1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management

1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka

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Proceeding of the 1ST Intradisciplinary Confe Conference of

Management Researchers

Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards as Sustainable Future ICMR 2016

10th – 12th August 2016 Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Belihuloya, Sri Lanka

Conference Committee of the 1st ICMR Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Belihuloya Sri Lanka

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Proceedings of the 1st Intradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers – 2016

The material contained in this publication has been provided by authors of research abstracts. Neither the Faculty of Management Studies of the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka nor the Editorial Committee is responsible for any material reproduced in this publication. The correct bibliographic citation for this publication is as follows: Faculty of Management Studies 2016. Proceeding of the 1st ICMR 2016 Conference. Belihuloya: Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. ISBN 978-955-644-051-

Copyright © 2016 by the Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka All rights reserved according to the code of Intellectual Property Act of Sri Lanka, 2003 Published by ICMR 2016 and Faculty of Management Studies. Tel: +94 45 2280007 Fax: +94 45 2280007 August 2016

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka PERFACE The 1st Intradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers (1st ICMR 2016) is organized by the Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka for the first time from 10th to 12th August 2016 at the Faculty Premises on the theme “Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards a sustainable future”. Ninety two peer reviewed research papers will be presented under six tracks namely Human Resource Development & Organizational Changes, Contemporary issues in Finance, Pragmatic Approach to Banking & Insurance, Marketing Management, Tourism Policy & Planning, and Sustainable Business Operations at this research conference. Eminent Professors in the field of Management namely Professor Emeritus Sharan B. Merriam, Senior Professor Henarath H.D.N.P Opatha and Associate Professor Jamaliah Abdul Hamid will take part in the conference as keynote speakers. Registered participants will get the opportunity to participate in the post conference tour on 12th of August 2016. This conference will serve as an ideal platform for the researchers, academicians and practitioners to share their ideas and develop collaborations and corporations in the sphere of Management.

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka EDITORIAL BOARD

Dr. M. S. M. Aslam, (Editor in Chief/ Chair) Department of Tourism Management Dr. D. A. I. Dayarathna (Co-chair)

Department of Accountancy and Finance

Dr. Athula Gnanapala (Co-chair)

Department of Tourism Management

Dr. Thilini Chathurika Gamage (Secretary) Department of Marketing Management Ms. Randika Kapuge (Co-chair)

Department of Marketing Management

Ms. Chrishangika Perera (Co-chair)

Department of Business Management

Scientific Committee Senior Prof. H. H. D. N. P Opatha

University of Sri Jayawardenapura

Prof. Malcolm Cooper

Ritsumaiken Asia Pacific University

Prof. Jeremy Buultjens

Southern Cross University, Australia

Prof. Emeritus. Sharan B. Merriam

University of New Georgia

Prof. Jamaliah Binthi Abdul Hamid

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Prof. P. S. M Gunaratne

University of Colombo

Prof. Dallen J. Thimothy

Arizona State University, USA

Dr. Iraj Ratnayake

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka

Dr. D. A. I. Dayarathna


Dr. Athula Gnanapala


Dr. M.S.M. Aslam


Dr. Wasantha Rathnayake

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Review Panel

Dr. M.S.M. Aslam


Dr. D. A. I. Dayarathna


Dr. Athula Gnanapala


Dr. Iraj Ratnayake


Dr. Wasantha Ratnayake


Dr. W.M.P.S.B. Wahala


Dr. Thilini C. Gamage


Dr. Vilasini De Silva


Ms. L.M.C.S. Menike


Mr. D.G. Dharmarathne


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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Mr. D. Jasinghe


Mr. P.J. Jayathilake


Mrs. K.L.B.G. Dharmarathne


Ms. L.D. Kalyani


Mr. A.M.J. Aththanayeke


Mr. R.A.G. Bandara


Mr. H.M.C.G. Bandara


Mr. R.A.C. Ushantha


Mr. T.U.I Peries


Mr. H.R. Sampath


Mr. A.R.M.M Ratnayake

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Language Editor

Mr. H.G. Piyasiri

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Compiling and Formatting

Mr. I.A. Ekanayake


Ms. A.W. Thiranagama


Ms. A.W.C.G.N. Wijethunga


Mr. W. M. C. K. B. Wanigasekara


Ms. M. Vithiyalani

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Technical Assistance

Ms. M. L. W. O. M. Karunaratne


Ms. T.M.N. Tharanga


Ms. G.K.M. Wickramarathne


Ms. J.A.R.C Sandaruwini


Ms. A.N.K. Jayaweera


E-Documentation and Web Administration Mr. W. M. C. K. B. Wanigasekara


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

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Editorial Board

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Towards a Sustainable Future: Managerial Reflections Senior Professor H. H. D. N. P. Opatha

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MOOC: A Sustaining or Disruptive Innovation in Higher Education? Taking A Research Perspective Associate Professor Jamaliah Abdul Hamid

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Accountancy & Finance Test of Uncovered Interest Rate Parity for Sri Lanka:Evidence from LKR/GBP Rate H. Kaushala & C. Rajapakse

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Analysis of Dynamic Linkage of Stock Returns and Exchange Rates: Comparative Evidence from Sri Lanka and India A. W. G. C. N. Wijethunga & Dayaratne D. A. I.

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Relationship between Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior of Management Undergraduates of Sri Lanka U. C. Edirisinghe & R. Amarasinghe

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Effect of Institutional Excellence on Stock Market Development T. U. I. Peiris

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An Analysis of Capital Structure of Firms and Anomalies that Persist in the Sri Lankan Context: An Empirical Study of Selected Firms Listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange Y. Jayasekara & D. A. I. Dayaratne

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Technical Efficiency of Small Scale Vegetable Growers in Sri Lanka: A Comparison of Parametric and Non-parametric Approach A. A. Shantha

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A Review on Triple Bottom Line Optimization for Sustainability in Supply Chains

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka K. R. H. L. Gunasekara The Impact of ISFTA on Exporters in Sri Lanka U. P. Wijewardene & H. D. Karunaratne

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Information Content of Right Issue Announcements and Information Efficiency in Sri Lankan Stock Market D. G. Dharmarathna & C. Amarasekara

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Foreign Direct Investment and Endogenous Growth: Evidence from South Asian Countries T .U. I. Peiris

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Capital Structure and Financial Performance: Evidence from a Leading Listed Commercial Bank in Colombo Stock Exchange D. G. L. Rasika & I. P. Liyanage

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Effect of Audit Committee Characteristics on Real Activities Manipulation: Evidence from Nigerian Listed Manufacturing Firms A.B. Mauda & D. A. I. Dayaratne

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Influence of Macro-Economic Variables on Foreign and Local Trading Behaviour in Colombo Stock Exchange A. W. G. C. N. Wijethunga, D. A. I. Dayaratne & D. G. Dharmaratne

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Relationship between Risk and Return in Colombo Stock Exchange: A Beta Sorted Portfolio Approach A. A. A. G. Kumara, D. A .I. Dayaratne & A. W. G .C. N. Wijethunga

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Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Financial Performance with Special Reference to the Hatton National Bank PLC H. T. M. De Silva

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Effect of Financial Development on Economic Growth: Evidence from South Asian Countries R. S. Hewage & T. U .I. Peiris

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Banking and Insurance Factors Affecting on Cross Selling of Dwelling House and Personal Accident Insurance for Private Motor Car Policyholders in Sri Lanka M. Vithiyalani & K. D. U. D. Fernando

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Effect of Job Satisfaction and Job Stress on Perceived Job Performance of Insurance Agents in Sri Lanka

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka R. S. Hewage & A. A. M. D. Amarasinghe Awareness of Insurance among the Students of the Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka K .A. D. K. H. Kahandawala, R. P. D. Jayasena, L. N. P. Perera, S. P. K. D. Senanayake & K. D. U. D. Fernando

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Popularity of Micro-insurance Mechanisms and the Poverty of Labourers in the Tea Industry in Estate Sector K. D. U. D. Fernando & G. Damayanthi

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Farmers’ Perception, Awareness and Influential Factors towards Insurance of Paddy Cultivation S. S. Weedige

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Determinants of Retention of Insurance Agents in Life Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka D. G. L. Rasika, W. S. Sanjeewa & T. Perera

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Determinants of Insurance Policy Lapsation: A Case Study in AIA Insurance PLC T. Ranaweera & D .G .L .Rasika

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Utilization of Media Mix for Life Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka H. M. D. S. Wijenayaka

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Technology Adoptability of Insurance Agents: A Case Study in Asian Alliance Insurance PLC L. H. I. Amali & D. G. L. Rasika

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Influence of Bank Interest Rate on the Buying Behaviour of Life Insurance Products: A Survey among Selected Households in Sri Lanka S. K. Gamage

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Perception of Insurance Professionals on Government Intervention for Life Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka S. K. Gamage

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Financial Literacy and Success of Micro Business: Evidence from Small Enterprises in Sri Lanka W. A. R. Senevirathne & W. A. D. K. Jayendrika

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Factors Determining the User Acceptance of Mobile Banking: with Special Reference to Sampath Bank PLC D. G. L. Rasika, H. P. A. P. Pathirana & P. V. Pathirana

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Bank Interest Rate Reduction and its Impact on Channelling of Funds in Sri Lanka.

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka A .M.M .P. K. Alweera Factors Affecting on Awareness of Credit Information Bureau of the Borrowers with Special Reference to People’s Bank of Sri Lanka R. C. S. J. Ranabahu, K .D. U. D. Fernando & M. Vithiyalani

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A Study on the Factors Affecting to Use E-Learning Systems by Banking Assistants of Hatton National Bank G. Kanchana & K. L. G. B. Dharmarathne

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Factors Influencing the Adoption of Internet Banking: A Case of Commercial Banks in Sri Lanka D.G.L. Rasika, T.G.N. Gayani & E.A.S.P. Kumara

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Factors Affecting the Employee Motivation: A Case Study in Bank of Ceylon D. M. M. Sandaruwan & D. G. L. Rasika

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Factors Influencing the Job Satisfaction of Banking Sector’s Employees: A Case Study in Sampath Bank PLC T .M. N. Tharanga & D.G. L. Rasika

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Business Management Impact of Big Five Personality Traits on Employee Job Involvement in Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited-Intimate Apparel, Welisara W. B. S. M. Wijesingha & A. C. Jayatilake

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A Study on the Impact of Fair Treatment and Working Environment on Organizational Commitment K. R. M. C. Thilakarathne & I. A. Ekanayake

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Impact of Work-Family Life Balance on Employee Job Engagement at Ceylon Knit Trend (Pvt.) Ltd M. Fernando & J .K. S. C. Perera

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Impact of Personality Traits on Work-Life Balance: Empirical Evidence from the Non-banking Finance Sector in Sri Lanka J. A. R. Madhushan & T .C. Gamage

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A Study on Comparison of the Impact of Personality Traits on Entrepreneurial Intention C .R. Denis, C. Ariyarathne, J. K. S. C. Perera, K. Paloneka, M. J. Zabarowskaa & B. Czerniachowicz

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Impact of Big Five Personality Traits on Employees’ Work-to-Family Conflict in Ceylon Knit Trend Apparel (Pvt.) Ltd. S. Jayasekara & L. D. Kalyani

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The Impact of Personality Traits on Sales Performance: Empirical Evidence from the Advertising Industry in Sri Lanka K. N. S. Jayasekara & T. C. Gamage

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Impact of Big Five Personality Traits on Employees's Normative Commitment S. Madhuwanthi & L. D. Kalyani

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How Personality of Employees Affect Occupational Stress? G. G. M. S. Wickramapala & J. K. S. C. Perera

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Study of Employers’ Insights of the Employability Skills and Level of Satisfaction of Sri Lankan ICT Undergraduates. S. Pathiratne & P. A .B. H. Amarathunga

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Factors Affecting the Failure to Achieve Expected Sewing Efficiency Level in Sri Lankan Garment Industry: with Special Reference to Brandix Apparel Solutions in Wathupitiwala, Sri Lanka N. A. P. Pubudika & M. P. Kovilage

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A Factor Analysis of Temperament, Character, Emotional Intelligence, and Need for Achievement of Sri Lankan MBA Students P. A. B. H. Amarathunga & S. Pathiratne

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A Study on Relationship between Psychological Contract and the Employment Relationship S. H. A. K. Nandasiri, D .C. Wijesekara, P. Sivashankar & I. Hettiarachchi

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Human Capital Development: Comparative Analysis of South Asian Countries K. K. N. P. Rathnayake & C. Zhixia

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Impact of Work-Life Balance on Employee Work Performance in the Hotel Industry of Sri Lanka D. S. De Seram & W .K. A. C. Gnanapala

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The Impact of Individual Values on Employee Commitment with special reference to City Cycle Industries (Pvt.) Limited, Panadura F. Hasniya & J. K. S. C. Perera

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Study on the Impact of Change Message Components on Employee Readiness to Change

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka S. Senasinghe & L. D. Kalyani Changing Role of HR and its Business Relevance A. Khan & S. Karunagoda

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The Impact of Glass Ceiling Factors on Women Career Development K. Alwis & A .M. J. Attanayake

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Impact of Organizational Downsizing on Manpower Retention: A Case Study on the Eden Resort and Spa, Beruwala A. Nanayakkara & M. S. M. Aslam

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Impact of Job Satisfaction on Job Performance of Administrative Staff of State Universities in Sri Lanka M. L. Warnasuriya & L .D. Kalyani

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Management Information System for Effective Decision Making on Total Cost of Quality K. A. P. Mekhala, H. C. Munasinghe, A .N. Abeygunawardena, V. Puwana, R. K .D .Darshana & K .U. S. Somarathna

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Eco Business Management Analysis of Dynamic Trends of Rainfall Extremes in Sri Lanka Using Frequency Indicators S. S. Sanjeewani & L . Manawadu

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Industry 4.0 in the Apparel-Manufacturing Sector: Opportunities for Sri Lanka H. Jayatilake & A .Widanaraachchi

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Critical Analysis of Arbitration Method Used in the Construction Industry in Sri Lanka M. Nihaj & N. G. Gunawardena

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Exploring the Consumer Surplus and Demand for a Novel Visitor Experience at Kanneliya Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka N .W. V. A. Shiromi & R .M. W. Rathnayake

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Value Chain Analysis of Cinnamon in Galle District in Sri Lanka A. A. C. Krishani & S .H. P. Malkanthi

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Developing Carbon Footprint Based Environmental Performance Indices for Garment Manufacturing Industries in Sri Lanka: A Case Study at Body Line (Pvt) Ltd, Balangoda D. M. M. Chandanamali & W. M. P. S. B. Wahala

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka An Assessment of Green House Gas (GHG) Saving Potential of Transport Related Operations: A Case Study at Brandix Lingerie (Pvt) Ltd, Wathupitiwala L. D. P. Liyanage, W. M. P. S. B. Wahala & R. Wellagiriya

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Exploring Green House Gas Saving Potential of Transport Plan Optimization in Fabric Manufacturing Industry: A Case Study at Textured Jersey Lanka Plc, Avissawella I.C. Usgalhewa , W. M. P. S. B. Wahala & R. Gunawardene

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Water Consumption and Potential Savings in Fabric Dyeing Process: A Case Study in Textured Jersey Lanka PLC, Avissawella P. G. S. H. Ariyadasa, W. M. P. S. B. Wahala & R. Gunawardene

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Marketing Management The Impact of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) Service on Customer Satisfaction: A Study Based on State Banks in Sri Lanka R. A. S. Weerasiri & K. C. Koththagoda

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Determinants of the Customer-Based Brand Equity: A Verification Approach in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Industry in Sri Lanka D.K. R. Madushani & T.C. Gamage

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Impact of Visual Merchandizing on Impulse Buying Behaviour of Sri Lankan Retail Customers: with Special Reference to Household Electrical and Electronic Appliances K. D. L. R. Kapuge

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Evaluating the Factors Influencing on Customer Retention in the Mobile Telecommunication Industry in Colombo District of Sri Lanka A. S. J. Karunakaran & P. Selvarajan

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Review on Perceived Risk Factors In Relation to Purchase Intention towards Electric Vehicle Brands in Sri Lanka D. K. Thilina & D .M .R. Dissanayake

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Using the 7Ps as a Generic Marketing Mix: An Exploratory Survey of Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka D. A. M. Perera & H. A. B. W. Hettiarachchi

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The Impact of Customer-Based Brand Equity on Customer Satisfaction W .H .T. Madhuhansi & D. Jasinghe

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Factors Influencing on Purchase Intention of Men’s Cosmetic Products: with Special Reference to the Men’s Fairness Cream Products

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka R. A. S. Weerasiri & H. M. G. Y. J. Hennayake Reengineering Academic Institutional Standards L. Devendra & U. Sonnadara

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Role of Celebrity Worship Motives in Evaluating Endorsed Brand: A Literature Review for Future Research Propositions D. M.R. Dissanayake, N. Ismail, W .M. C. B. Wanninayake & H. Wasantha

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The Impact of the Perceived Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement on Perceived Brand Personality D. M. R. Dissanayake, N.M. Amarasinghe & R .A. S. Weerasiri

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The Impact of Brand Equity on Customers’ Purchase Intention: with Special Reference to Germ Protection Toilet Soap Brands in Sri Lanka K. D. L. R. Kapuge

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Consumer Preferences for Organic Food in Colombo Municipal Council W. P. S. Wijesinghe & P .Sivashankar

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Impact of Perceived Brand Equity towards Purchase Intention of Life Insurance Services in Sri Lanka: Concept Paper N. Gunawardane & D. M. R. Dissanayake

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Tourism Management Alienation within Alienation: European Fantasmatic, Tourist Gaze and the Logic of Colonial Tourism in Postcolonial Sri Lanka M. Hapugoda & I. Ratnayake

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Community Participation in Tourism Decision Making Process: A Case Study of Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka C. N. R. Wijesundara

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Impacts of Unplanned Tourism Development on Tourists’ Satisfaction with Special Reference to Negombo, Sri Lanka K .M. R. Charika & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala

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Policy Choices for Sustainable Tourism Development in Nigeria A. Adedayo & H. M. Bandara

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The Roles of Beach Boys and Their Influences on Sustainable Tourism Operations: A Study of Hikkaduwa Sri Lanka D. De Zoysa & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Ontology Beyond Borders: Tourist Gaze and the Sense of Universal Appreciation in World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka I. Ratnayake & M. Hapugoda

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Issues and Challenges Related to the Wedding Tourism Development in Sri Lanka D. Samarasekara & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala

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Behavioral Characteristics of Solo Female Travellers in Sri Lanka M. P.D .R .S. Senevirathne & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala

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Interpretation Quality of Tourist Guides and it’s Impacts on Tourists’ Satisfaction in Round Tours H. Dinusha & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala

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Quality of Physical Environment and its Effect on Tourists' Satisfaction: A Study on Sri Lanka M. Wijemuni & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala The Relationship between Operational Efficiency and Service Quality of Restaurants with Reference to Waters Edge N. A. P. Priyakeerthi & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala A Study of Guests’ Motivation to Select Ayurvedic Hotels in Sri Lanka: A Case Study of Baberyn Beach Hotel, Weligama M. H. D. Madurangi & C. N. R. Wijesundara

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka KEYNOTE SPEECH BY SENIOR PROFESSOR H.H.D.N.P. OPATHA Towards a Sustainable Future: Managerial Reflections Senior Professor H. H. D. N. P. Opatha Faculty of Management Studies & Commerce University of Sri Jayawardenepura, Sri Lanka Introduction We are now in the present. Generally a future refers to a period of time which will take place after the present. A future that lasts for a prolonged time, ideally forever is a sustainable future. As per the Buddhism there is nothing that lasts forever. Secularly and relatively it is possible to think of a sustainable future. Here the relevant concept is sustainability. Meaning of Sustainability It is possible to observe that the terms ‘sustainable development’, ‘sustainability’, ‘corporate sustainability’ and ‘corporate social responsibility (CSR)’ have been utilized interchangeably. According to the report titled “Our Common Future” prepared by the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987, as in Rompa, 2011), sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This is the widely used definition and the Commission highlighted three fundamental components of sustainable development, i.e. the economic growth, the environmental protection, and social equity. Hence sustainable future needs to be economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially equitable. A business definition of sustainable development was given by the international Institute for Sustainable Development in its report, in 1992. The definition is “adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future.” Accordingly it is indispensable that the needs of a business enterprise and its stakeholders (shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, lenders, and communities) are met. According to Dyllick and Hockerts (2002), corporate sustainability is meeting the needs of a firm’s direct and indirect stakeholders without compromising its ability to meet the needs of future stakeholders as well. Strandberg (2009) observes that the Corporate Social Responsibility terminology is the most salient to Canadian organizations, and defines CSR as the balanced integration of social and environmental considerations into business decisions and operations. Sustainability became an umbrella term for all of the aims and norms that encourage corporations, organizations, and society at large to more effectively address the adverse social and environmental effects of commerce and the dangers of narrowly pursuing maximization of profits regardless of the larger costs (American Management Association (AMA), 2007).

