Vertical Integration and Information Technology Investment in the Insurance Industry

Chris Forman and Anne Gron

The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 2011, vol. 27, issue 1, 180-218

Abstract: In this paper, we examine whether frictions created by differences in firm boundaries affect the speed with which firms adopt new Information Technology. Using a rich dataset on organizational characteristics and Internet investment by over 100 firms in the insurance industry, we show that vertical integration in distribution has a significant impact on the speed with which insurers adopt consumer Internet applications that complement the existing distribution relationship. Vertical integration, however, has no effect on the adoption of tools that enable electronic communication between an insurer and its sales force. Furthermore, vertical integration has no affect on the adoption of Internet technologies, such as basic access, that are not used in distribution. The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Yale University. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2011
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