TEAMWORK AND INNOVATIVENESS OF INSURANCE FIRMS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This “study examined the relationship between teamwork and innovativeness of insurance firms in Rivers State. The study specifically examined the relationship between collaboration and innovativeness as well as accountability and innovativeness of insurance firms in Rivers State. The study adopted the Resource Based View Theory and employed a cross-sectional survey research design. The population of the study consisted of 60 managers from 10 insurance firms in Port Harcourt, while data were collected through a structured questionnaire titled Teamwork and Innovativeness Index (TWII). Fifty-three copies of the questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed using Spearman Rank Order Correlation with the aid of SPSS version 25.0. Findings revealed that collaboration has a significant positive relationship with innovativeness (r = 0.620; p < 0.01), while accountability also has a significant positive relationship with innovativeness (r = 0.611; p < 0.01) in insurance firms in Rivers State. The study concluded that teamwork through effective collaboration and accountability significantly enhances innovativeness by promoting idea sharing, responsibility, operational efficiency, and improved service delivery within insurance firms. The study recommended that management of insurance firms should encourage regular interdepartmental collaboration and establish clear accountability systems to improve innovative capability and organizational” performance.