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Importance of Sustainability Consideration of environmental and social aspects into business decisions and operations and engaging in certain sustainable actions and programs require additional and considerable effort, time, and money on the part of the organization. One must ascertain that survival of the organization and its stakeholders depends on the survival of the environment. According to a research done in 2010 by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the most important motivation for promoting sustainability policies is “do the right thing ethically”. Other motivations in terms of the order of importance are: comply with laws and regulations, upgrade the company’s image, improve the bottom line, meet demands of customers, discover new markets, support recruitment and retention of employees, respond to pressure from NGOs and citizen lobby groups, and respond to criticism in the media. American Management Association (2007) summarizes that the modern concept of sustainability has evolved from mostly separate streams of parallel conversations into a holistic notion that rejects the premise that social-environmental and economic issues are competing interests; and this, new, integrative perspective contends that social, environmental, and economic performance can and must be optimized simultaneously for both short-and long-term success. Environmental issues are some of the most complex and significant managerial challenges of twenty-first century (Rugman and Verbeke, 1998). They include climate change, natural resources depletion, and reduction of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity (unity). There are many detrimental effects on the environment owing to the use of fossil fuels. Fournier and Westervelt (2005, as in AMA, 2007) report that fuel combustion affects the global climate with the production of greenhouse gases and localized production of acid rain, low-lying ozone, and smog; mining and production of fuels destroy ecosystems and biodiversity; the loss of habitat is leading to localized extinction of species; and the reduction of biodiversity results in greater vulnerability of the planet to ecological stresses. It is a must to avoid or minimize these detrimental effects. Otherwise it is not possible to ensure survival of humans and business organizations for a prolonged period of time. Sustainability-Related Paradigms The most popular one is the concept of the “Triple Bottom Line”, or TBL (People, Planet, and Profits) introduced by Elkington (1994, as in Johnston, 2006). This has gained widespread recognition as a framework for viewing and measuring business performance (American Management Association, 2007) and it is simple and relatively non-controversial (Johnston, 2006). For a sustainable future, it is imperative to have a balance among people, planet, and profits. Traditional bottom line, i.e. profit is not sufficient to measure a firm’s success. The firm must have the ability to excel not only in its environmental (planet) performance but also societal and ethical (people) performance. The Five Capital Model is another paradigm relating to sustainability. This model maintains that any government or organization has five capitals or stocks to manage: natural, social, human, financial and manufactured (Porritt, 2005 as in

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Johnston, 2006). Exhibit-1 presents the five capital model of the economy. According to this paradigm, sustainability is not achievable, if eroding the stocks occurs. Exhibit-1: Five Capital Model of the Economy Capital/Resource Stock Natural Land, sea, air, vegetation, ecological systems Human Knowledge, skills, health, motivation, spiritual ease Social

Manufactured

Financial

Families, communities, organizations, governance systems, schools Infrastructure, roads, buildings, tools, fixed assets Money, stocks, bonds, banknotes

Flow Food, water, energy, waste, disposal, climate Happiness, creativity, innovation, work, energy, participation Security, shared goods (e.g. culture, education), inclusion, justice Living/working space, access, distribution Means of valuing, owing or exchanging other four capitals

Source: Johnston, 2006 The Three Es is another paradigm proposed by R. Edwards (2006, as in American Management Association, 2007). Ecology/environment, Economy/employment, and Equity/equality are those three Es. A fourth E that stands for education was added by Edwards and that is a powerful force in helping to drive the sustainability movement. Barriers to Sustainability Barriers to sustainability can come from outside forces of the environment as well as from within the organization. One major barrier is cynicism which is an attitude towards people believing that individuals are expected to act selfishly. A cynic believes that an organization is a formal group of people and these people always behave in a selfish way. Hence there is no need to think of others, planet etc. Another major barrier is skepticism which is doubt one has about something. A skeptic disbelieves that sustainability is useful or truly indispensable. Skeptics say that the goal of business is profit, and sustainability has no place in corporate life (Savitz and Weber, 2006, as in AMA, 2007). It is indeed a surprise to hear that a resistance to the sustainability movement exists and it is a kind of anti-environmentalism. The anti-environmentalism challenges the wisdom and usefulness of laws that protect the environment and that promote government intervention (Boston, 1999, as in AMA, 2007). The 2007 AMA/Human Resource Institute (HRI) Sustainability Survey reveals 12 potential barriers to sustainability or factors that can hinder the movement toward sustainability practices and they include lack of demand from consumers and customers (ranked as 1), lack of demand from managers and employees (ranked as 2), lack of awareness and understanding (as 3), lack of standardized metrics or performance benchmarks (as 4), lack of specific ideas on what to do and when to do it (as 5), lack of

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka demand from shareholders and investors (as 6), lack of demand from suppliers (as 7), unclear or weak business case (as 8), lack of demand from the community (as 9), lack of support from senior leaders (as 10), general risk aversion (as 11), and fear of competitor’s taking advantage of us (as 12). As per the Economist Intelligence Unit (2010), there are 07 main internal obstacles to incorporating sustainability principles into the company’s strategies and practices, and they include (in the order of importance) immediate financial goals more urgent, lack of consensus on ultimate goals of a sustainability programme, insufficient clarity concerning locus of responsibility internally, lack of funding, absence of a compelling business case for sustainability, lack of clarity on legal or regulatory obligations to meet sustainability standards, and lack of transparency in operations or practices. Further the unit suggests that the poor economic environment means that sustainability has taken a back seat. In a study done by Rompa (2011), the most often reported three barriers were a lack of knowledge and capacity for sustainable policies, no support from leader within the organization and the fact that practices associated with sustainability are not mainstream and therefore will not lead to competitive advantage. It implies that all the relevant stakeholders and the top managers need to be made aware of the importance of sustainability and all employees need to be trained on applying sustainability principles. Sustainability Areas or Issues and Practices What are the sustainability issues to be dealt with by an organization? This is a very important question a good answer for which can be found from the research done by the Economist Intelligence Unit (2010) according to which, there are nine specific sustainability areas in which an enterprise can be active. They include (in the order of magnitude as % of respondents) code of ethics/anticorruption system-51, climate change/environment protection-50, alternative energy sources-40, green IT-37, gender diversity-36, socially responsible investing-33, workers’ rights-30, stakeholder engagement-30, and carbon trading-23. The 2007 AMA/HRI Sustainability Survey reveals 18 sustainability-related issues including (mentioned in the order of importance) business ethics and integrity (4.77 out of 5), safe and healthy work environment (4.68), affordable quality health care (4.66), well-being of employees (4.64), clean water (4.43), corruption in all its forms (4.43), worker job security (4.40), safe and reliable food sources (4.36), human rights abuses (4.22), affordable clean energy (4.13), assistance after natural disasters (4.10), poverty and homelessness (3.94), climate change (3.90), epidemics (3.82), diverse ecosystem (3.81), open immigration (3.37), world population growth (3.36), and right to collective bargaining (3.23). Also the survey revealed that environmental issues do not yet have the same prominence and importance in business as issues with regard to financial or managerial performance. What are the common sustainability practices being followed by current organizations in the world? Top 12 most commonly used sustainability related practices were

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka identified by the AMA and HRI from their international research and they are in the order of importance (ranked according to the mean response): (1) Ensure the health and safety of employees (4.02), (2) Ensure accountability for ethics at all levels (3.95), (3) Engage collaboratively with community and nongovernment groups (3.47), (4) Support employees in balancing work and life activities (3.35), (5) Encourage employee volunteerism (3.29), (6) Involve employees in decisions that affect them (3.28), (7) Provide employee training and development related to sustainability (3.26), (8) Reduce waste materials (3.14), (9) To highlight our commitment to sustainability in our brand (3.12), (10) To improve energy efficiency (3.06), (11) Work with suppliers to strengthen sustainability practices (2.95), and (12) Get groups across organization that are working on sustainability-related initiatives to work more closed together (2.85). Other surveyed practices (five) are: Use sustainability-related criteria in recruiting and selection (2.81), Establish indicators to determine if the organization is meeting sustainability goals (2.75), Use sustainability-related criteria in promotion and career advancement (2.75), Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (2.64), and Link sustainability-related criteria to compensation (2.53). Strong statement from top management, developing products and services that reduce or prevent environmental damage, incentives to business partners to adopt sustainable business practices, including sustainability performance indicators in employee evaluations, and positioning the company as a low-carbon user or as a provider of products that help others to reduce their carbon use are other practices found in the research done by the Economist Intelligence Unit (2010). A careful examination of the above mentioned practices reveals that Human Resource Management (HRM) plays and will have to play a critical role in making an organization sustainable. HRM is critical for embedding sustainability across the enterprise. Integration of Sustainability into HRM HRM is the efficient and effective utilization of employees in order to achieve goals of the organization. It is about managing people at work, being the human side of Business Administration having policies, procedures, rules, and systems influencing employees of the organization (Opatha, 2009). It generally attempts to serve for the organization where it is practiced, employees working for it and society at large. Major fields of HRM include human resource planning, staffing, human resource development, rewards management, and employee & labour relations. Integration of sustainability into HRM results in creating a new branch called Sustainable HRM. Sustainable HRM is the contribution HRM can make to sustainable development (Strandberg, 2009). Based on the concept of the TBL, It is possible to envisage that sustainable HRM has three dimensions, i.e. planet-related, people-related and profit related. These dimensions may be labeled as branches or fields of sustainable HRM (sub-branches from the point of HRM). Planet-related dimension includes environmental aspects or contributions that HRM can make to environmental excellence. People-related dimension includes employee and societal aspects or contributions that HRM can make to societal equity. Profit-related dimension includes profitability aspects or contributions that HRM can make to financial performance or economic growth of the organization. First part is

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka labeled as Green HRM while Social HRM and Strategic HRM are utilized for dimention two and dimention three respectively. Refer to the following Figure. Figure-1: Dimensions of Sustainable HRM Figure-2: Three Dimensions of Sustainable HRM

Sustainable HRM Green HRM

Social HRM

Strategic HRM

Planet-related matters

Society-related matters

Profit-related matters

Green HRM Out of the three Ps, the most important one is Planet and therefore, the rest of my speech is about Green HRM. ‘Green’ or ‘greening’ has at least four meanings in the context of managing people at work (Opatha, 2013, Opatha and Arulrajah, 2014): 1. Preservation of the natural environment: to keep all the things in the world which are neither caused nor controlled by human beings including land, forests, plants, animals, and other natural phenomena in its original form and protect them from harm, loss, or negative change; 2. Conservation of the natural environment: to be very careful in the way of using it in order to let it last as long as possible, to use it at the minimum level so that future generations will be able to utilize it; 3. Avoidance or minimization of environmental pollution: to stop contaminating the water, air, atmosphere, etc. through unpleasant and poisonous substances and wastes. To guard against outcomes that will ultimately endanger the planet/earth where humans and non-humans are living; and 4. Generation of gardens and looking-like natural places: to create parks and places which have plants, trees, and grass. Thus, every employee (may be a manager or a nonmanager) needs to be a green employee and is supposed to perform four roles for the purpose of becoming a green employee. They are preservationist, conservationist, nonpolluter, and maker. A composite term, i.e., nature-lover or eco-activist can be used in order to cover the four roles which need to be performed by an employee to become green. Figure-2 shows the four roles of a green employee who is a nature-lover or an eco-activist. Opatha and Arulrajah (2014, p. 104) define Green HRM: “… It is the side of HRM that is concerned with transforming normal employees into green employees so as to achieve environmental goals of the organization and finally to make a significant contribution to environmental sustainability. It refers to the policies, practices and systems that make employees of the organization green for the benefit of the individual, society, natural environment, and the business. The purpose of green HRM is to create, enhance and retain greening within each employee of the organization so that he or she gives a maximum individual contribution on each of the four roles, i.e., preservationist, conservationist, nonpolluter, and maker.”

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Figure-2: The Four Roles of a Green Employee Non-polluter

Preservationist

Maker

Conservationis t

A Nature-lover

Source: Opatha and Arulrajah (2014) For the purpose of achieving greening, making traditional HRM functions green is a must. Ideally it is possible to make greening of all the HRM functions from job analysis to labour relations. Refer to Exhibit-2 for HRM functions and specific green HRM practices. Successful performance of green HRM functions will lead to create green employee inputs (such as green attitudes and green competencies) and employee green performance of job (green behaviour and green results). Green attitudes, green competencies, green behaviour, and green results can alternatively be viewed as green HR requirements which are needed to achieve corporate environmental objectives. Exhibit-2: HRM Functions and Specific Green Practices HRM Function Green Practices Job Design • To incorporate environmental related tasks, duties and responsibilities in each job and put them into effect. • To use teamwork and cross-functional teams as job design techniques to successfully manage the environmental issues of the organization. Job Analysis • To include environmental dimension as a duty in job description. • To include green competencies as a special component in job specification. Human • To engage in forecasting number of employees and types of Resource employees needed to implement the corporate environmental Planning management programmes (e.g. ISO 14001, cleaner production, responsibility care etc). • To engage in deciding strategies to meet the forecasted demand for environmental works (e.g. appointing consultants/experts to perform energy or environmental audits etc).

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Recruitment

• •

To include environmental criteria in the recruitment messages. To communicate the employer’s concern about greening through recruitment efforts. Selection • To select applicants who are sufficiently aware of greening to fill job vacancies. • To select applicants who have been engaging in greening as consumers under their private life domain. Induction • To make new employees familiar with greening efforts of the organization. • To develop induction programs showing green citizenship behaviour of current employees. Training • To impart right knowledge and skills about greening to each employee through a training program exclusively designed for greening. • To apply job rotation to train green managers of the future. • To do training needs analyses to identify green training needs of employees. Performance • To evaluate employee’s job performance according to greenEvaluation related criteria. • To include a separate component for progress on greening in the performance feedback interview. Rewards • To give financial incentives to employees for their good green Management performance of job. • To introduce rewards for innovative environmental initiatives. • To give non-financial rewards such as praises and recognitions to employees for their greening. Discipline • To formulate and publish rules of conduct relating to greening. Management • To develop a progressive disciplinary system to punish employees who violate the rules of green conduct. Health and • To create various environmental related initiatives to reduce Safety employee stress and occupational diseases caused by Management hazardous work environment. • To formulate and implement strategies (e.g. green factory/green zone) to maintain a conductive environment to prevent various health problems. Labour • To provide opportunities to the trade union and its members to Relations participate in greening. • To introduce green whistle-blowing and help-lines. • To provide training to the union representatives about environmental management. • To recognize union as a key stakeholder for environmental management. Source: Based on Material by Arulrajah, Opatha, and Nawaratne (2015) Green Behaviour In this context, green behaviour is perceived as a construct consisting of three dimensions, i.e. green organizational citizenship behaviour, green interpersonal behaviour, and green official behaviour. Green organizational citizenship behaviour is defined as the extent to which the employee engages in positive actions aimed at helping

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka the organization as a whole to achieve greening (Opatha, 2013, Opatha and Arulrajah, 2014). These actions do not become a part of formal job requirements and they primarily represent voluntary green actions. Green interpersonal citizenship behaviour is defined as the extent to which the employee engages in positive actions aimed at helping specific co-employees to do their green work (Opatha, 2013, Opatha and Arulrajah, 2014). These actions are also not a part of formal job requirements and represent voluntary helps given by the employee to other employees at the similar level (peers) to become them green or perform their green work. Green helps given by the employee can be extended not only to peers but also to non-peers. Green official behaviour is the third dimension of green behaviour and it is defined as the extent to which the employee engages in official duties assigned by the superior with regard to greening (Opatha, 2013, Opatha and Arulrajah, 2014). This engagement is not a voluntary one as the employee is officially required to perform certain duties in relation to greening. First and second dimensions are non-official while the third one is official. As a matter of fact, first and second types of green behaviour are indispensable not only at work but also at non-work life. Activity 1: Self Assessment (Green Citizenship Behaviour) Following is an instrument developed by the author of this paper to measure Green Citizenship Behaviour (GCB). Please indicate the extent to which you agree with each statement. After doing this activity, you will be able to know your own level of GCB and how this important construct is measured. Statement

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Indifferent

Agree

1. I have a habit of using natural water rather than refrigerated water for drinking. 2. I do not use both sides of the paper when writing or printing or photo-copying because the relevant cost is negligible and it is difficult to do. 3. I use my own vehicle to come to work instead of walking or bus or train. 4. Normally I do hibernating the computer when not working as shutting down and opening are troublesome. 5. I use natural light as much as possible when working. 6. I have put plants in the working and living cubicles. 7. Whenever possible I buy organic food for parties. 8. I have a serious habit of working with all the bulbs on (switching on all the bulbs available in the room/place) as I need a high level of light. 9. I don’t do re-using many items such as jugs, envelops, cans, bottles, bags, etc at

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Strongly Agree

1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka the office and at home as well because I think such use is not healthy. 10. I was not used to report a relevant officer regarding damages, possible harms etc to the environment whenever noticed because it is troublesome, not my business, or there are appointed people being paid and responsible. 11. I make sure that switching off the airconditioners is done before the ending time of daily work (before 30/15 minutes early). 12. I was used to sleep without using any bulb on (after switching off all the bulbs).

Interpretation: Number of Points

Level of GCB

12 -21.6

Very Low

21.7 -31.2

Low

31.3 -40.8

Moderate

40.9 -50.4

High

50.5 -60

Very High

Activity 2: Self Assessment (Green Interpersonal Citizenship Behaviour) Following is an instrument developed by the author of this paper to measure Green Interpersonal Citizenship Behaviour (GICB). Please indicate the extent to which you agree with each statement. After doing this activity, you will be able to know your own level of GICB and how this important construct is measured. Statement 1.

2. 3. 4.

5.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Indifferent

Agree

I don’t stimulate others to become green because others should change so by themselves. I answer questions asked by others about greening positively. I have a habit of teaching others about how to become green. Spending my time and effort to influence others to become green is not done because I am not rewarded by anyone for doing this. I have performed some green works which were supposed to be performed

10

Strongly Agree


6. 7. 8.

9. 10.

by others. Whenever possible, I discuss the importance of greening with others. I have personally appreciated green works done by others. I don’t finger into green works which others have to do or which others have done. I have personally criticized nonperformance of green works by others. I try to be an excellent example to others on greening.

Interpretation: Number of Points

Level of GICB

10 - 18

Very Low

19 - 26

Low

27 - 34

Moderate

35 - 42

High

43 - 50

Very High

Conclusion Sustainability is a serious issue in front of any human being living today, and it is about adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the organization and its stakeholders today while preserving, conserving, protecting, and improving the natural environment, and human and other resources. In fact environmental and social issues and economic issues are not competing interests, and they can and must be optimized simultaneously for both short-and-long-term success. Sustainability is indispensable owing to avoidance of numerous detrimental effects of commerce and the dangers of narrowly pursuing maximization of profits. The TBL is the most popular one among the several sustainability-related paradigms. A careful examination of the barriers to sustainability and sustainability issues and practices reveals that HRM plays and will have to play a critical role in making an organization sustainable. It is critical for embedding sustainability across the organization. Integration of sustainability into HRM results in three dimensions such as Green HRM, Social HRM and Strategic HRM, out of which green HRM is the most important as the Planet is the most important out of the three Ps. Activating on sustainability is a responsibility of every human being and it needs to be a reality rather than a rhetoric.

References _______(2007),CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: A Global Study of Current Trends and Possibilities, American Management Association, Retrieved 18 July 2016. http://view2.fdu.edu/legacy/amawebcastreport.pdf _______(2010), Managing for sustainability, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Retrieved 18 July 2016. http://graphics.eiu.com/upload/eb/Enel_Managing_for_sustainability_WEB.pdf

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka _______(1991), Business Strategies for Sustainable Development, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Retrieved 18 July 2016. https://www.iisd.org/business/pdf/business_strategy.pdf Arulrajah, A.A., Opatha, H.H.D.N.P., and Nawaratne, N.N.J (2015), “Green Human Resource Management Practices: A Review”, Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol.5, o.1, pp.1-16. Dyllick, T. And Hockerts, K. (2002), Beyond the business case for Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Strategy and Environment, 11, pp. 130-141. Johnston, A. (2007), HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, Final Report of International Action Research Project, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Opatha, H. H. D. N. P. (2013), Green Human Resource Management: A Simplified Introduction, HR Dialogue, Department of HRM, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, pp. 22-41. Opatha, H. H. D. N. P. and Anton Arulrajah, A. (2014), Green Human Resource Management: Simplified General Reflections, International Business Research, Vol. 7, No. 8, pp. 101-112. Opatha, H.H.D.N.P. (2009), Human Resource Management: Personnel, Colombo: Department of HRM, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Rompa, I (2011), Explorative research on Sustainable Human Resource Management, Master’s Thesis, VU University Amsterdam. Rugman, A., and Verbeke, A. (1998). Corporate strategies and environmental regulations: An organizing framework. Strategic Management Journal, 19(4), 363-375. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199804)19:43.0.CO;2-H. Strandberg, C (2009), THE ROLE OF HRM IN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: ISSUE BRIEF AND ROADMAP, Burnaby: Strandberg Consulting.

