational support (POS) have a direct positive relation with AS. Further AS has a significant direct influence on the agents’ ITS and SP. A partial mediation effect of ITS is also observed from AS to SP. Managerial implications of the results are also discussed.

健康保险市场中个人代理的满意度、销售目的和销售业绩的联系：印度市场现状

个人代理，作为保险营销业务的组成部分，是印度每年保险业务的主要贡献者，因为健康保险业务，这一趋势有所下降。本研究旨在通过分析支配代理商的销售业绩来解释以上问题。代理商的销售业绩同时由营销和组织方面的因素决定，主要从营销和组织行为理论来识别，感知产品质量、感知服务质量、激励和奖励制度、监管行为和组织支持发挥着重要作用。虽然研究人员在市场营销和组织行为学领域分别研究了领域特定变量对代理商销售业绩的影响，本研究结合以上两种方法形成了一个复合模型。

根据Baggozi’s (1992)重新制定的态度理论框架，评估→情感反应→行为表现，个人对过去、现在和未来不同事件的评价，会产生一定的情绪，随后会引发不同的行为表现。我们需通过获取他们与管理人和组织的经验；激励和奖励过程；客户反馈关于产品和服务的质量，整合个人代理的营销和组织因素评估。这些评估会产生满意和不满意的情感反应，随后刺激不同的行为，如销售目的和销售业绩。为了检测所提出的框架模型，样本来自于5家主要的非人寿保险保险公司的122名个人代理。所提出框架下的每个结构都对可靠性、维度、聚合、效度和差异性进行了评估，分别使用了一致性分析、探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析, 并且进一步检测假设和构造路径分析技术是合理的。

营销和组织行为框架的结构效度通过验证性因素分析证实。路经分析结果表明，产品质量感知、服务质量感知、奖励和激励系统感知、监督行为感知和组织支持感知积极影响代理态度，反之，代理态度积极影响销售目的和销售表现。此外，相比于市场结构的产品质量感知和服务质量感知，组织行为结构奖励和激励系统感知和组织支持感知假定对代理态度有积极强烈的影响，而不会对监督行为感知有积极影响。此外，从代理态度到销售表现可以看出销售目的有一定的中介作用，确认代理态度如何转化为实际经济指标。

因此，本研究揭示了销售目的和销售表现与他们自己的满意程度直接相关，满意程度来源于对公司产品、服务、奖励和激励程序、监督行为和组织支持的积极感知。研究结果建议保险公司管理者制定商业策略时，应同时着重考虑营销和组织行为。尽管组织的激励和奖励程序和支持相比于产品质量和服务质量对增强代理满意度更加有效，但是仍然需要保持正确维度组合以及他们之间的平衡，管理人员只有这样才能减少周围个人代理的不满，可以培养他们的销售业绩。

Keywords:

• Organizational behavior
• agents’ satisfaction
• intention-to-sell
• sales performance
• product quality
• service quality

关键词:

• 组织行为
• 代理满意度
• 销售目的
• 销售业绩
• 产品质量
• 服务质量

Notes

¹ The information collected from the organization on agents was kept confidential in order to respect the wishes of the patron. The explanation about the agents’ performance variables is also kept to a minimum for the same reason.Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science.

1. Information gathered from the IRDAI annual reports from 2009 to 2013. The premium contribution differential for each year is calculated between the two products (e.g. in the year 2009–10, individual agents’ total motor insurance (MI) contribution stood at Rs. 7221 crs and at Rs. 2851 crs in health insurance (HI), a difference of Rs. 4370 crs, while in 2012–13 the MI contribution stood at Rs. 14,459 crs and HI at Rs. 4976 crs, so the difference stands at 9483 crs).