Towards enhancing innovation performance of insurance players in Uganda: the role of entrepreneurial orientation

Purpose To enhance operating business models, insurance players ought to direct their distinctive focus on innovation to deliver long-term customer and shareholder value. Insurance players need to enhance their innovation performance to thrive in the dynamic market environment. Although scholars have empirically tested the antecedent role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on innovation, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the relative importance of willingness to innovate, proactiveness and risk-taking on innovation. This paper aims to establish how EO enhances innovativeness of Uganda’s insurance players. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional research design was used to collect data from 97 insurance players in Uganda. To determine the relative significance of the entrepreneurial approach on innovation performance, the research adopted usefulness analysis. Findings The results of the study established that willingness to innovate, risk-taking and proactiveness components of EO significantly predicted innovative performance of insurance players. Overall, EO significantly predicted innovation performance. Regarding relative importance, EO was the most “useful” in predicting innovation, preceded by risk-taking, proactiveness and willingness to innovate which are the components of EO. Practical implications Players in the insurance industry need to focus more on sustaining and developing a spirit of entrepreneurship. Management must encourage risk-taking, increase organizational proactivity and continuously champion innovative ideas. The tendency toward risk-taking and proactive behavior might be a benefit of these service-intensive company services. Originality/value The originality of the study is in exploring the relative importance of EO on innovativeness using empirical evidence from insurance players which is a service-intensive sector. The study provides insightful direction to the insurance players to develop an appropriate mix of strategies geared toward activating EO of individuals so as to achieve organizational innovativeness. Empirically, this research expounds on the relative importance of EO on innovation performance using evidence from insurance sector players in Uganda which is a developing country.