1,721,100 research outputs found
In a world of Open Finance, are customers willing to share data? An analysis of the data-driven insurance business
Full text linkIn the financial system, the customers’ willingness to share their data is pivotal, because otherwise, banks and insurance companies are powerless to build on customer data. The key step now is to understand whether there is such willingness and what form it takes. In this study, we investigate how willing customers are to share various kinds of data (on physical health, home, driving style, travel, family, social networks) with their insurance company, in return for different rewards (customised products and services, reduced insurance claims risk and insurance premiums adjusted to personal habits and behaviour). Applying the privacy calculus framework to 1501 responses in a web-based survey, we found that rewards, especially when financial, such as insurance premium benefits, play a pivotal role in driving customer decisions about sharing data. Furthermore, customers associate the data they are asked to share with different levels of privacy, influencing their willingness to share. We also found that, when customers are asked to share various kinds of data in return for different rewards, their own personal innovativeness comes into play. Our findings suggest that, in the data-driven insurance business, different rewards offered in return for specific types of data could help companies minimise the “data acquisition cost” and maximise the data collected. In the era of open data, insurers can explore the many opportunities for segmentation, but new kinds of financial exclusion could emerge, resulting in potential biases and thus misinterpretations should analytics and artificial intelligence models be built upon these premises
Emerging pathogens and wildlife populations: shared infectious agents with implications for human and domestic animal health
No full textThe connection between wildlife populations with humans and domestic animals gained growing attention, especially following the Covid-19 pandemic. Although this recent mainstream awareness, the concepts at the basis of wildlife health surveillance (WHS) and in general, wildlife population health and ecosystem health and their relationship with human and livestock health, are well-established key points of veterinary, biology and ecology research.
Despite their shared assumptions, the future trends of the most concerning emerging infectious diseases, of wildlife origin, and their potential spreading is still difficult to predict. Several interconnected drivers, both of natural and anthropogenic origin are involved, with global warming and globalization as some of the more impactful. The consciousness of this unpredictable events, from a certain extent, highlights the importance of an efficient WHS, as an essential tool to monitor continuously the health status of wildlife populations and their role in the emergence of pathogens.
Currently, the most concerning emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are managed through shared international plans. However, other infectious agents are still neglected, with few data available, or mainly studied in domestic populations, lacking an exhaustive knowledge of the wild counterparts.
The present PhD thesis includes a collection of research papers on emerging infectious agents that impact human health (vector-borne infectious agents namely, tick-borne encephalitis virus, Rickettsiales, Bartonella spp., Coxiella spp., Borrelia burgdorferi complex, Usutu virus and West Nile virus) or domestic animal health (Porcine circovirus 2, Porcine circovirus 3, Canine circovirus, Avian circovirus; Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 and Amdoparvovirus genus).
The outcomes reported gave new and updated insights of the above-mentioned EIDs. Although most of the research projects were conducted at a local level, and mainly in North-east Italy, the reported results and the diagnostic methods used are of relevance for WHS and the scientific community.
The proved interconnection of several emerging pathogens between the different considered species, humans included, represents once again the importance of facing the topic of EIDs and multi-host pathogens in a One Health comprehensive perspective.The connection between wildlife populations with humans and domestic animals gained growing attention, especially following the Covid-19 pandemic. Although this recent mainstream awareness, the concepts at the basis of wildlife health surveillance (WHS) and in general, wildlife population health and ecosystem health and their relationship with human and livestock health, are well-established key points of veterinary, biology and ecology research.
Despite their shared assumptions, the future trends of the most concerning emerging infectious diseases, of wildlife origin, and their potential spreading is still difficult to predict. Several interconnected drivers, both of natural and anthropogenic origin are involved, with global warming and globalization as some of the more impactful. The consciousness of this unpredictable events, from a certain extent, highlights the importance of an efficient WHS, as an essential tool to monitor continuously the health status of wildlife populations and their role in the emergence of pathogens.
Currently, the most concerning emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are managed through shared international plans. However, other infectious agents are still neglected, with few data available, or mainly studied in domestic populations, lacking an exhaustive knowledge of the wild counterparts.
The present PhD thesis includes a collection of research papers on emerging infectious agents that impact human health (vector-borne infectious agents namely, tick-borne encephalitis virus, Rickettsiales, Bartonella spp., Coxiella spp., Borrelia burgdorferi complex, Usutu virus and West Nile virus) or domestic animal health (Porcine circovirus 2, Porcine circovirus 3, Canine circovirus, Avian circovirus; Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 and Amdoparvovirus genus).
The outcomes reported gave new and updated insights of the above-mentioned EIDs. Although most of the research projects were conducted at a local level, and mainly in North-east Italy, the reported results and the diagnostic methods used are of relevance for WHS and the scientific community.