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka ABSTRACT OF THE KEYNOTE SPEECH BY 2

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JAMALIAH ABDUL HAMID

MOOC: A Sustaining or Disruptive Innovation in Higher Education? Taking A Research Perspective The debate on MOOC has centered on the type of change it engenders to universities, whether disruptive or sustaining to the market. This paper discusses research issues that arise from the philosophy, role and status of MOOC in the university system. For a start, MOOC presents a different psychological cognitive perspective of learning and creates the need for new models of learning and self-transformation. MOOC is a potential tool for societal and personal empowerment, but yet research is still scarce on the transformational role of MMOC and its sources of power. Cultures of Self- education and Self transformation are inherent in MOOC and in this regard, we need research to describe how graduates from the MOOC platform will be qualitatively different from those who went through the traditional courses. Students are knowledge workers, and through MOOC, we must seriously consider how to explore ways to construct a taxonomy of bottom up students’ feedback in order to systematically and rationally improve our course content and its delivery and ripple effect. Too often the fixation on accreditation issues based on staff expertise and content coverage has beleaguered MOOC. It is argued in this paper that we need to develop research to enable accreditation to shift focus on the capability of MOOC as a social/intellectual platform to magnify the impact and ripple factor of student and staff as active and visible knowledge workers who access, share, develop and contribute to a web of on line users in various disciplines. Visibility of knowledge workers is an important accreditation not normally associated with traditional courses. Technology is an enabler, and there is urgent need for serious research to examine and model its transformative capacity within the context of the needs of our consumers, stakeholders, and professionals. Policy research is important. It is a short sighted mistake if research in business strategies overshadows and eclipse the need for policy studies in the adoption of technology in university education.

Associate Professor Jamaliah Abdul Hamid Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia

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Accountancy and Finance

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Test of Uncovered Interest Rate Parity for Sri Lanka: Evidence from LKR/GBP Rate H. Kaushala 1 & C. Rajapakse 2 University of Sri Jayawardenepura [email protected] & [email protected]

Interest rates and exchange rates are considered to be one of the most discussed areas under International Finance. When considering the main theories that explore on these two variables, Uncovered Interest Rate Parity (UIP) states that the interest rate differential is an unbiased predictor of the spot exchange rate changes. The impact on investors’ attitude is that they would be indifferent towards the returns on domestic and foreign assets denominated in same currency thereby eliminating any short term arbitrage profits. Studies based on the relationship between these two variables are rare for developing countries like Sri Lanka. Therefore in order to bridge that gap identified through search for literature, this study is focused on testing UIP for Sri Lanka. Monthly data on LKR/GBP exchange rate for the period from 2001-2014 and three month interest rate

for the two countries , were used for this purpose.

Autoregressive Distributed Lags method was employed to test the UIP. The findings reveal that there is no evidence to prove the existence of the UIP for the selected currency compared against the Sri Lankan Rupee.

Keywords: Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) Model; Exchange Rates; Interest Rates; Uncovered Interest Rate Parity (UIP)

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Analysis of Dynamic Linkage of Stock Returns and Exchange Rates: Comparative Evidence from Sri Lanka and India A. W. G. C. N. Wijethunga1 & D. A. I. Dayaratne2 Department of Accountancy & Finance, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, P.Box 02, Belihuloya1&2 [email protected] ,[email protected]

This study attempts to analyze the dynamic linkage between stock market returns and the exchange rate in two South Asian emerging economies: Sri Lanka and India. We employed monthly data of All Share Price Index (ASPI) from Colombo Stock Exchange and CNFNIFTY index from the National Stock Exchange of India and monthly exchange rate of the US dollar in LKR (USD/LKR) and the US dollar in Indian Rupee (USD/INR) for the period 2000 to 2014. First, the study performed Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) to test the integrating order of the variables. Then, we employed Johansen’s Cointegration test to examine the long run relationship among variables and Granger causality test to determine causal relationship between variables and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) analysis to determine the relationship between the stock returns and the exchange rate. The results establish that there is a long run equilibrium between variables in Sri Lanka and India. Furthermore, there is one-way causality from stock returns to exchange rate in both countries. Finally, the results suggest the existence of a negative impact of stock returns on exchange rate only in Indian context.

Keywords: Causality; Cointegration; Exchange rate; Stock returns

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Relationship between Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior of Management Undergraduates of Sri Lanka U. C. Edirisinghe1 & R. Amarasinghe2 Department of Accountancy & Finance, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Rapid and dynamic developments and innovations injected to the financial markets and products, locally and globally has changed the typical dimensions thus increased the complexity of day to day financial decisions, where a ordinary financial decision has transformed to be more rational, logical and strategic in nature in the modern context. Management undergraduates proven to be having an academic appetite to these changes and conservatively expect to follow these trends to make sensible financial decisions in their day to day lives. The real question is, Is this a myth? or a conservative expectation of the society? As an attempt to answer these questions, this study is an evaluation to underpin 'the relationship between the financial literacy level and the nature of the financial behavior of undergraduates of Sri Lanka. The sample selected is 223 management undergraduates. The sampling techniques used is convenient sample from three main government universities in Sri Lanka. Knowledge on money management, savings, investment, credit and

insurance has been

considered to measure the financial literacy level and undergraduates current and past manners related to same dimensions is used to measure financial behaviour using questionnaire. The results suggest that the financial literacy level of the undergraduates of the three universities was at a moderate level. Multiple Regression Analysis showed that apart from money management financial literacy level on all other dimensions has significant positive effect not only on overall financial behavior but also on individual dimensions. This concludes that financial literacy on Savings, Investments, Insurance, Borrowing and Credit are valid determinants of financial behavior of management undergraduates.

Keywords: Financial Behavior; Financial Literacy; Management Undergraduates

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Effect of Institutional Excellence on Stock Market Development T. U. I. Peiris Department of Accountancy and Finance, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka [email protected]

Institutional environments with good governance would lead to higher stock market returns by reducing both transaction and agency costs. Meanwhile, superior institutional environments ensure lower levels of uncertainty, resulting in lower returns on equity. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of institutional quality on the performance of global stock markets. Due to the persistence behavior of stock market development (SMD), a dynamic econometric model is developed in this regard. SMD is proxied by market capitalization to GDP ratio. A Proxy for institutional quality is obtained by the common component of governance indices that measure the effectiveness of government, regulatory quality, extent of corruption control, political stability, voice and accountability, and agents’ confidence on the rules of the society. Several other empirically chosen variables are also included to the model to control the other potential effects. A panel data set of 43 countries over the period 2005 to 2013 is measured using Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimation techniques. Results depict a negatively significant relationship between SMD and the institutional quality. The relationship continued to remain negative when the model is robusted for developing and developed countries. Interestingly, the risk-return spectrum is supported when the model is further robusted for countries with strong and weak Institutional environments.

Keywords: Generalized method of moment; Institutional quality; Risk-return spectrum; Stock market development

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An Analysis of Capital Structure of Firms and Anomalies that Persist in the Sri Lankan Context: An Empirical Study of Selected Firms Listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange Y. Jayasekara1 & D. A. I. Dayaratne2 PhD Student, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo.1 Department of Accountancy & Finance, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.2 [email protected] , [email protected]

This paper attempts to analyze the compositions of the capital structures of the 40 firms listed on the CSE. Moreover, it aims to assess the relationship between the Debt to Equity (D/E) ratio and the market capitalization (firm value) of the selected firms. Further, key financial indicators such as short term interest bearing borrowings, long term interest bearing borrowings and share-holders funds have been considered. The information related to short term interest bearing borrowings, long term interest bearing borrowings and share-holders funds are also obtained. Minority interest is disregarded to prevent inaccurate results. For the purpose of the analysis the firms are categorized into low geared ( 0.56 ). The study does not take into account firms in the Financial Sector. The reason for their exclusion is the existence of a different set of determinants that impact the leverage decision due to their different business model and cyclical factor that skews the data sample. The analysis reveals a mean D/E ratio of 0.39-0.44 across all industries which may indicate mean reverting tendencies to firms, which lending institutions and investment banks could capitalize on, in order to identify potential issuers of debt or equity. In addition, analysis has clearly established that short term debt is the most preferred form of finance with a mean leverage of 0.21 and a standard deviation of 0.13 whereas long term debt indicated a mean of 0.16 and a standard deviation of 0.19. Firms that had foreign ownership too indicated low levels of gearing with the mean leverage amounting to 0.11. Whilst appreciating the varying leverage compositions in firms across varying industries the study demonstrates that the theory may not hold true under specific instances for firms listed on the CSE. Finally results further reveal that overall gearing levels is one of the variables that influence firm value and that additional variables such as revenue, profitability, taxes

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka etc. should be factored in as an area of further study to assess the impact on overall firm value.

Keywords: Capital Structures; D/E Ratio; Firm Value

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Technical Efficiency of Small Scale Vegetable Growers in Sri Lanka: A Comparison of Parametric and Non-parametric Approach A. A. Shantha Department of Economics and Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences and Languages, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, P.O Box 2, Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Many researchers have depicted that most of the up-country vegetable growers have failed to capture the technical efficiency due to poor managerial ability of economic resources. It is an undeniable fact that the majority of the up-country vegetable farmers are characterized by poor socio-economic status. This paper investigates the resource use characteristics, profitability and technical efficiency of vegetable farming in a sample of vegetable farmers selected from 12 Grama Niladhary (G.N) divisions in Nuwaraeliya District. The experiment sites were randomly selected based on the list of the GN division in Nuwaraeliya Divisional Secretariat division and the empirical study was carried out based on a sample of 243 small scale vegetable farmers. This paper uses both parametric and non-parametric approaches to estimate the technical efficiencies of vegetable farming at production and marketing stages under rainfed condition in the up-country of Sri Lanka. The parametric approach was adopted under stochastic frontier production function with Cobb-Douglas form. The non-parametric approach in this paper was based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique in order to estimate the technical efficiency of vegetable farming. Both parametric and non-parametric approaches have shown that the average technical efficiency estimates were not at potential level, and there would be a large room for increasing productivity through improving technical efficiency of vegetable farming. Under parametric approach, the average technical efficiency estimates at production stage and marketing stage were 74.62 percent and 67.04 percent, respectively under parametric and non-parametric approach. Under non-parametric approach, the average technical efficiency was 70.86 percent and 62.84 percent at production and marketing stages respectively. To examine the consistency of the estimates from two approaches under different specifications, the researcher applied

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka independent sample t test, and the results show that the parametric and non-parametric approaches provide different estimates due to measurement and specification errors.

Keywords: Vegetable Farming; Profitability; Technical Efficiency; Parametric and Non-parametric Approach

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A Review on Triple Bottom Line Optimization for Sustainability in Supply Chains K. R. H. L. Gunasekara Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

After the World War II, global businesses have been grown incredibly. Parallel to this remarkable growth, human needs and wants have also been expanded. These needs and wants are based on goods and services. Since organizations particularly manufacturing firms seek to minimize the cost and maximize the income (profit) through their supply chain processes, environmental (planet) and social (people) obligations have been neglected either by directly or by indirectly. However the Sustainability is practices and development that meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Therefore, Principal aim of the sustainability in supply chain (SSC) is to achieve economic prosperity, environmental cleanness, and societal well-being (or optimization of Triple Bottom Line) simultaneously along the supply chain. This study reviews literature to scrutinize the research efforts make on optimization of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) i.e. economic, environmental, and social dimensions for achieving SSC. Content analysis was carried out using reviewed most relevant 41 journal articles published in emerald, and Science Direct websites on Sustainable Supply Chain Management and on TBL issues to categorize the research efforts done on the area of SSC. The study found that more studies were carried out related to green or environmental-friendly supply chains and studies focus on social dimension are lacking. However, very few studies have been carried out on optimization of TBL for the purpose of achieving SSC. Therefore, future researches concentrating on social factor and on whole three dimensions are deemed necessary to be carried out.

Keywords: Supply Chain Sustainability; Triple Bottom Line; Optimization

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The Impact of ISFTA on Exporters in Sri Lanka U. P. Wijewardene1 & H. D. Karunaratne2 1

2

Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo Department of Business Economics, Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo

The Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, most commonly known as ISFTA, is a trade agreement between India and Sri Lanka. It was signed into effect on December 28th, 1998 and entered into force with effect from 1st March 2000, facilitating duty free concessions to a wide variety of merchandises traded between the two countries. Even though, it was started with the hopes of improving the economy of the member states as well as promoting growth and job creation, critics claim that it has created undesirable situations and had some hefty consequences. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, on Sri Lankan exporters. It determines the impact of the FTA on prices, trade volumes, production, consumption and welfare in exporters’ terms. It further highlights the importance of non-tariff, regulatory issues between the agreements. This study examines trade creation and trade diversion effects in the ISFTA using the standard gravity model of bilateral trade flows. The estimation of the gravity equation was carried out using the OLS analysis. In order to ascertain the overall trade creation and trade diversion effects, explanatory variables such as GDP, distance and dummy variables were incorporated into the estimation equation to explain bilateral trade flows and exports respectively. The results of the analysis revealed that, the total trade indicates that FTA brings about trade diversion and that trade creation effect is limited. Besides, the results of the analysis, disaggregated trade data show different patterns among different products while trade diversion effect for many products. Eventually it highlights the ways which, the role played by BOI can be re-visited and restructure, to make the agreement beneficial for Sri Lanka and increase Sri Lankan exports to India.

Keywords: CEPA; Economic Integrations; ISFTA; Non-tariff Barriers

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Information Content of Right Issue Announcements and Information Efficiency in Sri Lankan Stock Market D. G. Dharmarathna1 & C. Amarasekara2 Department of Accountancy &Finance, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, P.O.Box 02 , Belihuloya, Sri Lanka1 Economic Research Department, Central Bank of Sri Lanka,30, Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 01, Sri Lanka2 [email protected]

This study analyzed the information content at the announcements of the right issue of the companies listed on the Sri Lankan Stock

Market (SLSM) and tested the

information efficiency by using event study methodology. The sample consisted of 38 listed companies, which made 40 public announcements of the right issues on the SLSM from 2005-2013. The Mean Adjusted Model, the Market Adjusted Model, and the Market Model along with proxy of the SLSM All Share Price Index (ASPI) were used in this study in generating abnormal returns in and around right issue announcements. Specifically, the Market model was used by incorporating volatility clustering effect and information asymmetric effects to get a strong result. Further, Time Series Models such as AR, MA, ARMA, GARCH, TARCH and EGARCH in relation to the stylized facts of each company returns within the sample specially to minimize the use of bias of the SLSM All Share Price Index as a proxy in generating abnormal returns. Overall results of the market response to right issue announcements based on each model show that the market reacts negatively to information subsequent to the right issue announcements in the SLSM. In addition, the analysis shows that there are delayed reactions to information subsequent to a public announcement of this event. It confirms that the Sri Lankan Stock Market is inconsistent with information efficiency subsequent to the information contained in the announcement of right issue announcements. These findings are important to all parties interested in the Share Market. Especially, it is more important to the investors, the managers of the companies and the Stock Exchange regulatory agencies in their decision-making process. Keywords: Colombo Stock Exchange; Event Study; Information Efficiency; Right Issues

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Foreign Direct Investment and Endogenous Growth: Evidence from South Asian Countries T. U. I. Peiris Department of Accountancy and Finance, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka [email protected]

Positive spillover effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are hypothesized to significantly influence growth promoting factors identified by the endogenous growth theory. However, empirical studies that concentrate on these dynamic comparative advantages of FDI are limited. Therefore, this study empirically investigates the effect of five (05) theoretically chosen dynamic channels on economic growth with reference to South Asian countries. In this regard, channel effects of Physical Investment, Human Capital, Technology Transfer, Macroeconomic Policy Credibility, and Price Distortion are considered over the period 2003 to 2014. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) is developed to represent the dynamic relationship among these channel variables and economic growth. Three-Stage Least Squares (3SLS) estimation technique is used to estimate the SEM. The results for 3SLS indicate that effect of FDI on each of the channel variable is statistically significant with the expected sign. Further, the results are consistent when the estimation technique is robusted with Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SURE). However, economic growth effects of FDI are found statistically significant only through Human Capital, Technology Transfer, and Macroeconomic Policy Credibility channels.

Keywords: Dynamic Channels; Economic Growth; FDI; Three-Stage Least Squares; SURE

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Capital Structure and Financial Performance: Evidence from a Leading Listed Commercial Bank in Colombo Stock Exchange D. G. L. Rasika1 & I. P. Liyanage2 Department of Accountancy & Finance, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka1 Risk Management Department, ICICI Bank Sri Lanka2 [email protected], [email protected]

Capital structure decision is a complex issue since it has greater impact for the sustainability of an organization. The commercial banks play a vital role in adopting the best financial management practices in the Sri Lankan economy. This study examines the impact of capital structure on financial performance of the commercial banks based on secondary data collected from the financial statements of a leading commercial bank for the period of six years from 2010 to 2015. Seven indicators were used to measure the firm’s performance; Gross Profit Margin, Return on Capital Employed, Return on Assets, Return on Equity, Net Profit Ratio, Earnings Per Share and Net Interest Margin. Debt to Equity Ratio and Debt to Total Fund Ratio were used as proxies for the capital structure. The data was analyzed using the panel data regression method. The results indicate that Debt to Equity Ratio has a significant impact on Net Profit Ratio and Return on Assets as well as Debt to Total Assets Ratio has significant impact on Return on Capital Employed, Gross Profit Margin and Earnings per Share. The findings are helpful to the practitioners in the banking industry to determine the proper mix of debt and equity in order to maintain the optimum financial performance level for the firm’s success.

Keywords: Capital Structure; Colombo Stock Exchange; Commercial Banks; Financial Performance

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Effect of Audit Committee Characteristics on Real Activities Manipulation: Evidence from Nigerian Listed Manufacturing Firms A. B. Mauda1 & D. A. I. Dayaratne2 PhD Candidate, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo1 Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka2 [email protected], [email protected]

This study examines the effect of audit committee characteristics on real activity manipulation of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The data were gathered from the annual financial reports of sampled firms for period of five years (2010–2014). The sample size of the study is 36 listed manufacturing firms. The study employed longitudinal panel, multiple regressions for the purpose of data analysis, using panel data to examine the role of corporate governance (audit committee attributes) on real activities manipulation practices. The model applied is composed of a single dependent variable; real activity manipulation and one explanatory variable (audit committee) with four proxies - audit committee independence, the number of meetings, financial literacy and audit committee size. The results reveal that, the independent audit committee has found to be effective in restraining real activities manipulation practices by the management in preparing financial statement. However, the other audit committee attributes like audit committee size, audit committee literacy and audit committee meetings were found to be in-significant in deterring real activities manipulation practice of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission should make it mandatory that board should increase the proportion of the independent audit committee members as they appear to be efficient in constraining manipulative accounting practices by management.

Keywords: Audit Committee; Real Activities Manipulation; Manufacturing Firms; Nigeria

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Influence of Macro-Economic Variables on Foreign and Local Trading Behaviour in Colombo Stock Exchange A. W. G. C. N. Wijethunga1, D. A. I. Dayaratne2a & D. G. Dharmaratne2b Department of Accountancy & Finance Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka P. Box 02, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

This paper attempts to investigate the impact of macroeconomic variables on the trading pattern of domestic institutional and individual, foreign institutional and individual investors in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) during 2005 to 2015. We selected Treasury bill rates (91 days, 182 days, and 364 days), Exchange rate and Market Index as macro-economic variables. Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL) with error correction model is used to enhance the purpose of this study. Findings established a Long run equilibrium relationship between macro-economic variables and foreign institutional and domestic investors trading. No short run equilibrium of all investors is observed. Long run ARDL coefficients revealed that ASPI negatively effect on the foreign individuals. The results remark that ASPI positively effect on trading of domestic investors in short run. Further, the findings strongly support to establish that domestic investors consider ASPI index in short term investments because changes in the macro environment fully reflected in the market index.

Keywords: Colombo Stock Exchange; Foreign Investors; Local Investors; Macroeconomic Variables

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Relationship between Risk and Return in Colombo Stock Exchange: A Beta Sorted Portfolio Approach A. A. A. G. Kumara1, D. A. I. Dayaratne2a & A. W. G. C .N. Wijethunga2b Department of Accountancy and Finance Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

This paper attempts to examine the risk and return relationship in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). The sample composed of 53 listed companies in the CSE which have at least 200 trading days per year. The sample period spans 2005 January to 2015 September. Initially, we run an Ordinary Least Squares to determine the beta coefficient of each company. Based on beta we formed three portfolios as 30th percentile low beta stocks, 70th percentile moderate beta and the rest is high beta stocks. Then, we examined the risk and return modalities of each portfolio. The findings very well establish a negative risk and return relationship of individual securities. However, High beta stock portfolio demonstrates high returns and vice versa. Importantly, we also observed significant differences in risk and returns among three portfolios.

