Normative practices, narrative fallacies? International reinsurance and its history

Abstract

Reinsurance is often characterised as a business built on personal relationships, goodwill and mutual trust. However, at different times in its history observers have warned that technological and other changes threaten the survival of normative practices in the industry. This article investigates what was involved in the micro-business of reinsurance and how that business changed since its early days. It raises questions about the characterization of normative reinsurance practice and about the role of memory in the assessment of continuity and change.

An integrative approach to investigating longstanding organisational phenomena; opportunities for practice theorists and historians

“…We then present and discuss our findings on relationships, using them to examine and reinterpret those presented in Pearson's (2020). In doing so, we show that this historical analysis, which is located within a partial analysis of a section of the reinsurance industry -Swiss Re during the 'golden age' of reinsurance (prior to the Second World War) -displays limited understanding of how sites of reinsurance market-making activity transcend spatial locations.…”

“…to illuminate the implications of the different approaches to relationships, we now directly juxtapose insights on reinsurance put forward by Pearson (2020) and Jarzabkowski et al (2015). We focus our comparison on the differences between the two pieces in the methods used to capture relationships, the interpretive foundations for understanding and analysing relationships, and the resulting conceptual differences in how relationships are theorised.…”

“…Research regarding the role of relationships in reinsurance by Pearson (2020) and Jarzabkowski et al (2015) provides the basis to draw out differences and complementarities in the methodological and conceptual approaches of historical and practice theoretic studies. For the purpose of this juxtaposition, 'relationships' serve as the illustrative focal phenomenon.…”

“…For the purpose of this juxtaposition, 'relationships' serve as the illustrative focal phenomenon. For Pearson (2020), relationships were conceptualised as dyadic interactions. By contrast, the Jarzabkowski et al (2015) conceptualisation of relationship is grounded in principles of social practice theory (Knorr-Cetina et al, 2005;Schatzki, 2002).…”

“…We do so through our response to a recent article entitled 'Normative practices, narrative fallacies? International reinsurance and its history' by Pearson (2020). this article proposes that the long-held premise that reinsurance -the insurance of insurance companies for large-scale losses -is an industry based on personal relationships (e.g.…”