Is the high performance organization framework applicable to Takaful insurance companies?

Meerna Mroueh and Andre de Waal

Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 77-90

Abstract: Purpose - Islamic finance is an interesting field of research, as it represents an alternative to conventional finance for Muslims. It is a way of conducting finance based on the principles of Islam and prohibition of interest. Islamic finance can be divided into two areas: Islamic banking and Islamic insurance (Takaful). This paper aims to describe a research study on the applicability of the high-performance organization (HPO) framework on Takaful insurance companies and whether it can improve their performance in a sustainable way. Design/methodology/approach - The factors and characteristics of the HPO framework are theoretically matched with the characteristics of the Takaful industry for evaluating whether these reinforce or weaken each other. The outcome of this matching process gives an indication of whether it is easier or more difficult for Takaful insurance companies, compared with conventional companies, to apply the HPO framework and transform themselves into HPOs. Findings - It can be theoretically expected that, out of 35 HPO characteristics, 10 will be easier to strengthen in Takaful organizations compared with conventional organizations and 9 will be more difficult, and for 16 characteristics, there will be no difference. These results suggest that, most likely, it does not make a difference whether UAE Takaful organizations or conventional organizations implement the HPO framework, they will probably need roughly the same amount of effort to make a successful transition. Research limitations/implications - In a follow-up study, the HPO framework will be applied at several Takaful insurance companies to evaluate the operation of the framework in practice. Originality value - To date, no studies of the HPO framework and HPOs have been conducted at Takaful insurance companies in the UAE. Thus, by theoretically matching the HPO framework with Takaful organizations, the study fills a gap in the management literature regarding high-performance improvement techniques for Takaful organizations.

Keywords: United Arab Emirates; HPO; Takaful; High performance organizations; Insurance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jiabrp:jiabr-03-2015-0005

DOI: 10.1108/JIABR-03-2015-0005

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research is currently edited by Dr Mohammad Hudaib and Prof Roszaini Haniffa

More articles in Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().