Keywords: Beta; Portfolio; Risk and Return

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Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Financial Performance with Special Reference to the Hatton National Bank PLC H. T. M. De Silva University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of the business strategies and that mitigate potential risks involve with the organizations. Hatton National bank (HNB) PLC had the spent millions of funds in CSR and this study aims at identifying the effects of CSR on financial performance of the HNB PLC. Usually an organization spends funds in CSR to increase the performance of the organization and as per financial highlights of HNB PLC, downward trend can be noted in ROE within the recent five years (2009 -2013) and thereby objectives of the study are set to answer the identified problems. Objectives of this can be listed as follows: - (1) identify the impact of CSR on financial performance of the HNB PLC and (2) determine the link between the CSR and financial performance of the HNB PLC. Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) were used to measure financial performance and to achieve objectives of the study, quantitative approach was used to analyze the data. Data collected through annual reports of the HNB PLC and analysis part of this study carried out by taking thirteen years financial data of HNB PLC. SPSS statistics (ver.20) was used as the data analytical tool. Correlation analysis indicated that CSR positively correlate with the ROA and the ROE. Considering all the facts and figures, the researcher concludes that there is a positive relationship between the CSR and financial performance and the CSR has positive impact on the financial performance of HNB PLC.

Keywords: CSR; Financial Performance; ROA; ROE

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Effect of Financial Development on Economic Growth: Evidence from South Asian Countries R. S. Hewage1 & T. U. I. Peiris 2 Department of Accountancy and Finance Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected]

A growing line of research emphasizes the requirement of a well-functioning financial system for a sustained economic growth. Meanwhile, a good financial system is characterized by its continuous growth. This encourages hypothesizing significant economic growth effects of financial development. Therefore this study investigates short-run and long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth with reference to South Asian countries. However, due to data constraint, only India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are considered over the period 1995 to 2012. Broad money supply to the GDP and bank deposits to GDP are taken as proxies for financial depth and banking sector development respectively. Long-panel estimation techniques of Mean Group, Pool Mean Group, and Dynamic Fixed Effect models are used in obtaining the results. Findings of the study indicate that the development of financial depth is significantly influencing economic growth in short-run, while the development in banking sector depicts long-run growth effects. As expected, growth effects are faster through banking sector development, since its’ speed of adjustment to the long-run is relatively high. However, development in financial depth carries faster growth effects for India and Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Economic Growth; Financial development; Long-panel models; South Asia

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Banking and Insurance

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Factors Affecting on Cross Selling of Dwelling House and Personal Accident Insurance for Private Motor Car Policyholders in Sri Lanka M. Vithiyalani1 & K. D. U. D. Fernando2 Department of Accountancy and Finance Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, P.O.Box.02, Belihuloya, 70140, Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected]

This paper attempts to examine the private motor car insureds' cross selling viability on dwelling house and personal accident insurance policies in Sri Lankan non-life insurance industry. There are 15 general insurance companies after the segregation regulation was introduced while three companies are still operating as composite insurers accounting 55.3 billion rupees of growth written premium and industry has grown by 3.66% in general insurance in 2014..All the general insurance companies’ portfolio dominated by motor insurance, which is the highest loss line class among general product classes as 76.48%. Cross selling non motor products to motor insurance policies became an essential requirement for general insurance companies because this will improve the combined performance ratio. The study was carried out using a range of qualitative and quantitative methods consisting of questionnaires, using randomly selected 250 insurance advisors and in-depth interviews with 25 senior managers from 18 insurance companies with secondary data. The study revealed that cross selling direct antecedents namely cross selling self-efficacy, motivation and role clarity were valid predictors of cross selling sales performance and there was a positive impact by those variables. Out of the study, managers were also perceived that cross selling is an idle strategy for developing the new business in general insurance industry to face the future challenges. Industry should initiate non motor product introduction into sales advisors’ job induction and structured training programmes. Further a proper reward system with a valued incentive system must be implemented to the sales advisors for a better development of the general insurance industry. Keywords: Cross Selling; Self-efficacy; Sole Clarity; Non Life Insurance

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Effect of Job Satisfaction and Job Stress on Perceived Job Performance of Insurance Agents in Sri Lanka R. S. Hewage1 & A. A. M. D. Amarasinghe2 Department of Accountancy & Finance, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka [email protected] , [email protected]

This study examines the factors the affect the Job Performance of an Insurance Agent in Sri Lanka. Job Satisfaction and Job Stress were selected as the major factors which affect the Job Performance. A sample was selected on the convenient sampling technique which contained 50 insurance agents from different Insurance companies. Questionnaires were used to collect the data from the selected sample. Regression model was used to analyze the collected data. Two models were developed to find out the single linear relationship between two independent variables with the dependent variable. Before moving to the regression, a correlation was tested on Pierson’s Correlation coefficient. Correlation results showed that though there is a high association between job Performance and Job Satisfaction, Job Stress has less association with Job Performance. The regression results showed that the Job Satisfaction affect to the Job Performance. It showed a significant negative relationship. But it is a contradictory situation where previous literature shows a positive relationship between these two variables. This result implies that when the satisfaction increases the performance will reduce. To test the result in first regression model, a Granger Causality test was done. The result of the causality test showed one way causal relationship that the satisfaction has an effect on Job Performance but Performance has no effect to the satisfaction. The results of the Granger causality test confirmed the regression relationship. Second regression model showed that there is no relationship between Job Stress and Job Performance.

Keywords: Job Performance; Job Satisfaction; Job Stress; Insurance Agents

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Awareness of Insurance among the Students of the Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka K. A. D. K. H. Kahandawala1, R. P. D. Jayasena2a, L. N. P. Perera 2b , S. P. K. D. Senanayake2c & K. D. U. D. Fernando 2d Department of Accountancy and Finance, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, P.O.Box.02, Belihuloya, 70140, Sri Lanka [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] , [email protected]

Insurance has been playing a vital role since this concept and practice started in the world for the economic development of economic and making peace of mind among every individual and in the world. Thus, insurance plays a crucial role in sustainable growth of an economy; insurance companies are facing many difficulties due to the low awareness of the Insurance products among the people. The insurance products are still not in wide use and still the insurance penetration of the country is around 1.1%. The objectives of this study are to explore the factors influenced for the awareness of insurance, to measure the impact of such factors to the awareness and find out the relationship between those factors for the Insurance Awareness. This study dealt with quantitative research methods and study was carried out with a sample of 300 students of the faculty of Management studies to gather data through a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed by chi-square using categorical data analysis. Results proved that age, sex, religion, type of family, race, monthly family income, literacy state of the earner of the family, profession and residence area had been significantly affected on the awareness of insurance. To improve the attitude towards the Insurance, the Awareness must be increased through formal education under the government guidance and by improving the client orientation by the insurance companies.

Keywords: Insurance Awareness; Insurance Penetration; Peace of Mind; Economic Development

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Popularity of Micro-insurance Mechanisms and the Poverty of Labourers in the Tea Industry in Estate Sector K. D. U. D. Fernando1 & G. Damayanthi2 Department of Accountancy and Finance, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.1 District Labour Office, Badulla2 [email protected] 1, [email protected] 2

Micro-insurance is supposed to reduce not only the risk of poverty from negative consequences, but also to improve the social wellbeing of the vulnerable crowds. Thus the popularity of the Micro-insurance in a society is a significant tool to improve those with marginal social status to participate fully in economic and social life. Tea industry in estate sector in Sri Lankan is still suffering the negative consequences accounting to 8.8% of poverty while the highest recording in Uwa province was by 13.5% in 2013. The study was conducted to reveal the factors affecting unpopularity of micro-insurance among the labourers in the tea industry in estate sector with special references to Welimada Secretariat Division. The objectives of this study were: the first to explore the factors more influence the unpopularity of microinsurance among laborers, the second is to measure the impact of such factors on poverty and the third is to examine issues and challenges faced by the providers of Micro-insurance in distribution mechanism. Quantitative research method has been carried out to initiate the study with the sample of 218 laborers for the primary data collection through a structured questionnaire designed on literature review. Data were analyzed by a regression model and categorical data analysis. The results proved that age, marital status, educational level, income level, monthly expenditure and the number of children had a significant impact on the unpopularity for micro-insurance under categorical data while regression analysis showed that the knowledge of microinsurance (p = 0.818) and the trust on micro-insurance (p = 0.857) is significantly different from zero. The providers of micro-insurance are faced with huge obstacles due to the failure of proper awareness and position of different micro-insurance products. The poverty alleviation mechanism in the country must be addressed by

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka design tailor made micro-insurance products rather than business development to reap the real fruit of micro-insurance.

Keywords: Micro-insurance; Poverty; Social Inclusion; Social Well being

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Farmers’ Perception, Awareness and Influential Factors towards Insurance of Paddy Cultivation S. S. Weedige Department of Insurance and Valuation, Faculty of Business Studies & Finance Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Kuliyapitiya, Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Crop insurance (CI) is an efficient risk management tool in agriculture which secures the socio-economic situation of the farmers. The prime objective of the CI is to protect farmers against the risk of crop failure through the process of indemnifying. It contributes to self-reliance and self- respect among farmers and also helps to stabilize farmers’ income, encourage farmers to adopt improved technologies and increase the flow of credit to the farmers by reducing the risk for the credit agencies. The benefits of CI are well-known, but there is a huge lack in voluntary participation of farmers in the scheme. This study was aimed to assess farmers’ perception, awareness and influential factors towards purchasing of a CI as well as to identify the way of revamp crop insurance schemes in Sri Lanka. A randomly selected sample of 60 farmers both insured and non-insured category in the Kurunegala district was used to collect the data. The results show that the majority of the farmers are willing to join for CI and satisfaction over the prevailing crop insurance schemes among farmers is very low. Further, the results revealed, farmers’ satisfaction towards CI scheme, obtaining crop loans, social participation of farmers and their affordability to premium rate positively impact on their willingness towards CI while farmers’ capacity to manage with own resource impact negatively. It is necessary to implement the awareness programs about benefits and importance of CI to enhance the adoption of crop insurance schemes in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Crop Insurance; Risk Management; Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka

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Determinants of Retention of Insurance Agents in Life Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka D. G. L. Rasika1, W. S. Sanjeewa2a & T. Perera2b Department of Accountancy & Finance,Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka1 Department of Insurance & Valuation, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka2a Human Resource Department, Alliance Insurance Lanka Ltd2b [email protected]

Financial planning is very personalized and requires greater attention in the insurance sector than in any other market. The needs and wants of individuals or families differ from person to person and require human touch. Due to this among all distribution channels, the insurance agents become the first choice in insurance marketing. As the insurance marketing is highly dependent on agents’ channel, retaining the agents for a longer period is also very critical. This paper attempts to identify the key factors influencing the retention of insurance agents in Sri Lanka. A sample of 140 agents who left the company during 2014 and 2015 was used to collect data through a structured questionnaire from three leading insurance companies in Sri Lanka. The chi-square test was used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that the Recruitment & Selection, Training and Remuneration fond have a significant effect on retention of insurance agents whereas Supervisory Leadership does not have a significant effect on retention. The findings imply that the senior management of the life insurance companies should uplift the managerial actions for enhancing the level of agents’ retention and the regulator of insurance industry in Sri Lanka to upgrade the licensing system of insurance agents.

Keywords: Agents’ Retention; Insurance Agents; Life Insurance Industry

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Determinants of Insurance Policy Lapsation: A Case Study in AIA Insurance PLC T. Ranaweera1 & D. G. L. Rasika2 Department of Accountancy & Finance, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka [email protected] , [email protected]

Life insurance penetration level is still very low in Sri Lanka compared to the developing countries even in the South Asian Region. In spite of the slow growth rate of life insurance industry, higher rate of lapsation of life insurance policies is one of the major issue in increasing the level of insurance penetration. This study attempts to identify the factors influencing the life insurance policy lapsation through a sample of 160 life insurance customers of bancassurance channel in AIA Life Insurance PLC. Chi-square Analysis and Logistic Regression were used to evaluate the impact of gender, age group, marital status, income level, insurance agents’ behavior and service quality on life insurance policy lapsation in first three months after the commencement of the insurance agreement. The findings revealed that gender, age group, marital status, income level, and insurance agents’ behavior significantly affected on life insurance policy lapsation. Tangibility and responsiveness do not have a significant effect on policy lapsation but reliability, assurance and empathy have a significant effect on policy lapsation. The findings imply that the life insurance companies should implement programmes to develop the skills of the life insurance sales persons based on the value education and follow target marketing strategies focusing the middle and high income level people.

Keywords: AIA Insurance PLC; Bancassurance Channel; Insurance Penetration Level; Lapsation of Insurance Policies; Life Insurance Customers

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Utilization of Media Mix for Life Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka H. M. D. S. Wijenayaka Department of Insurance and Risk Management, SANASA Campus Ltd., Kegalle. [email protected]

Sri Lankan society has yet to learn about the benefits of Life Insurance. Due to lack of awareness, the penetration level of the insurance industry is very low. The penetration of life insurance in Sri Lanka is only 0.46% (IBSL Report, 2014). This is quite low given that the population of Sri Lanka now stands at over 20.67 million. The most employed people are not fully aware of the importance and value of Life Insurance. Commenting on the attitude of Sri Lankans in matters like Insurance, Sri Lankans need "wake-up" calls. This is because most employed people are not fully aware of the importance and value of Life Insurance. Media Mix refers to a combination of all the media used by the companies to communicate with customers about the importance and the value of Insurance. With well-designed products and benefits, each company is trying to capture the huge untapped market. Communication has become a very important factor to reach consumers and to overcome the legacy of the Life Insurance Industry. This paper attempts to identify the various communication media that customer prefer most and examines whether they are exposed enough to such media. In this study, customers’ preference on various communication media was identified by the researcher. In this study, the target sample size was 100 life insurance policyholders. The researcher discovered the different promotional mix strategies adopted by the life insurance companies. More respondents have emphasized on Public Relations such as direct marketing and the word of mouth. However, at present, the life insurance companies have emphasized more on telemarketing, advertising in electronic and print media and advertising campaigns as additional mix strategies. The researcher recommended that the customer relationship management is the best method to create a image in the mind of the customers of Life insurance product.

Keywords: Insurance; Media Mix; Communication

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Technology Adoptability of Insurance Agents: A Case Study in Asian Alliance Insurance PLC L. H. I. Amali1 & D. G. L. Rasika2 Department of Accountancy & Finance, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected]

Insurance companies have identified the worth of using new technological facilities to carry out their business processes effectively and efficiently. One aspect is automating their agents with new technological products to obtain quotations and policy details, pay premiums, review marketing and communicating with customers. Although insurance companies have introduced the latest technological facilities for their agents, the tendency to adopt the new technology is very low. This study applied the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to identify the factors affecting the technology adoptability of insurance agents. A sample of 220 life insurance agents of Asian Alliance Insurance PLC were selected using purposive sampling method and data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Correlation and Multiple Regression Analysis were carried out to analyze the data. The results show a significant effect of Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions, Performance Expectancy, Self Efficacy and Anxiety on Technology Adoptability of Insurance Agents. The results imply that the insurance companies should provide more user friendly technological facilities, assess all the users’ requirements, create selfconfidence among the insurance agents to increase the technology adoptability rate of the insurance agents.

Keywords: Asian Alliance Insurance PLC; Insurance Agents; Technology Adoptability

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Influence of Bank Interest Rate on the Buying Behaviour of Life Insurance Products: A Survey among Selected Households in Sri Lanka S. K. Gamage Department of Insurance & Valuation Wayamba University of Sri Lanka [email protected]

A stable financial system creates a favorable environment for depositors and investors and encourages financial institutions and markets to function effectively and efficiently for promoting investment and economic growth. The maintenance of financial stability creates a trust-worthy environment to savers and investors. The banking sector and insurance sector are treated as safe and secure twin pillars for savings and investments. Bank Interest rate is the reward for depositors and investors. Lower interest rate makes savings less attractive and alternatively, a lower interest rate may encourage other forms of savings and investments. The problem of this study is “does the bank interest rate influence the consumer buying behavior of life insurance products?” Accordingly, the objective of this study is to examine the relationship between bank interest rate and the demand for life insurance products. In this study, both secondary and primary data collected from a sample of 200 households selected through stratified random sampling technique were used and the data was analyzed using quantitative statistical techniques. The results revealed that, out of six alternative investment sources 66 per cent of the households most prefer to invest in fixed deposits in banks and only 4 per cent of them prefer to invest in life insurance. Results revealed that 81 per cent of them agree that bank interest rate directly affect their buying behavior of life insurance products. Accordingly, it can be concluded that, interest rate of the banks affects the consumer buying behavior of life insurance products. . Keywords: Interest Rate; Life Insurance; Investment; Consumer Buying Behaviour

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Perception of Insurance Professionals on Government Intervention for Life Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka S. K. Gamage Department of Insurance & Valuation Wayamba University of Sri Lanka [email protected]

Life insurance plays an important role in promoting domestic savings and investments for the economic development of the country. During last six decades since the independence, the government of Sri Lanka has followed different policy decisions regarding the life insurance industry in each era and includes nationalization, liberalization, privatization, re-nationalization and de-regulation. At the end of 2014, 15 companies were operating in life insurance market and the penetration of life insurance as a per cent of GDP in 2014 was 0.46 per cent compared to 0.56 per cent in 2010. The problem of this study is that “does the government of Sri Lanka provide adequate support to enhance the market penetration in life insurance in Sri Lanka?” Accordingly, the objective of this research is to investigate the life insurance professionals’ perception regarding the support given by the government to enhance life insurance. In this study, a sample of 25 managers of top five insurance companies was selected using purposive sampling technique. Focused group interviews were conducted to collect the primary data and analysis based on qualitative approach. Majority of the insurance professionals’ perception was that, frequent change in government’s policy decisions negatively affects the consumer trust on life insurance market. Their perception is that, financial market is not stable, no long term investment instruments, not established the foreign exchange rate, government’s tax on life insurance reduces the customer benefits and it is the responsibility of the government to make awareness programmes to enhance the knowledge of general public about life insurance products. Accordingly it can be concluded streamlining the financial market, providing tax concessionary on life insurance, making awareness of general public by the government will lead to increase the market penetration of life insurance. Keywords: Life Insurance; Government’s Policy; Professionals’ Perception; Market Penetration

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Financial Literacy and Success of Micro Business: Evidence from Small Enterprises in Sri Lanka W. A. R. Senevirathne1 & W. A. D. K. Jayendrika 2 Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Open University of Sri Lanka.1 Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Business and Finance, Wayamba University of Sr Lanka.2 [email protected] , [email protected]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the level of success of micro business in Sri Lanka through five different dimensions of financial literacy of business owners. Apart from that, relationship was built-up between financial literacy of business owners and financial well-being of their business. A Likert scale questionnaire was administered among 183 micro business owners whom were randomly selected from the Western Province in Sri Lakethe results show that the variables used to measure the business success have strong correlation with the financial literacy. However, Money, Credit and Debt Management did not have significant correlation with financial strengths. The results also revealed that 53.6% of micro businesses are financially strong and 63.4% of them have a sufficient required rate of return (ROI). In addition to that, 52.5% of the businesses have sufficient short term assets against short term liabilities. Overall mean value of business success is 3.68. Interestingly 94.5% of business owners forecasted that their business will survive for more than the next five years. Mean values which measure the level of financial literacy are recorded as money 3.96, Debt 4.01, Credit 3.97, Risk 3.76 and Investment 3.70. These indicators demonstrate that micro businesses have the potentiality to be success in the future. However the existing level of financial literary of micro business owners should be improved to achieve sustainable business development.

