Corporate social responsibility: the case of microinsurance in Lebanon

Abstract

Purpose- This research attempts to assess the merits of the stakeholder/legitimacy theory on one side and the economic/decision usefulness theory on the other side, in explaining the perception of the Lebanese insurance managers about a potential introduction of microinsurance in their respective portfolio of insurance products. The study is conducted from a corporate social responsibility perceptive using socio-political theories, in particular, the stakeholder and legitimacy theory and the economic theories that include agency and decision usefulness theories. Design/methodology/approach- Deductive in nature, this paper uses descriptive and inferential statistical methods. A survey questionnaire is distributed to the listed insurance companies in Lebanon to gauge their views about the use of microinsurance as a corporate responsibility item in their planning process and test the hypotheses related to socio-political and economic theories Potential outcomes- The findings provide indications about insurance companies' views about the concept of microinsurance from a corporate social responsibility perspective. Moreover, results reveal that the social factors have more importance than the economic factors in making the decision to include microinsurance in the in Lebanese insurance firms' portfolios. Limitations- few limitations were encountered in collecting the primary data and distributing the questionnaire to respondents in insurance firms Implications- At the theoretical level, this paper attempts to extend the use of CSR theories by assessing the validity in a new construct (environment and methodology). This paper has also demonstrated the usefulness of the socio-political perspective in understanding the social behavior. At the practical level, this research attempts to enlighten the decision making process to include corporate social responsibility themes, particularly in providing microinsurance, in Lebanese insurance firms' srategic planning processes that would result in more socially and ethically oriented insurance activities in Lebanon. Originality/value- The study is original in its content since microinsurance is not yet adopted in Lebanon, so the perception about microinsurance and CSR is being tested before it is in place. Recent studies on microinsurancc are conducted from an economical point of view, thus using the corporate social responsibility perspective is a new original angle that is worth considering.