The proved interconnection of several emerging pathogens between the different considered species, humans included, represents once again the importance of facing the topic of EIDs and multi-host pathogens in a One Health comprehensive perspective
Examining insurance companies’ use of technology for innovation
Full text linkThe insurance industry is innovating. Business models, services and processes are rapidly evolving, largely backed by technological developments. The particular his- torical context of COVID-19 provides a suitable case to understand the relevance of exploiting technology to react quickly to traditional and emerging risks. Focusing on the initiatives put in place by the most influential insurance companies at the global level, we have framed the innovation mechanisms in the industry, highlighting four rationales underpinning these initiatives (Adaption, Expansion, Reaction and Aggression), which differ according to the relevance of the technology in use and innovation to the portfolio of risks covered. Overall, it emerges that insurance com- panies have the room and capability to innovate, in many cases using technological applications to cover new and existing risks. While the initiatives studied concern the entire value chain, basic primary activities, such as product development, sales and claims management, show that innovation based on new or existing technology determines the success and competitiveness of the business
An overview of Fintech applications to solve the puzzle of health care funding: state-of-the-art in medical crowdfunding
Full text linkCrowdfunding is emerging as an alternative form of funding for medical purposes, with capital being raised directly from a broader and more diverse audience of investors. In this paper, we have systematically researched and reviewed the literature on medical crowdfunding to determine how crowdfunding connects with the health care industry. The health care industry has been struggling to develop sustainable research and business models for economic systems and investors alike, especially in pharmaceuticals. The research results have revealed a wealth of evidence concerning the way crowdfunding is applied in real life. Patients and caregivers utilize web platform-based campaigns all over the world to fund their medical expenses, generally on a spot basis, using donation-based or even reward-based schemes, regardless of the health care system archetype (public, private insurance-based or hybrid). Academics have also focused on funding campaigns and the predictors of success (which range from social behaviour and environment to the basic demographics of the campaigners and their diseases) and on social and regulatory concerns, including heightened social inequality and stigma. While equity crowdfunding is disrupting the way many ventures/businesses seek capital in the market, our research indicates that there are no relevant or consistent data on the practice of medical equity crowdfunding in health care, apart from a few anecdotal cases
Translating technological innovation into efficiency: the case of US public P&C insurance companies
Full text linkIn recent years, Insurtech innovations, driven by technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, emerged in the insurance industry, with the promise of improving efficiency. However, while the positive impact of technology on insurance companies’ efficiency is expected, literature assessing it empirically is scarce, when it comes to recent technological change. Focusing on the US public P&C insurance sector in the period 2012–2018 and relying on both nonparametric (two stage DEA) and parametric (SFA) approaches, it emerges that on average insurance companies were not able to leverage on technological innovations to improve their efficiency. On average a relative level of efficiency among companies, according to a two stage DEA model, was quite stable in time, while the SFA approach shows that the distance between efficient and less efficient firms slightly increased. Moreover, we found one very efficient firm, almost a leader of the market in terms of efficiency, and a homogeneous group of followers, indicating that there is vast scope for improvement for less efficient companies. Nevertheless, even the most efficient company impaired its efficiency over time, suggesting that neither the leader nor on average the followers properly leveraged technology to improve their efficiency. In a competitive scenario, with new players’ entrance and fierce competition, inertia may seriously affect their positioning. Academicians, managers and policymakers should carefully consider the effects that a non-improvement of efficiency following technological change may have on market structure, competition and regulations, potentially opening to further discussion on how technological innovations adoption should be facilitated
Predicting Break-even in FinTech Startups as a Signal for Success
Full text linkFinTech startups drive innovation and competition in the financial services industry. An early milestone for these startups is to achieve break-even, which sends out a positive signal to the market – and to potential partners and financial institutions – by demonstrating viability and lower perceived risks. Our analysis of proprietary survey data using logit and random forest, interpreted through SHAP values, indicates that external funding significantly decreases the likelihood of a startup reaching break-even. This negative impact can be traced to strategic misalignment with investor expectations, delays in the implementing of stringent financial management practices, and an emphatic focus on rapid growth
SCALING UP THE FINTECH BUSINESS: COMPETITION, REGULATION & DATA MANAGEMENT
No full textWe proposed this Special Issue in early 2021, firmly believing that the future of FinTech would have been following three main directions: (i) collaborations, partnerships and acquisitions between traditional and non-traditional players, from start-ups to BigTech, (ii) regulatory challenges, arbitrages and innovation, and (iii) centrality of data, ranging from the value of open or alternative data to their quality, and the different approaches in open data availability, data protection or data treatment at the country level
The potential of DAOs for funding and collaborative development in the life sciences
Full text linkVitaDAO funds longevity research through a blockchain-based decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), showcasing the potential of collaborative, transparent and alternative systems while also highlighting the challenges of coordination, regulation, biases and skepticism in reshaping traditional research financing methods
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