Keywords: Business Success; Financial Literacy; Micro Business

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Factors Determining the User Acceptance of Mobile Banking: with Special Reference to Sampath Bank PLC D. G. L. Rasika1, H. P. A. P. Pathirana2a & P. V. Pathirana2b Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.1 & 2 People’s Bank.2b

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected] With the massive investment and efforts contributed in developing the mobile banking facilities, the varieties of convenient functions invented by mobile technology has greatly encouraged mobile users to engage in mobile banking services. This study examined the factors leading to the user acceptance of mobile banking customers in the commercial banks in Sri Lanka, with specific emphasis on Sampath Bank PLC. The statistical model was developed based on Davis’s Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) and User Technology Acceptance User Technology (UTAUT). The random sampling method was used to collect the data and a questionnaire was administered among 264 mobile banking customers of Sampath Bank Head Office. Multiple Regression was carried out to find the impact of Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Credibility, Social Influence and Relative Advantages on User’s Acceptance of Mobile Banking. The findings show that Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use are the highest influential factors to the user acceptance of mobile banking. The bank should implement the strategies to provide a better strategic insight in order to design and implement the mobile banking services that yield higher consumer acceptance in the Sri Lankan market. Keywords: Mobile Banking; Sampath Bank; IDT; TAM; UTAUT

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Bank Interest Rate Reduction and its Impact on Channelling of Funds in Sri Lanka A. M. M. P. K. Alweera National University Ireland, University College Dublin (with the affiliation of National School of Business Management, Sri Lanka). [email protected]

This study examines how far the recent bank interest rate reduction is consistent with the financial market reforms carried out from 1977 onwards, and whether its expected results have been achieved. Prior to reforms, a policy of administered rate of interest was followed, but, high inflation in this era made real interest rates negative, creating a shallow financial market, channeling even the meager funds to sub-optimal projects in the public sector at the cost of the optimal projects elsewhere. This was identified as a cause for economic stagnation prior to 1977. But with the financial reforms, bank rates were increased to make real interest rates positive to have a deeper financial market to channel more funds to the optimal projects. However, until the recent past high inflation in the economy forced to keep nominal interest rates higher for maintaining positive rates of real interest to attract more funds to banks. This, however, generated a huge discontent among investors complaining that cost of funds was unbearable. Consequently, the Central Bank has substantially reduced bank rates starting from 2007 onwards. Although this reduction made savers unhappy, it was expected that it would be welcome by investors. However, since these changes are not yet researched, this study, based on the McKinnon-Shaw Hypothesis of financial reforms and carrying out a survey of a selected bank customers, examined to what extent investors have responded to interest rate reduction. Accordingly, it found that although the recent bank interest rates reduction is not contrary to the financial reforms so far carried out, bank lending, irrespective of investors long agitation for such a reduction, has only moderately increased.

Keywords: Financial Reforms; Inflation; McKinnon-Shaw Hypothesis; Real Interest Rates; Funds Channeling

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Factors Affecting on Awareness of Credit Information Bureau of the Borrowers with Special Reference to People’s Bank of Sri Lanka R. C. S. J. Ranabahu1, K. D. U. D. Fernando2a & M. Vithiyalani2b Department of Accountancy and Finance, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka [email protected], [email protected] , [email protected]

Advanced economies and financial systems are operating efficiently with the help of easily available credible information. The banks provide credit facilities to develop retail and corporate line trading activities and improve the standard of living accordingly. In Sri Lanka, after 1980’s the credit culture have been shaken because of the crisis aroused in the sector. As a result of the unfavorable credit culture regulatory bodies established Credit Information Bureau (CRIB) which provides comprehensive credit reports to promote credit worthy society still borrowers have a huge knowledge gap about CRIB services. The aim of the study is to investigate the factors affecting on the awareness of credit information bureau (CRIB) of borrowers with special reference to People’s Bank. The study was conducted to explore the factors affecting on the CRIB awareness including age, gender, education level, income level and employed type. To achieve the aim, five basic hypotheses are investigated as the independent variables and CRIB awareness. The study was carried out using quantitative research method using structured questionnaires to gather primary data by selecting 80 personal loan customers from people’s bank and that was analyzed by using categorical data analysis by chi square statistics. The findings revealed that independent variables and CRIB awareness are related to each other. And major five variables were highly affected to CRIB awareness, which are education level and employment type. Education level and employed type are affecting to the CRIB awareness. The study provides more information to the customers such that find outs the major reasons for CRIB awareness and helps to get decisions on the issue while providing some relative information. The study suggests that authorities further develop the system to aware more on credit worthiness and create a culture among the nation to give recognition for the people who have better credit discipline. Keywords: Credit Information Bureau; Credit Worthiness; Non-performing Loans; Repayment Capacity

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A Study on the Factors Affecting to Use E-Learning Systems by Banking Assistants of Hatton National Bank G. Kanchana1 & K. L. G. B. Dharmarathne2 Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected]

E-learning is an emerging new paradigm of learning and training in workplaces with vast technological advancements in the world that creates a platform for the learners to learn where they are available and without time constraints in the recent decades. Thus, the study is aimed at E-Learning System of Hatton National Bank PLC which is one of the well-established, island-wide commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The objective of the study is to find out the factors that affect to use of E-Learning systems by Banking Associates and the study is carried out at Hatton Nation Bank. The model is developed using the factors of Social Influence, Perceived Support, Perceived Selfefficacy and Computer Anxiety which effect on behavioural intention to use Elearning system. The population of 84 Banking Associates gave their responses to the survey questionnaires in South Western Region. The survey data were analyzed using inferential statistics of Person’s Product Moment Correlation and Multiple regression analysis. The major finding of the study revealed that the Perceived Self-efficacy has a greater impact on the usage of E-learning system which denotes an individual factor. On the contrary, one of the strong predictor of Social Influence has been rejected since the p-value was insignificant. Perceived Support has shown a positive relationship and Computer Anxiety indicated a high negative relationship with the Behavioural Intention. The observed model proposes significant predictors which influence on E-learning system of Hatton National Bank PLC.

Keywords: Computer Anxiety; Perceived Self-efficacy; Perceived Support; Social Influence; Usage of E-learning

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Factors Influencing the Adoption of Internet Banking: A Case of Commercial Banks in Sri Lanka D.G.L. Rasika1, T.G.N. Gayani2a & E.A.S.P. Kumara2b Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka 1 &2a Peoples’ Bank2b 1 [email protected] , [email protected], [email protected] 2b

Internet banking service provides true mobility, convenience and speed service. Still most of the retail customers do not accept this innovative service and they resist to use or less use. This paper investigates the factors influencing the adoption of internet banking by using 143 retail customers of five leading commercial banks in Sri Lanka. Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior was used to develop the model to identify the factors influencing the customers’ decision whether to use internet banking. A sample survey was conducted to collect data from the registered customers for internet banking in leading five commercial banks in Sri Lanka through a structured questionnaire using the convenience sampling method. Correlation and Multiple Regressions were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the relative advantage, experience, selfefficacy, technological support have a significant positive effect on intention towards using internet banking whereas compatibility, trial ability, risk and complexity have a negative effect on adoption for internet banking. The policy makers should follow customer oriented strategies to increase rate of the internet banking users in the early adoption stages. The banks can rationally use pull strategy to attract new customers for the service and to protect the existing internet banking users for long run.

Keywords: Commercial Banks; Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior; Internet Adoption; Internet Banking

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Factors Affecting the Employee Motivation: A Case Study in Bank of Ceylon D. M. M. Sandaruwan1 & D. G. L. Rasika2 Department of Accountancy & Finance, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.

[email protected] The primary objective of this study is to identify the factors that affect the employee motivation as a case study of Bank of Ceylon Trade Finance Unit. The Opportunities for career growth and development (OPP), Job Security (JOBSEC), Salary and Other Financial Incentives (SALOTH) and Working condition (WOC) were used as the independent variables that affect the employee motivation. The sampling survey method was used to collect the data through a structured questionnaire from 100 employees of the Bank of Ceylon Trade Finance Unit. Multiple Regression Analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the Opportunities for Career Growth and Development, Job Security, Working Condition have a significant impact on employee motivation while the Salary and Other Financial Incentives do not have a significant impact on employee motivation. The outcome of this study confirmed that working condition is the most influencing factor to the employee motivation. Therefore, the managers should pay more attention on employee’s working condition when arranging the employees’ motivational activities in the bank. Keywords: Bank of Ceylon; Career Development; Employee Motivation; Job Security; Working Condition

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Factors Influencing the Job Satisfaction of Banking Sector’s Employees: A Case Study in Sampath Bank PLC T. M .N Tharanga1 & D. G. L.Rasika2 Department of Accountancy & Finance, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

The study examined the factors determined the job satisfaction of employees in the banking sector as a case study in Sampath Bank PLC. The conceptual framework was developed using the Theories of Human Motivation, Locke's Value Theory and Affective Event Theory. A sample of 105 employees in Sampath Bank Card Centre were selected through the disproportionate stratified random sampling method. Remuneration and Recognition, Training and Career Development, Organizational Culture & Policies, Internal Communication & Team Work, Work Environment & Job Content and General Life Satisfaction were used as the independent variables which are influencing the level of Job Satisfaction of the employees in the banking sector. Correlation and Multiple Regression analysis were carried out to analyze the data. The analysis reveal that Working Environment, Internal communication, Training and Career Development and Organizational Policies are the highly influential variables for job satisfaction of the employees in the Credit Card Centre. Based on the research findings it is recommended that the bank should establish a strong working environment, organize programs to the executive level employees and managers on how to continue a strong cooperation with their subordinates, promote the non-monetary compensations methods, formulate an employee friendly culture in order to keep a higher level of job satisfaction among the employees.

Keywords: Banking Sector; Job Satisfaction; Sampath Bank PLC

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Business Management

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Impact of Big Five Personality Traits on Employee Job Involvement in Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited-Intimate Apparel, Welisara W. B. S. M. Wijesingha1 & A. C. Jayatilake 2 SGIS and Progress Monitoring Division,Urban Development Authority 6th and 7th Floor, Sethsiripaya,Baththaramulla.1 Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka,Beliuloya.2 [email protected] [email protected]

Job Involvement has become a popular topic in t Human Resource Management as well as the modern business context. Presently, many organizations pay their attention on employee Job Involvement since it is a crucial factor for any organization’s success. The researcher carried out a pilot survey and revealed that there is lack of job involvement within the employees of Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited – Intimate Apparel (BASL-IA) in Walisara. Based on the literature, the researcher has used Big Five Personality Traits to find out whether there is an impact on employee job involvement. Among 702 employees in BASL-IA, 200 employees were taken as the sample using stratified sampling method and data was gathered through a selfadministrated questionnaire. Data was analyzed using multiple regression by taking job involvement as dependent variable and neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness as independent variables which are Big Five Personality Traits by taking the support of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 21.The results of the study conveyed that there is a positive impact of extroversion, openness to experience, and conscientiousness on job involvement while neuroticism reported a negative impact on job involvement. Further, it was revealed that there is no any impact of agreeableness on job involvement. Among the significant personality traits extroversion trait was found as highly affected trait on employee job involvement. From the study, it was recommended to the management of BASL-IA to consider the employee personality traits more when they formulate personal development plans, training sessions, and job roles to employees.

Keywords: Agreeableness; Conscientiousness; Extroversion; Neuroticism; Openness to Experience

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A Study on the Impact of Fair Treatment and Working Environment on Organizational Commitment K.R.M.C. Thilakarathne1 & I. A. Ekanayake 2 Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected]

Selecting and retaining a committed work force is still challenging for any organization. This study was aimed to investigate the impact of fair treatment and working environment on organizational commitment of employees at a firm operating in apparel industry in Sri Lanka. Since the machine operators play a vital role of a garment manufacturing factory, they were treated as the target population of this study. Out of 867 machine operators a sample of 269 was selected using the cluster sampling method. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey. A multiple regression was performed to investigate the impacts of the variables interested. Pertaining to the previous research findings, the current study also brought evidence to a significant positive impact of fair treatment on organizational commitment. Consequently, this will help the organization to rethink of their justice perceptions on their employees in a manner of increasing their commitment. In contrast to the previous research findings, this study highlighted a negative impact of working environment on organizational commitment. This study creates a novel contribution to the existing theoretical gap as well as to the industry in order to gain and maintain a committed workforce so as to achieve its goals and objectives.

Keywords: Fair Treatment; Organizational Commitment; Working Environment

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Impact of Work-Family Life Balance on Employee Job Engagement at Ceylon Knit Trend (Pvt.) Ltd M. Fernando1 & J. K. S. C. Perera2 Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Well motivated and committed employees with high levels of job engagement are considered to be the most important asset to any organization. But gaining full employee engagement towards the organization is still challenging and remains as an issue in literature as well as in practical context. This study was conducted with married female machine operators in Ceylon Knit Trend (Pvt.) Ltd. Therefore, the current study expects to find out whether the work-family life balance has an impact on their job engagement. Results of the preliminary survey indicated that job engagement of female machine operators was below the expected level. Sample size for preliminary survey was 30. Under the conceptual model of the study, researchers examined the direct effects of each work-family life balance dimension (work demand, family demand, organizational work-family support, and family support) on employee job engagement. Population size of the study was 160 married female machine operators and sample size was 113 which was selected through stratified random sampling method. Data were collected through a validated and reliable selfadministered questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the collected data. Confirming the previous findings the current study revealed that the work-family life balance is an important phenomenon which has a significant impact on job engagement. The study revealed that family demand, organizational workfamily support and family support have a significant impact on employee job engagement. This study offers implications for developing strategies to obtain employee engagement while balancing work and family life as implement employee tailor- made work-life supportive policies and practices.

Keywords: Family Demand; Family Support; Job Engagement; Organizational WorkFamily Support; Work-family Life Balance

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Impact of Personality Traits on Work-Life Balance: Empirical Evidence from the Non-banking Finance Sector in Sri Lanka J. A. R. Madhushan1 & T. C. Gamage2 Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo.1 Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.2 [email protected] [email protected]/[email protected]

Work-life balance is a situation in which employees are able to give the right amount of time and efforts to their work as well as their personal life. Personality traits which are defined by individual’s behaviour, attitudes, beliefs, and appearance are found to have an influence on the way they strike a proper balance between work and life irrespective of the organizational setups and other factors. On this backdrop, this study attempts to examine the impact of personality traits on work-life balance specially focusing on working mothers in the non-banking finance sector in Sri Lanka. Big five personality traits were used as the major theoretical backbone of this study. Following the positivistic research paradigm and the deductive research approach, survey research strategy was adopted. The target population of 200 working mothers yielded an effective response rate of 74%. Multiple regression analysis was used as the main inferential statistical analysis technique. The findings demonstrate that openness to experience has the highest impact on work-life balance of working mothers. Next to openness, extroversion and agreeableness too significantly influence on work-life balance of working mothers. However, conscientiousness and neuroticism do not have a significant role in influencing the work-life balance in the given research setting. Moreover, the findings help management to mold their understanding on the importance of the personality traits in improving the work-life balance of working mothers in the non-banking finance sector in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Non-banking Finance Sector; Personality traits; Work-Life Balance

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A Study on Comparison of the Impact of Personality Traits on Entrepreneurial Intention C.R. Denis1, C. Ariyarathne2a, J. K.S.C. Perera2b , K. Paloneka2c, M. J. Zabarowskaa2d & B. Czerniachowicz2e Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.1,2a,2b Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Szcezecin, Poland 2c,2e Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Szcezecin, Poland 2d [email protected] , [email protected] 2a,[email protected], [email protected] 2c, [email protected] 2d, [email protected] 2e

Entrepreneurs are national assets to be cultivated, motivated, and remunerated to the greatest possible extent. The literature highlights the importance of studying personality on entrepreneurial intention. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to compare the impact of personality traits on the entrepreneurial intention of the undergraduates of Faculty of Management Studies of Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka and the Faculty of Economics & Management, University of Szczecin, Poland. The preliminary study results indicated that Poland undergraduates have a high intention to become entrepreneurs rather than Sri Lankan undergraduates. The research is conducted based on Positivistic research paradigm with quantitative research methodology. Further, deductive approach was applied and data were collected through a validated and reliable questionnaire. The study sample was 109 undergraduates from each country under the simple random sampling technique and the data were analyzed using two separate multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses using SPSS 21.0 software.

Among the significant factors of both

countries, this study found that only neuroticism negatively impacts on entrepreneurial intention in Sri Lankan undergraduates while extraversion and openness to experience positively impact in Poland undergraduates. This research finding will contribute to the academic institutions in scheduling their curricular to develop the personality of undergraduates in order to enhance their entrepreneurial intention.

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial intention; Personality traits

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Impact of Big Five Personality Traits on Employees’ Work-to-Family Conflict in Ceylon Knit Trend Apparel (Pvt.) Ltd. S. Jayasekara1 & L. D. Kalyani2 Department of Business Mangement, Faculty of Mangement Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Work-to-family conflict (WFC) is a major problem experienced by the working population. The increase of the number of dual earner couples also causes an increase of the severity of the problem of work-to-family conflict. In this decade researchers have recognized work-family conflict as a researchable area. There are two directions in work-family conflict. These are work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict. In this study, the researcher examined the impact of Big Five personality traits on work-to-family conflict. Based on census study altogether 56 executive level employees including all managers in CKT Apparel (Pvt.) Ltd., Agalawatta were selected for the study. The response rate for the questionnaire was 94%. Data were collected through two validated and reliable scales of work-to-family conflict and Big Five personality. The researcher developed hypotheses based on Conservation of Resources theory. Analytical techniques such as mean analysis, reliability analysis, test of normality, KMO test, correlation and multiple regression analysis were used in order to analyze the data. On the correlation analyses all Big Five traits significantly correlated with work-to-family conflict. The result of the multiple regression analysis concluded that openness to experience is the dimension of Big Five personality traits which significantly impacts on work-to-family conflict. Findings of the study will assist to modify the policies of the CKT Apparel (Pvt.) Limited and create a better working environment for the executive level employees.

Keywords: Big Five Personality Traits; CKT Apparel (Pvt.) Ltd.; Work-to-family conflict

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The Impact of Personality Traits on Sales Performance: Empirical Evidence from the Advertising Industry in Sri Lanka K. N. S. Jayasekara1 & T. C. Gamage2 Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected] , [email protected] /[email protected] Generating income and revenue are the primary roles of sales personnel. Whilst many organizations have paid particular attention in training and development of the sales personnel, they seem to have neglected the profound impact of the personality traits of sales personnel in determining their success. This is clearly evident as given the same sales tools, level of education, and propensity to work, some sales personnel succeed where others fail. This paper therefore examines the impact of personality traits in determining the sales performance of sales personnel in the advertising industry in Sri Lanka. Big five personality traits were used as the major theoretical underpinning in developing the conceptual framework. Using a simple random sampling, data stemmed from a sample of 200 sales personnel was used to assess the proposed conceptual framework. Multiple regression analysis was used as the main inferential statistical analysis technique. As hypothesized, the findings demonstrate that openness to experience is significantly related to sales performance. However, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and extraversion are not significantly related to sales performance in the given research setting. Moreover, the findings emphasize that sales personnel with high openness to experience perform better in sales in the advertising industry in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Personality Traits; Sales Performance; Sales Personnel

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Impact of Big Five Personality Traits on Employees's Normative Commitment S. Madhuwanthi1 & L. D. Kalyani2 Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Today, business environment is rapidly changing day by day as well as, organizations have to adapt according to the changing environment otherwise they find it difficult to survive with the competition. Recruiting committed workforce is the most important and also challenging task for each and every organization of the world. The current research study focused to identify the impact of the big five personalities on normative commitment of sewing machine operators in MAS Bodyline Pvt Ltd. The quantitative and deductive approach was used for this study. To measure normative commitment of sewing machine operators was used standard questionnaire developed by Allen and Meyer and also personality was measured by using standard big five personality model questionnaire developed by John and Sanjay. Sample consists with sewing machine operators at MAS Bodyline, Horana. Sample was selected based on convenience sample technique. 200 questionnaires were distributed based on Morgan’s table even though 166 questionnaires were returned. Cronbach’s Alpha and KMO value ensured the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. The data were analyzed through analytical tools such as mean, standard deviation, correlation and regression analysis by using the Minitab and SPSS soft wares. The result concluded that there is a significant positive impact of extraversion and agreeableness on normative commitment and on the other hand, identified that there is a significant negative impact of neuroticism and openness to experience. Finally, current study found out that, there is not significant impact of conscientiousness on normative commitment.

Keywords: Normative Commitment; Big Five Personality

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How Personality of Employees Affect Occupational Stress? G. G. M. S. Wickramapala1 & J. K. S. C. Perera2 Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected]

Occupational Stress has emerged as an issue for many individuals all over the world. According to literature the negative outcomes of the occupational stress hinder the employee work performance and thus directly impact on the organizational performance. Results of the preliminary study revealed that the executive employees in Sri Lanka Tourist Board experienced high level of stress. Based on the current literature the researchers focused on examining how one of the individual differences of employee personality impacts on occupational stress. More specifically, the researchers examined the direct effects of each Big-Five personality trait (Emotional Stability,

Openness

to

Experience,

Conscientiousness,

Extraversion,

and

Agreeableness) dimension on occupational stress. This study was conducted based on the quantitative research methodology. Population of this study was all the executives who are currently attached to the Tourist Board and all of them were taken to conduct this study, based on census method. Data were collected through a validated and reliable self-administered questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that the lower level of conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness directly effect on the increasing occupational Stress. This study provides implications for understanding employee personality differences and tailor-made HR practices, to manage employees’ occupational stress.

Keywords: Conscientiousness; Emotional Stability; Experience; Extraversion; Occupational Stress; Openness to Agreeableness

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Study of Employers’ Insights of the Employability Skills and Level of Satisfaction of Sri Lankan ICT Undergraduates S. Pathiratne1 & P.A.B.H. Amarathunga2 Faculty of Computing, ESOFT Metro Campus, Sri Lanka1 Faculty of Business Studies and Finance, Wayamba University, Sri Lanka.2 [email protected],[email protected]

The lack of cognizance and skills amongst graduates has been described as one of the reasons why graduates struggle to find employment after the graduation. Whilst some are good in their technical skills, most have been found destitute of in their soft skills. There was major concern from the employers about the local graduates that albeit they are verbally expressed to be well equipped with pertinent technical skills, they still lack paramount soft skills like communication, language, critical and ingenious skills, leadership, etc. Several researchers in edification have discussed the ineffectiveness of the current inculcated system in equipping the graduates with germane employability skills as required by their potential employers. No one has touched the Sri Lankan ICT Education sector. Major Objectives of this study are to explore the employers’ insights of the employability skills that technical Undergraduates need to encompass, as well as evaluating the employers’ level of gratification with the ICT Undergraduates employability skills. Population of the study comprises of employers that accepted the University’s Undergraduates for six months of industrial training in their organizations. The study originate that the uppermost five skills extremely regarded by the employers are a accumulation of three soft skills and two hard skills. Ranked most paramount is the competency to undertake quandary identification, apply quandary-solving, formulation and solutions as the most consequential skills that employers needed in engineering and ICT Undergraduates. In terms of the caliber of contentment, the employers denoted that they are generally gratified with the university Undergraduates’ level of employability skills. The adeptness that they are most gratified with is the competency to perpetuate learning independently in the acquisition of incipient cognizance, skills and technologies. This study offers three implications to take strategic steps for

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka universities. First, equal attention should be prearranged to both technical and soft skills. Second, there is an exigent desideratum for universities to quantify perpetually employers’ level of contentment with regard to the excellence of graduates that universities are conferring. Third, universities must ascertain that they have continuous assignation with the industry in directing them to be able to perceive transmutations in industry expeditiously.

Keywords: Employability; Employers; ICT; Soft Skills; Undergraduates

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Factors Affecting the Failure to Achieve Expected Sewing Efficiency Level in Sri Lankan Garment Industry: with Special Reference to Brandix Apparel Solutions in Wathupitiwala, Sri Lanka N.A.P. Pubudika1 & M. P. Kovilage2 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, P.O.Box.02, Belihuloya, 70140, Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected]

Sewing efficiency has become the key determinant of the success in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. This research was built up in a circumstance where this company was running below the targeted sewing efficiency level continuously. The main objective of the study was to explore the factors affecting the poor sewing efficiency of machine operators in Brandix Apparel Solutions in Wathupitiwala. The study followed the quantitative research approach. Here, the researcher selected six factors that affect sewing efficiency such as: working environment, supervision, machine operators’ job satisfaction, skills level, level of education and the sewing related experience through the past studies, to test their relationship and effect on sewing efficiency of machine operators in this company. A standardized and validated questionnaire was distributed among 104 machine operators in the company for the primary data collection. These 104 machine operators out of the population of 230 machine operators were randomly selected. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were tested using Cronbach’s alpha and KMO value. Descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression analysis were employed as the data analysis techniques. Finally, the study concluded that the working environment, supervision, job satisfaction and skills level positively affected the sewing efficiency of machine operators in Brandix Apparel Solution in Wathupitiwala and also it concluded that machine operators’ education level and experience has a positive relationship with their sewing efficiency.

Keywords: Education; Job satisfaction; Supervision; Skill; Sewing Efficiency; Work Environment

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A Factor Analysis of Temperament, Character, Emotional Intelligence, and Need for Achievement of Sri Lankan MBA Students P.A.B.H. Amarathunga1 & S. Pathiratne2 Faculty of Business Studies and Finance, Wayamba University, Sri Lanka.1 Faculty of Computing, ESOFT Metro Campus, Sri Lanka.2 [email protected], [email protected]

Emotional Intelligence has recently gained utmost consequentiality and is being applied in all the fields and has earned an edge over IQ in the last decade as well as that is applicable to every human interaction in business: from staff motivation to customer accommodation, from brainstorming to company presentations. The main objective of this study is to find out the common factors that account for the relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Need for Achievement, Temperament, and Character. A sample of 69 MBA students was randomly selected from the management faculty in a government university. Three different research instruments were used to measure the variables. The analysis was done by using SPSS in two steps, Computation of Inter-correlations among the variables and Factor analysis of the sub dimensions of all the four variables. Three different research instruments were acclimated to quantify the variables. The analysis was done by SPSS in two phases, Calculation of Inter-correlations among the variables and Factor analysis of the sub dimensions of all the four variables. The findings of the present study show that a person/ groups of persons exhibit different patterns of personality traits and it is evident that for bipolar dimension has been found in the present study. It was revealed that emotional intelligence significantly highly correlated with the need for achievement. This study emphasizes the holistic approach to personality development among students. Self-Directedness is paramount to make the students able in selfdirection, as goal orientation is a component of Self Directedness. Educationists must deal with the character in its psychological aspects for a fuller development of the personality.

Keywords:

Character,

Emotional

Intelligence;

Factor

Analysis;

Need

for

Achievement; Temperament

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A Study on Relationship between Psychological Contract and the Employment Relationship S. H. A. K. Nandasiri1, D. C. Wijesekara2a, P. Sivashankar2b & I. C. Hettiarachchi2c Department of Agribusiness, Faculty of Agricultural Science Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected],

Research on psychological contracts is increasingly focusing on the mutual relationship between the employee and the employer. This study examined the relationship between the psychological contract and the employment relationship. The objectives of this study were, finding the relationship between different types of psychological contracts and employee outcomes of commitment, organizational citizenship behaviour and turnover intention. The employee and employer obligations and their relationships with commitment, organizational citizenship behaviour and turnover intentions were also measured. The study also investigates the types of psychological contract breaches that can be seen in the organization. This research followed the survey strategy and the research approach is deductive. The research type is descriptive and data were collected from 120 employees in a ship repair and offshore

engineering

firm

in

Colombo,

through

interviewer

administered

questionnaires which were modified after pilot testing from 10 subjects. Stratified random sampling technique was used for sampling from a population of 2000 employees. Correlation and descriptive analysis were performed to analyze the data and find the relationships. The results of the research revealed that there is a positive correlation between the relational contract, balanced contracts, employer and employee obligations with commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour. Negative correlation can be found between relational contracts, balanced contract, employee and employer obligations with employee turnover intention. Transactional contracts and transitional contracts have negative correlations between commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour while positive correlation can be found with turnover intention. Psychological contract breaches were measured and it is revealed that relational contract type was breached in the areas of employee participation in the

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka decision making and receiving of the performance appraisal. Transactional, balanced and transitional contracts do not have strong psychological contract breaches.

Keywords:

Employee

Commitment;

Organizational

Citizenship

Behaviour;

Psychological Contract; Turnover Intention

69


Human Capital Development: Comparative Analysis of South Asian Countries K. K. N. P. Rathnayake1 & C. Zhixia2 College of Public Administration, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, P.R. China. [email protected]

Human resource development research suggests that investment in people results in improved performance on the individual level, improved productivity on the organizational level, and economic development and other benefits on the societal level. Nevertheless, comparative research on Human Capital (HC) development is still limited and comparisons among multiple countries are difficult to find. The purpose of this paper is to conduct macro-level analysis of HC development strategies, followed by four emerging countries in South Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh). This analysis is based on comparisons of macro indices of HC and innovativeness of the economy and a review of related academic literature and publications of governments and international organizations. Study results suggest that in terms of present human capital capacity India and Sri Lanka are ahead of Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, during the last decade the governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan have initiated impressive national programs of HC development, which include significant investment in all stages of education and vocational training, especially in science and technology fields. Though Sri Lanka is well-ahead of many human capital indices, it lacks comprehensive long-term strategies to maintain the momentum. While being the highest populous country, the Indian government plays a progressive and sustainable role in all the areas of human development and coordinating effort of various agencies and constituencies. Study provides not only specific insights on the current and future state of HC in South Asian countries, but also a practical framework for analyzing HC policies in any other developing country of the world.

Keywords: Bangladesh; Human Capital; Human Resource Development; India; Pakistan; Sri Lanka

70


Impact of Work-Life Balance on Employee Work Performance in the Hotel Industry of Sri Lanka D. S. De Seram1 & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala2 No 482, Welivita Road, Kaduwela1 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.2 [email protected]

With ever changing business world, achieving higher level of work performance through managing employee’s work-life balance is still challenging and remains as an issue in literature as well as practically in organizations. Unlike in most of other industries, the situation of the hospitality industry is more critical and the work life balance issue has become an inherent characteristic of the industry. According to Deery (as cited in Monathy, 2014), work-life balance is heavily impact on employee’s performance and since the work-life balance issue is an inherent characteristic of hotel industry, their work performances are mostly at lower levels. Therefore, the study focuses on the work-life balance of the hotel industry employees and its impact on employee performance. The study is based on three main dimension of the work life balance i.e. Job Content, Personal Factors and Family factors. The study was carried out at the John keels (Cinnamon) Hotel chain in Sri Lanka using 187 executive level employees. Data were collected through a standard and validated questionnaire survey and face to face discussions with family members of the selected employees. Data which collected through questionnaire survey were analyzed by using multiple linear regressions and content analysis was employed to summarize the data which collected through discussion. The result revealed that there is high positive relationship between all three dimensions and employee performance. The factors related job content, personal and family are positively contributed for the employee performance. The hotel industry can further improve the employee performance through creating a conductive work environment which allows the employee to have a work-life balance. Confirming the previous findings the current study reveals that the work-life balance positive impacts on work performance. This study will contribute to hotel industry to

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka improve the work- life balance of the employees in order to improve the employee work performance.

Keywords: Employee performance; Family Factors; Job Content; Personal Factors ; Work-Life Balance

72


The Impact of Individual Values on Employee Commitment with special reference to City Cycle Industries (Pvt.) Limited, Panadura F. Hasniya1 & J. K. S. C. Perera2 Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

In this competitive business world, committed employees are essential to achieve the organizational success. However, retaining a commitment employee is still challenging for many organizations all over the world. Existing literature highlights the importance of studying individuals’ values on employee commitment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of each dimension of individual values which are, value of openness to change, value of conservation, value of selftranscendence, and value of self-enhancement on employee commitment in City Cycle Industries (Pvt.) Limited, Panadura. Conceptual model was developed by using Person-Organization-Fit Theory. The study was conducted based on positivistic research paradigm and quantitative research methodology. Self-administered questionnaire was distributed among 80 employees at City Cycle Industries (Pvt.) Limited as a census study. Hypotheses of the study were tested by using a multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that the value of openness to change negatively impacts on employee commitment. Further, it was found that the value of conservation and the value of self-transcendence positively impact on employee commitment. This study has proven that the individual values can lead to increase the employee commitment.

Key words: Individual Values; Employee Commitment; Person-Organisation-Fit Theory

73


Study on the Impact of Change Message Components on Employee Readiness to Change S. Senasinghe1 & L. D. Kalyani2 Department of Business Management,Faculty of Mangement Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.

[email protected] Organizational changes play a significant role in today’s competitive and dynamic business environment. Many change efforts pass off without gaining the intended outcomes due to lack of employee readiness. Having suitable changes to compete with the world is essential and employee readiness is the key to the success of those changes. The current study was investigated the impact of five dimensions of change message components on employee readiness to change to implement the Team Leader Based Organization (TLBO) at Loadstar (Pvt) Ltd. Change message components have five dimensions namely discrepancy, change efficacy, appropriateness, principal support and personal valence. The sample size of the study was 110 employees and the census method was followed. Data were collected through standard questionnaires developed by the previous researchers. Employee readiness to change, acted as the dependent variable and the dimensions of the change message components acted as the independent variables. The result concluded that the significant positive impact of three out of five dimensions of change message components, such as principal support, personal valence and change efficacy on employee readiness to change. Discrepancy and appropriateness were not significant in this study. It is better for the managers to pay attention on readiness of employees by using those change message components to fit them in prior to the change initiatives. Then the change can become permanent.

Keywords: Change Message Components; Readiness to Change; Key Sentiment Factors

74


Changing Role of HR and its Business Relevance A. Khan1 & S. Karunagoda2 Mouchel Middle East, United Arab Emirates1 Department of Transportation, United Arab Emirates2 [email protected]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the human resources (HR) department in connecting organizations to the business. Traditionally, the finance department in the organizations has is related to the money matters, whereas the HR department is not related to the money matters, even in case of giving of the training to the employees and subsequent organizational growth. This paper attempts to establish the link between the HR and finance (money matters). Finally, it has been observed that the role of HR has been limited to that of the administrative rather than the development of employees. The study is based on the qualitative research approach adopting direct/participant observation method when the researchers were part of their respective organizations. Semi- structured interviews were also conducted from the HR and the employees for in depth understanding of the HR processes and subsequently the role played by the HR and its impact on the performance of the employees. The data collection was carried out when the researchers were part of their respective organizations, where the role of a participant observer was involved. This is limited to the organizations and the HR interaction. However, the data collection through semi-structured interviews helped increase the depth of the data collection. The role of the HR in developing the employees has an impact on the employee satisfaction and motivation which results into increased organizational performance. The employees within such organizations achieve their career targets within the organizations. This was possible through research framework of TALENT, TRAINING and TASKS. At the heart of this framework is value fit/cultural fit.

Keywords: Human Resources; Employee; Employee Development; Organizational Development

75


The Impact of Glass Ceiling Factors on Women Career Development K. Alwis1 & A.M. J. Attanayake2 Department of Business Mangement, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Concerns of gender equality are discussed in 1978 constitution of Sri Lanka and in other national policies. Anyhow as per the labour force surveys females are not in higher rank positions in Sri Lanka even though their contribution for the labour force increases rapidly and this scenario is more severe in the garment sector. According to this problem, the researcher investigated the impact of glass ceiling factors such as individual factors, training and development, work family conflict, organizational factors and cultural factors on women career development at leading apparel manufacturer, in Sri Lanka based on the conceptual frame work developed using the literature of current study. Simple random sampling method has been used to select 63 female executive and self-administrative questionnaire distributed to collect the data. Hypotheses are developed to find out whether there is a significant impact of glass ceiling factors on Women career development and tested by using multiple regression analysis. Findings of the study identified that all the selected glass ceiling factors except organizational cultural factors have significant negative impact on women career development. Moreover, it revealed that work family conflict is the highest impacted factor. Hence management of the company should be much concern on balancing work family conflicts and practice the discrimination policy effectively. The findings of this study mostly helpful in making management decisions to reduce the invisible barriers of women career development and this makes a novel contribution to the garment industry by being among the first to examine of that industry in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Female Executives; Glass Ceiling Factors; Women Career Development

76


Impact of Organizational Downsizing on Manpower Retention: A Case Study on the Eden Resort and Spa, Beruwala A. Nanayakkara1 & M. S. M. Aslam2 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.

[email protected]

Enhancing the profitability in the organization has led to implement different strategies to minimize the cost and improve the productivity. Organizational downsizing is a prevalent strategy to enhance cost efficiency and operational effectiveness. However, implementing organizational downsizing has negative impacts on employee motivation, satisfaction and retention. The Eden Resort & Spa, Beruwala is of the five-star hotels in Sri Lanka which has implemented organizational downsizing and heading to challenges in the retention of employees. This study investigates the impacts of organizational downsizing strategy on the employee retention at the Eden Resort and Spa and adopted the qualitative case study approach to elucidate the multiple realities as result of implementing the organizational downsizing strategy. This investigation incorporated with participative observation and personal interviews with top level, middle level and operational level employees to bring forth the naturalistic interpretation of the employees at Eden Resort & Spa. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive analysis along with data triangulation. The results reveal that the strategy of organizational downsizing is one of the better solutions to reduce the cost in the organization; however, the organizational downsizing has a significant negative effect to the employee satisfaction, employee motivation and employee retention in the organization. Findings of this study provide a novel contribution to The Eden Resort and Spa, Beruwala who want to retain and encourage their employees to work in the organization and the hoteliers to manage human resources effectively in their organizations.

Keywords: Employee Satisfaction; Manpower Retention; Organizational Downsizing

77


Impact of Job Satisfaction on Job Performance of Administrative Staff of State Universities in Sri Lanka M.L. Warnasuriya1 & L. D. Kalyani2 Senior Assistant Registrar, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka,Belihuloya.1 Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya.2 [email protected], [email protected]

The research problem addressed in this study was to investigate the extent to which job satisfaction affect job performance of the administrative staff in state universities in Sri Lanka. The administrative staff of state universities in Sri Lanka was considered as the population for this study. Sample size was limited to 125 administrative officers which were selected from the state universities. Kaiser- Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test was used to measure the validity of the sample size. Chronbach’s Alpha value was used to measure the reliability of the variables. Primary data was collected through administering a questionnaire. Univariate, Bivariates techniques, Multivariate Regression, Hypothesis Testing and Factor Analysis were used to analyze the data. All the dimensions of job satisfaction except remuneration, yielded a higher mean than the average. Positive correlations are existing between the dependent variable; job performance, and the independent variable; job satisfaction (r = 0.471, P =0. 000). Further Positive correlations are existing between the dependent variable; job performance, and all the other dimensions of the job satisfaction except remuneration. The results correlation analysis revealed that all the dimensions of job satisfaction can positively contribute towards job performance except remuneration. Therefore, a considerable attention should be paid to improve the dimensions of job satisfaction such as work itself, working conditions, social factors and supervision to improve the job performance of the administrative staff within the state universities for long-term success of the higher education sector in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Job Performance; Job Satisfaction

78


Management Information System for Effective Decision Making on Total Cost of Quality K. A. P. Mekhala1, H. C. Munasinghe2a, A. N. Abeygunawardena2b, V. Puwana2c, R. K. D. Darshana2d & K. U. S. Somarathna2e Department of Textile & Clothing Technology,University of Moratuwa [email protected]

Manufacturing organizations are continuously affected by chronic waste and hidden quality costs resulting in increased Total Cost of Quality and reduced Profitability. However the existing systems only focus on sporadic waste and visible quality costs and fail to capture the real picture of total cost of quality. Therefore severities of issues are often unidentified by organizations and no preventive actions are triggered for continuous improvement. This research focuses on developing a reliable Quality Costing System for knitted fabric manufacturing organizations in which all dimensions of prevention, appraisal, internal and external failure costs are encompassed and enables the achievement of organization’s quality objectives and long term success through proper identification, monitoring, analysis, and reporting of quality costs and thereby facilitate management decision making to manage “Total Cost of Quality”. The comprehensive literature survey depicts the nature of chronic and sporadic waste, distinguishes between visible and hidden costs, categorization of cost elements, analysis of quality costs, real impact of quality costs on organizational performance and the strategy for managing total cost of quality. Initially a detailed process study was conducted to identify all the cost elements, categorize their impact and to define the method of quantifying such cost elements. Collected quality cost data was analyzed and the impact of cost of quality on organizational performance was identified. Finally a Microsoft excel based system was developed to produce useful management information which includes cost distributions, trend analysis of cost categories and key cost elements, highest cost elements and monthly cost of quality report.

Keywords: Total Cost of Quality; Chronic Waste; Hidden Costs; Quality Costing System

79


Eco Business Management

80


Analysis of Dynamic Trends of Rainfall Extremes in Sri Lanka Using Frequency Indicators S. S. Sanjeewani1 & L. Manawadu2 Department of transports & Logistics management, University of Moratuwa1 Department of Geography, University of Colombo2 [email protected], [email protected]

Occurrence of rainfall extremes is becoming more frequent in the world incurring a number of issues for livings and non-livings in Sri Lankan context too. It is timely important to identify the trends of frequent rainfall extremes so as to implement better adaptation practices. This study identifies dynamic trends of rainfall extremes from 1981 to 2010 using frequency indicators (Consecutive Wet Days (CWD), Consecutive Dry Days(CDD) , Heavy Rainfall Days (R10mm) and Very Heavy Rainfall Days (R10mm) promoted by the World Meteorological Organization. Daily rainfall data are used to run RClimDex 1.0 to identify the extremes. The extremes are mapped and Non parametric Mann Kendall test is used to detect the trends and their significance. Additionally, this study considers the impact of Southern Oscillation on occurrence of above extremes as one of the causal factors. All the stations show a decreasing trend of CDD where Puttalam, Hambanthota, NuwaraEliya, Rathnapura display significant decreasing trends. Mean CDD in Sri Lanka is 38 days. Lower annual averages of CDD are apparent in 1985, 1991, 2003 and 1981 which are highly coincided with southern oscillation index. Average CWD is 11 days while it ranges from 4 to 37 days. Galle, Katunayaka, Anuradhapura show significant increasing trends in CWD while trends of NuwaraEliya and Rathnapura are significantly decreasing. An average of 53 R10mm are visible whereas Rathnapura records an average of 103 days. Frequencies of R10mm showing an increasing trend in all stations excluding NuwaraEliya where trends are statistically significant in Galle, Kandy, Rathmalana and Trincomalee. An average of 30 R20mm records in the country. Ratnapura is highly vulnerable for R20mm that normally 64 days of very heavy rainfall is visible. But it ranges from 51 to 81 days. Colombo, Rathmalana, Hambanthota, Rathnapura, Badulla, Baticaloa depict significant increasing trends in R20mm. Accordingly most of the extremes are concentrated in to south eastern quarter of the country and

81

1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka effective adaptation practices should be initiated to cope with the changing trends of climate.

Keywords: Frequency indicators; Non- parametric Mann Kendall trend test; RClimDex; Southern Oscillation; spatial & temporal trends

82


Industry 4.0 in the Apparel-Manufacturing Sector: Opportunities for Sri Lanka H. Jayatilake1 & A. Widanaraachchi2 Deaprtment of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya. [email protected]

The world is now in the era of the fourth industrial revolution which can be identified as the latest mechanism of automation and data exchange in manufacturing. The concept of fourth industrial revolution has originated from the countries like Germany as “Industry 4.0” as a government initiative and the USA as “Industrial Internet Consortium” which has emerged from leading multinational organizations. When considering the concept of the industry 4.0, as a country, the major question that would arise could be, whether Sri Lanka has the capability to adopt the concept. Even though this concept originated from the high-end technological industrial world, Sri Lanka should consider of adopting this as the world is heading to a technological standardization process with the smart factory concept, which is the backbone of the fourth industrial revolution. Currently, the Sri Lankan apparel industry is in a milestone of adopting the best manufacturing practices, lean and sustainability concepts. In order to attain the research objective of identifying the opportunities in the Sri Lankan apparel sector to implement Industry 4.0, a qualitative approach has been adopted in this study. Industry experts representing Information and Communication Technology sector and the apparel sector, scholars in the field of industrial engineering and IT, were interviewed using structured and unstructured questionnaires. The outcome of this study indicates that by introducing Industry 4.0, Sri Lankan apparel sector would gain a number of advantages. Such technological advancement in this sector will enhance the vertical integration of all the layers in the apparel-manufacturing sector and also will enhance the horizontal integration of all the partners in its value chain.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; Smart Factory; Sri Lankan Apparel Industry; Sustainable Manufacturing

83


Critical Analysis of Arbitration Method Used in the Construction Industry in Sri Lanka M. Nihaj1 & N. G. Gunawardena2

Disagreement among contracting parties has a rich tradition in the construction industry, which induces of creating and experimenting with alternatives to litigation. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods such as adjudication, mediation, negotiation and arbitration, in the construction industry have gained numerous positive impacts during the recent years in Sri Lanka. Arbitration is seen as the final mode of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Construction disputes become more technical intensive, multifaceted and multinationally interested than the other commercial disputes; construction disputes need the enforceable and flexible Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) such as Arbitration to resolve disputes efficiently. The Arbitration Act of Sri Lanka No. 11 of 1995 provides a legislative framework for the effective conduct of arbitration’s procedure. However, the use of the Arbitration in the private and public sectors has not been efficiently apparent, probably due to several practical constraints. This study is the first endeavor to critically thr assess effectiveness and the problems of arbitration after two decades enacting the Arbitration Law no 11, 1995. The objectives of the study were to examine the dispute resolution techniques specially arbitration used in the Sri Lankan contracting practices, to assess the effectiveness of the Arbitration Law no 11 of 1995 and its application by measuring the performance evaluation of Critical Success Factors (CSF) of the arbitration in the construction industry, to identify the practical constrain, customs and their severity by which the effectiveness of arbitration is being aggravated and to identify remedial measures through the discussion with leading key players by identifying very accurate problem of the above quantifying study. These were examined by undertaking a literature review of the Sri Lankan and international construction industry with a structured questionnaire and private interviews with leading big players in the industry.

This paper’s findings were

quantity study of collecting the professional perception of the arbitration found in the Sri Lankan contracting practices, its adequacy, competence and practical effectiveness

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka to cope with a number of complex disputes and claims that may occur due to the increased growth in construction which was unprecedented due to the end of the civil war. The results of the study indicated to what extent Arbitration practices in Sri Lanka practically fulfilled the critical success attributes of the Arbitration. Causative of the ineffectiveness and Severity of the practical constrains also were identified, evaluated and ranked. Remedial measures also were collected from leading professional, in improving arbitration methods which were the major output of this study.Speed, cost, creative remedies and flexibility were the successful attributes of arbitration that were found as were being mostly violated in practical means.

Keywords:

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); Arbitration; Critical attributes;

Construction Industry; Critical Success Factors (CSF)

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Exploring the Consumer Surplus and Demand for a Novel Visitor Experience at Kanneliya Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka N. W. V. A. Shiromi1 & R. M. W. Rathnayake2 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Kanneliya Nakiyadeniya and Dadiyagala are famous lowland rain forests in Sri Lanka and it is called the KDN complex. Along with the new conservation initiative, Kanneliya Forest Reserve (KFR) seems to have got a reasonable regeneration and a rich bio diversity. 2014, KFR received 27295 visitors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the methods for assessing the value, people and the place on preserving our natural environments and resources. Zonal Travel Cost Method and Contingent Valuation Method were applied in estimating the consumer surplus of the existing recreational activities, and the willingness to pay for a novel visitor experience respectively. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect the required data for the study. The sample size was 319 and systematic random sampling method was applied in interviewing the visitors. The total recreational value of the local visitors in 2014 was Rs. 13.95 million, and the estimated optimum entrance fee was Rs. 610.50 per person. The total revenue at this entrance fee will be Rs. 8.67 million and it will be a 1034.13% increase of revenue. Further, the medium (Rs.50000.00 – Rs.100000.00) and higher (above Rs.100000.00) household income of visitors, higher educational level (up to diploma, up to post graduate professional) of visitors and long distance (51 km – 150 km) of visitors were highly significant factors for accepting the higher entrance fees to the KFR. The main conclusion of this study is that at present the natural resources has been undervalued and the findings emphasize on taking a policy decision for the increase of the entrance fee of KFR. There is a demand for new visitor services to be established at KFR, and therefore if the proposed visitor services are established, easily the entrance fee to KFR can be increased. Keywords: Kanneliya Forest Reserve; Contingent Valuation Method;Travel Cost Method; Willingness to Pay; Conservation.

86


Value Chain Analysis of Cinnamon in Galle District in Sri Lanka A. A. C. Krishani1 & S. H. P. Malkanthi2 Department of Agribusiness, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Although Sri Lanka is the main supplier of cinnamon in the world market, we receive low level of returns due to poor level of value addition. Thus, the aim of this research was to analyse the value addition activities of the main actors of cinnamon value chain in Galle district. The three main actors of cinnamon value chain; cultivators, middlemen and consumers were selected as the target groups. Therefore three samples as 50 cinnamon cultivators, 50 middlemen (collectors, retailers, wholesalers, processors, and exporters) and 50 consumers were used for this study. Data collection was done using three surveys from January to April 2016. Descriptive data analysis and Ranked Based Quotient were used in data analysis. Findings highlighted that, other than production of raw cinnamon, most of the cinnamon cultivators have not significantly contributed on value addition of cinnamon due to number of issues and challenges. However, when considering the income from cinnamon, a significant amount of cinnamon cultivators (12%) was highly satisfied about their income from cinnamon where majority (56%) was satisfied. Moreover, considering the middlemen, only the exports have done a considerable level of value addition. But, cultivators and the middlemen have positive attitudes towards value addition practices. In focusing consumers, while cinnamon quill was the first preference of them, cinnamon based products, cinnamon flour, and cinnamon oil have been taken second, third and fourth places respectively.Therefore, motivation of cultivators and middlemen towards value addition practices of cinnamon can be recommended as it will help to get better returns for them.

Keywords: Cinnamon; Cinnamon Cultivators; Consumers; Middlemen; Value Chain

87


Developing Carbon Footprint Based Environmental Performance Indices for Garment Manufacturing Industries in Sri Lanka: A Case Study at Body Line (Pvt) Ltd, Balangoda D. M. M. Chandanamali1 & W. M. P. S. B. Wahala2 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Among the most of environmental consequences, climate change is known as one of the major environmental consequence which cause to many adverse impacts .To overcome with this issue most of environmental bodies are encouraging business organizations and consumers to be carbon conscious. . The objective of this study was to develop Carbon Footprint Based Environmental Performance Indices (KPI) in a garment manufacturing industry. This study was conducted in Body Line (Pvt) Ltd which is located in Balangoda. In this study direct and indirect GHG emission sources were identified in all the operations in the organization. Activity data was collected covering 12 months period in 2015 – 2016 which are relevant to all emission sources and converted in to the GHG emission by referring published GHG emission conversion factors. According to the study, total carbon footprint is 1451tCO2e for a one year period of operations. Highest amount of GHG emission was emitted from indirect GHG emission sources which were accounted as 113tCO2e.and the least amount of GHG emission was emitted from direct GHG emission sources which were accounted as 38t CO2e.Considering the key performance indices(KPI), Derived KPI for per meal was 0.086kgCO2e. KPI related to purchased electricity usage, it was estimated as 0.63kgCO2e per standard work hour and 0.108kgCO2e per production unit.

Keywords: Carbon Footprint; GHG Emission; KPI; Garment Industry

88


An Assessment of Green House Gas (GHG) Saving Potential of Transport Related Operations: A Case Study at Brandix Lingerie (Pvt) Ltd, Wathupitiwala 3

L. D. P. Liyanage1, W. M. P. S. B. Wahala2a & R. Wellagiriya2b Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.1, 2a Engineering Department, Brandix lingerie (Pvt) Ltd, Wathupitiwala2b [email protected]

The global warming caused by the Green House Gas (GHG) is a hot topic in recent year in the world. Transportation activities generate GHG and contribute to the global warming. This assessment was conducted to calculate the total GHG accumulation from transport related operations at Brandix Lingerie (Pvt) Ltd, Wathupitiwala for the year of 2015. The employee transport network was mapped using Google earth program to estimate passenger kilometers between each get – in and get-down locations. Upstream and downstream goods transportation was mapped to estimate ton – kilometers of goods transportation using existing transport management data. Transport related GHG emission was calculated using internationally recognized fuel based emission factors and tone kilometer based emission factors where applicable. The findings indicate that the amount of organizational GHG emission of transportation was 609.04 tons CO2e per year. Worker transportation has contributed 47.26% to total GHG emission and it was 287.85 tons CO2e. Business purposes transportation covered 14.96% and it was about 91.12 tons of GHG emission. The upstream transportation (external vehicles that come to stores) contributes 178.37 tons of CO2e emissions and it was estimated as 29.29% from total GHG emission in 2015. The downstream transportation (shipments) contributes the 51.7 tons CO2e and it is estimated as 8.49% from total. Per product GHG emission from worker transportation was 0.0129 KgCO2e, business purposes transportation was 0.0041 kgCO2e. The upstream transportation Key Performance Index (KPI) was estimated as 0.0080 KgCO2e and per product GHG emission of downstream transportation was estimated as 0.0023 KgCO2e for the year 2015.Estimated GHG saving potential with improved Transport Demand Management system (TDM) is 89.71 tons CO2e. Keywords: GHG Emission; Upstream and Downstream Transportation; KPI

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Exploring Green House Gas Saving Potential of Transport Plan Optimization in Fabric Manufacturing Industry: A Case Study at Textured Jersey Lanka Plc, Avissawella I. C. Usgalhewa1, W. M. P. S. B. Wahala2a & R. Gunawardene2b Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.1.2a Envirinmental And Sustanability Division Textured Jersey Lanka PLC, Avissawella2b [email protected]

The global warming caused by the Green House Gas (GHG) is a hot topic in recent year in the world. The transportation is considered as one of the major GHG emitting operations in a company and also these operations incur more cost to the company. However organizations are not much aware and consider about the GHG but the cost. Whoever with the growing trends in climate consciousness among people or the consumers, therefore apparel industries are moving towards in that direction which is become a climate conscious company. The main objective of this study is to assess the transport related GHG emission and saving potential in relation to transport optimization at Textured Jersey PLC .GHG protocol Part 3 and ISO 14064 Part 1 were used to conduct the assessment. There were five emission sources were identified

as

employee

commuting,

upstream

transportation,

downstream

transportation, business travels, and waste item transportation. All the data related to those five emission sources were gathered by relevant data sources mainly from running sheets, air way bills, sea freight bills, foreign travel requesting sheets and check sheets. The collected activity data were converted to the CO2e using relevant emission factors. The results indicate that the total transport related carbon foot print as 1878.25 tons CO2e per year. The employee commuting contributes 357.77tons CO2e per year emissions and it is accounted as 19% from total transportation emission of the company. The upstream transportation represents 1081.38 CO2e tons emission and it is accounted as 58% from total transportation emission of the company. The downstream transportation represents 383.85tons CO2e.of carbon emission and it is accounted as 20% from total transportation emission of the company. The Business travel

represents 54.62 tons of CO2e.emission and it is

90

1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka accounted as 3% from total transportation emission of the company. The waste transportation represents 0.628 tons of CO2e Total saving of 518 tons of CO2e were estimated based on the options identified to make efficient vehicle capacity management and transport demand management in the organization. Also GHG emission related Key Performance Indices (KPIs) were developed and estimated reduction targets were set for further monitoring purposes.

Keywords; Transportation Carbon Foot Print; Key Performance Index

91


Water Consumption and Potential Savings in Fabric Dyeing Process: A Case Study in Textured Jersey Lanka PLC, Avissawella P. G. S. H. Ariyadasa1, W. M. P. S. B. Wahala2a & R. Gunawardene2b Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.1,2a Envirinmental And Sustanability Division Textured Jersey Lanka PLC, Avissawella2b [email protected]

The survival of the organisms in the earth will depend on three factors, Water, Air & food. Among these three, water is more important. With the increasing of population and industrial activities the demand for the scarce water is increasing rapidly. Those high demands take people to face the scarcity of fresh water. The amount of existing fresh water has high demand from both industrial and human activities.

Water

conservation in fabric dyeing operations is one of the main concerns in corporate sustainability agendas in such business. The main objective of this study was to assess the actual water consumption in dyeing operations and to quantify the water saving potential of dyeing operations in Textured Jersey. This study was analyzed the actual water usage in the dyeing

department and main reasons for the variation between

actual water consumption and standard water consumption in dying department. And also compare and contrast the different water consuming patterns & behaviors in the dying department to identify the possibilities for reduce controllable water wastages. Study was conducted for 6 months period in 2015. Data were collected using water sub meter readings, AREL readings. Water flow rates were taken following standard methodologies where applicable. Video sampling and systematic observations were done to investigate water waste streams. For further analysis past water meter readings, water bills, production details, and SAP system records were used. According to the findings, 97.58 liters of waste water are generated through the entire process of processing of 1kg of knitted fabric. The water consumption for the process of 1kg of fabric is 117.8 liters. More than 80% of this water consumption represents overhead water consumption. Mainly considerable amount of water has been used for the production as direct rinse. It is estimated approximately 1.5 liters for 3 minute direct rinse and 3.5 liters for 4 minute direct rinse for rinsing of 1kg of knitted fabric.

92

1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th -12th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka The reusable amount of water which relates to direct rinse is estimated as 50.07 m3 per day. According to the findings of the study there is a possible to reduce the water consumption by 18,766.4m3 per year by implementing water saving options identified in the study.

Keywords: Water Consumption; Overhead Water Consumption

93


Marketing Management

94


The Impact of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) Service on Customer Satisfaction: A Study Based on State Banks in Sri Lanka R. A. S. Weerasiri1 & K. C. Koththagoda2 Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka [email protected]/ [email protected] 1 [email protected]

The aim of this paper is to understand the impact of the ATM service quality towards the customer satisfaction in Sri Lankan state banking sector. This research bridges the gap that exists in the current body of knowledge by investigating the ATM service qualities and their impact on customer satisfaction. It also examines the impact of demographic factors for the relationship between the ATM service quality and the customer satisfaction. Given these gaps in the literature, the research problem in this research is: the factors which influence on customer satisfaction in relation to the ATM service. To investigate the research problem, a pilot study involving 30 state bank customers was used to check the initial reliability and validity of the constructs in the questionnaire. The factor analysis was employed to refine the measurement items and test the reliability and validity. The study has used the primary data of customer satisfaction survey (N=385). The data were collected using a structured questionnaire designed to ascertain the satisfaction levels. Regression, ANOVA and T-test were used to identify the significant factors and frequency analysis was used to analyze the customer satisfaction. The ATM service qualities have a positive impact on the customer satisfaction and the demographic factors like age and educational qualification show a moderate the relationship between the ATM service quality and the customer satisfaction. This paper identified the significant factors which the banks may take care to enhance the customer satisfaction.

Keywords: Automated Teller Machines; Customer Satisfaction; Service quality

95


Determinants of the Customer-Based Brand Equity: A Verification Approach in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Industry in Sri Lanka D. K. R. Madushani1 & T. C. Gamage2 Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Branding plays an important role in the contemporary marketing, and is the focus of much literature, both academic and professional. This paper aims to examine the practicality and application of the Aaker (1991)’s well-known conceptual framework of customer-based brand equity. Data stemmed from a sample of 150 consumers who have been consuming the Liquefied Petroleum Gas in Sri Lanka was used to assess the way in which consumers’ perceptions of the dimensions of customer-based brand equity affected the overall customer-based brand equity evaluations. The study employed multiple regression analysis to investigate the causal relationships among the dimensions of customer-based brand equity and customer-based brand equity itself. The study concludes that the brand loyalty, brand association and perceived quality as the most influential dimension of customer-based brand equity. Weak support is found for the brand awareness dimension. Marketing managers should consider the relative importance of the customer-based brand equity dimensions in their overall customer-based brand equity evaluations.

Keywords: Brand Association; Brand Awareness; Brand Loyalty; Customer-based Brand Equity; Determinants; Perceived Quality

96


Impact of Visual Merchandizing on Impulse Buying Behaviour of Sri Lankan Retail Customers: with Special Reference to Household Electrical and Electronic Appliances K. D. L. R. Kapuge Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Sri Lankan retail customers show both rational and impulse behaviour patterns towards different product categories and marketers face difficulties in predicting the buying rational buying behaviour and impulse buying behaviour towards household electrical and electronic appliances. This paper aims to examine the impact of visual merchandising techniques on impulse buying behaviour of household electrical and electronic appliances. The study used window display, floor merchandising, in-store form display and promotional signage as visual merchandising techniques. Data was gathered through a survey questionnaire from 320 respondents from Western Province of Sri Lanka. A Multiple Linear Regression Model was used to assess the degrees of impact from each individual visual merchandizing technique on impulse buying behaviour of electrical and electronic and electronic household appliances. The research findings demonstrated that there is a positive and significant Impact of visual merchandizing on impulse buying behaviour of Sri Lankan retail customers towards electrical and electronic house hold appliances. Window display and promotional signage were reported as the two key determinants and showed a positive and significant impact with impulse buying behaviour of retail customers towards electrical and electronic household appliances. As Sri Lankan marketers were struggling to select marketing strategies based on rational behaviour, insights of this research help them to understand the importance of impact of visual merchandizing on impulse buying behaviour of the retail customers towards electrical and electronic household appliances. Research findings underscore the existing body of knowledge on the impact of visual merchandizing on impulse buying behavior of retail customers of Sri Lanka. Keywords: Impulse Buying; Visual Merchandizing; Retail Customers; Sri Lanka

97


Evaluating the Factors Influencing on Customer Retention in the Mobile Telecommunication Industry in Colombo District of Sri Lanka A. S. J. Karunakaran1 & P. Selvarajan2 Department of Economics and Management, Faculty of Business Studies Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka [email protected], [email protected]

The aim of this research study is to evaluate the factors influencing the customer retention in the mobile telecommunication industry in Colombo district of Sri Lanka. This study adds many other supporting materials especially for the literature review. Moreover, the conceptual model used in this study also supports to find the influence of the factors on customer retention. An in-depth interview and a questionnaire survey have been done by the researchers ingus100 retained customers. The data were collected from the customers in Colombo who have obtained 10 years services with the same telecommunication company, based on the convenience sampling method. The data is analyzed through regression analysis with the help of the SPSS version 16.0. Out of four variables, it is found that service quality, payment equity and effective commitment have the influence on the customer retention. However, the fourth variable-loyalty program has no significant influence on the customer retention. The findings can help the service providers to identify the impact of loyalty program, service quality, payment equity and effective commitment toward the customer retention. This current study has its own limitation since this research is only conducted in Colombo district. Therefore, future studies can be extended to other districts in Sri Lanka with a large sample.

Keywords:

Customer retention; Effective commitment; Payment equity; Service

quality; Telecommunication industry

98


Review on Perceived Risk Factors In Relation to Purchase Intention towards Electric Vehicle Brands in Sri Lanka D. K. Thilina1 & D. M. R. Dissanayake2 Department of Marketing Management, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka [email protected], [email protected]/[email protected] 2

The trend of innovations takes place in the vehicle manufacturing industry has pushed the patterns of consumption towards the new dimensions of key value propositions including cost efficiency as one of the key matters. However, consumer adoption to the new products is depending on the notion of perceived risk whereas consumer decision making process becomes a vital factor. Brands or manufacturers need to figure out how consumers respond to their marketing stimulus in making product purchase intention. A significant market context is found in Sri Lanka for the electric cars alongside the push factors of government policies and marketing practices of brands in persuading consumers to get adopt to the new product buying decision. However, it has found less studies in Sri Lankan context to figure out how consumers respond to make purchase intention towards the electric car brands as a specific research proposition. Accordingly, this concept paper intends to propose future research direction by revealing how perceived risk as a notion does effect on the purchase intention to the consumers towards electric vehicle brands considering Sri Lanka as a special context. This paper has followed literature review to construct the research propositions and hypotheses as a new contribution to knowledge since it finds the considered product category as not being enough examined. Accordingly, paper has concluded the alternative provisions to conceptualize future research studies via suggesting variable relationships referring to perceived risk factors and purchase intention.

Keywords: Electric Vehicle Brands; Perceived Risk; Purchase Intention; Sri Lanka

99


Using the 7Ps as a Generic Marketing Mix: An Exploratory Survey of Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka D. A. M. Perera1 & H. A. B. W. Hettiarachchi2 Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Business Studies and Finance, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Kuliyapitiya, Sri Lanka.1 Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Mihinthale, Sri Lanka.2 [email protected]

The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities that an organization engages in best meeting the needs of its clients. The due weightage in the formation of marketing mix, therefore, is needed for the insurance business too. In 2014, the total insurance penetration (as a percentage of GDP) in Sri Lanka was 1.02% indicating a very low level of penetration for both life and non-life businesses. This study therefore sought to explore the use 7 Ps mix in insurance industry in Sri Lanka.A set of attitudinal statements explaining the underlying phenomenon were formulated and was included in a structured questionnaire; was administered with a sample of life assurance agent (n=216), during January – March 2015. The Binary Logistic regression analysis was used to predict the probability that an insurance agent to be a better performer based on his or her socio demographic, hygiene and motivation factor values, using the SPSS Software (Version 17). Views of the respondents were recorded on five-point likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). The results suggest that the 7Ps framework has already achieved a high degree of acceptance as a generic marketing mix in insurance industry in the Sri Lanka (x = 3.79; SD=0.4132). Overall, the results of this study provides a strong support for the view that Booms and Bitner′s 7Ps framework should replace McCarthy′s 4Ps framework. Also indicate that, among the 7Ps, People, Process, Price, Place and Product are highly influential on the purchasing decision in the insurance industry. Based on the findings, this study recommends that insurance companies should focus more on 7Ps in designing its generic marketing strategies.

Keywords: 7Ps; Generic Marketing mix; Insurance Industry; Sri Lanka

100


The Impact of Customer-Based Brand Equity on Customer Satisfaction W. H. T. Madhuhansi1 & D. Jasinghe2 Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Believing the satisfied customer as the key to the success, marketers focus more on different ways of attracting and keeping customers satisfied. Among the leading factors towards satisfaction, brand equity plays a major role. As a result of the rapid competition in the market, more attention is given to the value of the brand from the customer’s point of view. Present study aims to identify the impact of customerbased brand equity on the satisfaction of corporate customers for the purchases done with Arpico Interiors brand. Data was collected from a convenient sample of 270 customers in the western province through self-administered questionnaires. Based on CBBE model, the research model was constructed with the purpose of investigating the applicability and practicality of the model with reference to the Arpico Interiors brand. As the variables, Brand Awareness as measured by five items, Brand Associations by nine items, Perceived Quality by six items, Brand Loyalty by three items and Customer Satisfaction by three items were considered. The hypotheses were tested by using the multiple regression analysis. The findings show that the perceived quality has the highest impact on customer satisfaction with a coefficient of 0.508. Further, brand association and brand awareness impact on customer satisfaction with co efficiencies of 0.398 and 0.106 respectively and brand loyalty has no impact on customer satisfaction. Finally, the most effective and suitable solutions and opinions were recommended for the organization’s success.

Key words: CBBE; Corporate Customer; Customer Satisfaction

101


Factors Influencing on Purchase Intention of Men’s Cosmetic Products: with Special Reference to the Men’s Fairness Cream Products R. A. S. Weerasiri1 & H. M. G. Y. J. Hennayake2 Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. [email protected], [email protected]

Changing life style of Sri Lankan youth has led to a strong demand for fairness creams in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan market is gradually creating an opportunity for the cosmetics market. The trend analysis of leading companies,revealed that there is a significant need for the behavioural study to penetrate men’s consumer market in Sri Lanka. In the global context, researchers have done a number of studies regarding the men’s grooming products. In Sri Lankan context, a limited number of researches have been carried out to find out the purchasing factors of men’s fairness cream products. The study would be beneficial to business organizations to drive the sales and to shift the brand. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the factors effect on the Purchasing Intention on Men’s Fairness cream in Sri Lanka. Data was collected through a sample of 250 male respondents from Colombo area. SPSS 16 software packages has used for data analysis purpose. The conceptual model and hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics such as Co-relations and Coefficient techniques whereas charts, mode, median; percentages were used under descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that Brand, Product Quality and Place of Distribution have a strong positive relationship with the purchasing intention of fairness cream products and the Price and Promotion show a moderate positive relationship. Product Quality, Price, Promotion, Brand and the Place of Distribution can be identified as the most influencing factors towards the purchase intention for men’s fairness Cream in Sri Lankan market.

Keywords: Fairness Cream; Purchase Intention; Sri Lanka

102


Reengineering Academic Institutional Standards L. Devendra1 & U. Sonnadara2 Faculty of Information Technology, Aquinas University College, Sri Lanka.1 Department of Physics, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.2 [email protected]

This research attempts to show that reengineering academic institutions should follow a sequence of pre-determined activities. It is noted that reengineering of most academic institutions do not follow a systematic process, hence resulting in not achieving the desired objectives. The reengineering process is also known as Business Process Reengineering (BPR). BPR means not a slight change, but radical or dramatic change involving systematic elimination of unnecessary processes while reintroduce in new processes to an organization. As a general rule, teaching and learning must be reengineered before the administrative and management processes. Core function of any academic institution is teaching and learning. The process of teaching in an academic institution, begins with the identification of industrial demands, designing a module structure, improving the module to suit desired needs, course contents and the methods of delivery, integration to the academic program, recommendation of teaching and reading material, technology infusion to the module, selecting suitable academic staff for the course delivery, curriculum updates, student evaluation and assessment. The authors are of the understanding that unless the current practices and skills of learners reach the international standards, they may not be able to take advantages of the current opportunities. The authors are researching into the use of ICT involved in the Sri Lankan education system. There are many stages from the enrolment of students to academic programs to final completion that may need consideration during this research. It was observed that many current academic and management practices may need drastic changes to meet this requirement.

Keywords: Reengineering; Process; Radical; Technology Infusion

103


Role of Celebrity Worship Motives in Evaluating Endorsed Brand: A Literature Review for Future Research Propositions D. M. R. Dissanayake1, N. Ismail 2a, W. M. C. B. Wanninayake2b & H. L. N. Wasantha2c Department of Marketing Management, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka1,2b Taylor’s Business School, Taylor’s University, Malaysia2a Lincoln University College, Malaysia2c [email protected] / [email protected]

The effectiveness of celebrity endorsement in evaluating endorsed brand is one of the timely needed research notions in Sri Lanka depending on its significance remarked in both knowledge and practice related perspectives. Sri Lankan consumers have been exposing to different celebrity endorsed brands including some of the over endorsement cases too. It is noticed that services sector brands intensively depend on celebrity endorsement strategies in a noticeable trend. The psychological bond exists between celebrities and the fans, whom were targeted as potential consumers for the endorsed brands, has been referred in the proposition of Celebrity Worship Motives. However, this notion has been less studied in Sri Lankan context to examine how it does affect the consumers to evaluate the brands endorsed by celebrities whom they prefer. Alongside, this concept paper attempts to build theoretical explanation to present research propositions on examining how the role of celebrity worship motives effect on the perceived effectiveness of celebrity endorsement which result in the perceived brand evaluation. It has followed the theoretical review method to template the content in building rationale on how celebrity worship motive shapes consumer evaluation towards the endorsed brand. As per the theoretical analysis, the study suggested Brand Love, Brand Trust and Brand Attitude as some of the prominent contexts of perceived brand evaluation. Finally, this paper presents research hypotheses to study the impact of celebrity worship motives on the relationship between the perceived effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement and the different contexts of perceived brand evaluation by highlighting the knowledge gaps and practice-related significance in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Celebrity Worship Motives; Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement; Perceived Brand Evaluation 104


The Impact of the Perceived Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement on Perceived Brand Personality D. M. R. Dissanayake1 , N.M. Amarasinghe2a & R. A. S. Weerasiri2b Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. [email protected]/[email protected], [email protected]

The application of celebrity endorsement practices in Sri Lanka has been intensive due to head on brand competitions resulting companies to depend on celebrities as one of the responsive strategies. However, it is crucial to examine the absolute effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement towards the endorsed brand as to rationalize the marketing expenses incurred. This is a critical matter for the industries or sectors where celebrity endorsement takes place quite competitively. Alongside the said preview, this study focuse on evaluating the perceived effectiveness of celebrity endorsement on perceived brand personality. Accordingly, it has examined the relationship between celebrity endorsements related dimensions with the perceived brand personality to explain how it does make results-driven celebrity endorsement. Findings reveled that there is a positive relationship between perceived effectiveness of celebrity endorsement and perceived brand personality. Accordingly, it was noticed that the attractiveness and trustworthiness

of celebrity endorsement prominently

influence perceived brand personality reporting more than 0.8 of correlation values in both cases. Further, expertness of the celebrity also plays a major role. In line with the findings, this paper contributes for the managerial practices referring how to use effective celebrity endorsement strategies to make effective brand building strategies. This could be used as a decisional guide to companies in managing celebrities to enhance brand performance without tarnishing the respective brand image and personality. Finally, it has presented the future research directions as a contribution to knowledge by reviewing the research gaps found in Sri Lankan context.

Keywords: Attractiveness; Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement; Expertness; Perceived Brand Personality; Trustworthiness

105


The Impact of Brand Equity on Customers’ Purchase Intention: with Special Reference to Germ Protection Toilet Soap Brands in Sri Lanka K. D. L. R. Kapuge Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Purchase intention is one of the prominent factors which effect on the purchasing decision and is very vital to understand the purchase intention to understand the customer behavior .Brand Equity impact differently on different types of fast moving consumer goods under the different contexts. The main purpose of this research was to identify the impact of brand equity on customers’ purchase intention towards germ protection toilet soap brands in Sri Lankan context. Brand equity was used as the independent variable and

it was measured through brand loyalty, brand awareness,

brand association and perceived quality. Data were gathered from 360 respondents in the Western Province of Sri Lanka though a survey questionnaire. A linear Multiple Linear Regression Model was used to assess the degrees of impact from each brand equity dimension on purchase customers’ intention towards gram protection toilet soap brands. The research finding demonstrated that there is a positive and significant impact of brand equity on customers’ purchase intention towards germ protection toilet soap brands in Sri Lankan context. Perceived quality and brand loyalty were the two key dimensions of the brand equity which impact on the customer’s purchase intention towards germ protection toilet soap brands in Sri Lanka. Marketers need to create appropriate marketing mix strategies to increase the perceived quality and gain more customer loyalty to create brand equity for germ protection toilet soap brands. Research findings underscore the existing body of knowledge about impact of brand equity on customers’ purchase intention of fast moving consumer goods in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Brand Equity; Purchase Intention; Fast Moving Consumer Goods; Customers; Sri Lanka

106


Consumer Preferences for Organic Food in Colombo Municipal Council W. P. S. Wijesinghe1 & P.Sivashankar2 Department of Agribusiness Management, Faculty of Agricultural sciences Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Organic farming is gaining as an environmental friendly production system with health benefits for consumers. This paper addresses Consumer preferences for Organic food in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Specifically (i) to determine the consumer awareness level, (ii) to determine the level of WTP, and (iii) to determine the most preferred attribute which affect for higher WTP for organic food in Colombo. One hundred and nine respondents were used for choice card experiment in this study. The survey included question on demographic characteristic, knowledge about organic product and attitudes toward health hazards and environmental degradation due to agrochemical application. Three different products attribute (cultivation method, availability of certification and prime price percentage) were considered. Results indicate that 81% of respondent have awareness about organic food concept. Respondents had negative attitude on non-organic food. The results suggest 85% respondents prefer to consume organic food and on average, respondents were willing to pay 34% more for organic produces. Average importance percentages indicate that the most important features are those indicating certification (44.5%), cultivation method (34%) and prime price (21.3%). Most suitable product was organically growing fresh produce with international certification and 30% prime price in Colombo. The finding of the study will be helpful to producers and sellers in assessing market potential for organic food in the Colombo.

Keywords: Conjoint Analysis; Consumer Preferences; Organic Food; Willingness-topay

107


Impact of Perceived Brand Equity towards Purchase Intention of Life Insurance Services in Sri Lanka: Concept Paper N. Gunawardane1 & D. M. R. Dissanayake2 Department of Marketing Management, University of Kelaniya. [email protected] [email protected]/ [email protected]

The life insurance sector in Sri Lanka is one of the fast growing sectors in the services market resulted through intensive business development strategies and tactics. Insurance sector companies in Sri Lanka have been converting into new structural reforms in line with the mandatory requirements imposed by the relevant authorities. Meanwhile, life insurance segment of insurance businesses has been emerging with service innovations and competitive brand building strategies resulting brand equity as a base of positioning. It notices the extended applications of brand equity building strategies amongst the life insurance brands to build strong brand equity in reaching business growth. Some brands use celebrities, brand activations, public relations, personal selling and advertising in new formats to meet brand –related performance at competitive edge. This study aims to review how the brand equity related theories and models could connect with the brand-related behaviors of the consumers with special reference to purchase intention. As theories suggest, the notions of brand equity comprises with four main elements; Brand Awareness, Brand Association, Perceived Quality and Brand Loyalty whilst existing literature sources highlight Purchase Intention as one of the brand –related responses found in consumer behavioral contexts. Alongside, this paper has followed disruptive literature bases review methodology to build research propositions to be examined in future studies referring to life insurance as specific research context. In par with the methodology followed, this paper contributes to the knowledge as providing future research directions along with the rationales of research gaps exist in Sri Lankan insurance market context.

Keywords: Brand Equity; Purchase Intention; Life Insurance; Services Market

108


Tourism Management

109


Alienation within Alienation: European Fantasmatic, Tourist Gaze and the Logic of Colonial Tourism in Postcolonial Sri Lanka M. Hapugoda1 & I. Ratnayake2 Department of Languages, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.1 Department of Tourism Management, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.2 [email protected]

Re-appropriating colonial attractions for tourist gaze has generally been a lucrative commercial practice in post-independent nations. When they are revitalized with the state sponsorship, these signifiers can also function to resuscitate the memories of centuries-old imperial oppression, exploitation and alienation in the respective subject nations. Apart from catering to the historical nostalgia of the European tourists, they, at the same time, permanently alienate the locals in their own cultural environment who still struggle with the traumatic memories and discourses of colonialism. In relation to the historical unconscious of the postcolonial subjects whose present is retroactively structured by the traumas of a disturbed past, despite the immediate commercial success in tourism, it can be argued, in line with Homi K. Bhabha’s decolonization paradigm, that these archeological artifacts ‘intercut with’ the postcolonial identity by further alienating the postcolonial subjects within their own setting. In this light, this essay views that the rise of postcolonial exotic tourism that caters to the European fantasmatic gaze still depends on the ‘Western idea about the Orient’. Further, on the subjectivization and depersonalization of once colonized subjects, in the present postcolonial context, this paper suggests that the postcolonial tourism should re-interrogate the initial Fanonian question, ‘what do the European tourists want?’ It, therefore, concludes that as long as the postcolonial nations believe in the European fantasmatic they will be caught in the deadlock of master-slave fantasy-desire of the European Other rather than journeying for a new ‘mastery’ over their former White Masters.

Keywords: Colonial Tourism; Decolonized Identity; European Fantasmatic; Tourist Gaze

110


Community Participation in Tourism Decision Making Process: A Case Study of Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka C. N. R. Wijesundara Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka. [email protected]

This study focuses on the local community participation in the tourism development process of Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka as a popular surfing destination. Participation in the decision-making process is a crucial determinant in ensuring that the benefits accrued by local communities from tourism are guaranteed. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the level of community participation in tourism decision making process. The study utilized a case study approach, which offers: exploration at the community level to analyze the issue from the grass root level. Participation of diverse stakeholders (Local government institutes, NGOs, Tourism entrepreneurs, the members of community, and tourism professionals) and the use of mix methodology by using multiple data collection techniques such as household questionnaire surveys, stakeholders’ interviews, and personal observations have improved the validity and reliability of the results and effectively answer the main research question. This study concluded that, there was an induced participation of the local community in the tourism decision making process in Sri Lanka. Under the induced community participation, the host community is normally involving in moderate level with decision-making process and they don’t have any power to make sure that their thoughts are considered for implementations. The paper contributes to the wider scientific discussion on community participation in tourism industry, and reveals vital insight for tourism planners, policy makers and decision makers.

Keywords:

Community

Participation;

Tourism

Decision

Making;

Tourism

Development

111


Impacts of Unplanned Tourism Development on Tourists’ Satisfaction with Special Reference to Negombo, Sri Lanka K. M .R. Charika1 & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala2 Department of Tourism Management, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, P.O. Box 02, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Negombo is a popular tourist destination and has attracted millions of tourists over the last few decades. However, the unplanned tourism developments and constructions have become a major impediment for its sustainability and also deteriorate the tourists’ satisfaction. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to identify the impacts of unplanned tourism development on tourists’ satisfaction. The data gathered though a questionnaire survey using 378 tourists at Negombo beach and two interviews with athourized persons in Negombo and hence the study has used the mixed methodology. The study considered that the tourists' satisfaction depends on the factors related to the tourism planning and development such as natural and manmade attractions, infrastructure and superstructure, social and cultural setting, environmental management, government and industry intervention on tourism planning through developing rules, regulations and policies etc. The result of the survey shows that, except the social cultural setting, all the other factors positively influence on the tourists’ satisfaction who visited Negombo. The tourists are dissatisfied about some social cultural factors, especially the behaviour of beach boys. The majority of the tourists believe that, the beach boys have disturbed their holidays. Also, the hawkers have disturbed the holiday spending of the tourists. The tourists believe, that the locals suffer from xenophobia and the Sri Lankan culture has presently become a commodity. Even though tourists are dissatisfied with the socio-cultural setting of the area, the study concludes that the majority of the tourists are satisfied with the present tourism development in the study area.

However, the government and the industry

should intervene to take necessary actions to improve the social cultural setting of the Negombo area to ensure the sustainable tourism and development. Keywords:

Tourism

Planning;

Tourists

Satisfaction;

Unplanned

Tourism

Development

112


Policy Choices for Sustainable Tourism Development in Nigeria A. Adedayo1 & H.M. Bandara2 Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.1 Department of Economics, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.2 [email protected] , [email protected]

Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of the present day tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future requires coherent and congruent policy formulation. As generalized statements of intentions of how to formulate tourism development plans or programmes, tourism policies need to be systematically examined before the choices are made between alternatives. Nigeria as a developing country with enormous tourism development potentials is unable to manage tourism towards sustainable development. Although the country has put in place a package of tourist based development policies, the problem is attributable to the lack of proper tourism policy commitment and the wide gap existing between tourism policy goals and achievements. The main objective of this study is therefore to examine the policy options for the sustainability of the tourism sector in Nigeria, based on the extensive survey of literature and national statutory planning and policy documents. The study reveals certain major implementation gaps in the identified tourism policy options and concludes with some recommendations that should be considered by the policy makers, toward achieving the goal of sustainable tourism development.

Keywords: Sustainable Tourism; Policy; Nigeria

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The Roles of Beach Boys and Their Influences on Sustainable Tourism Operations: A Study of Hikkaduwa Sri Lanka D. De Zoysa1 & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala2 Depratment of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Tourism is a multidisciplinary industry that involves many different stakeholders in its operational activities. One of the primary criteria of sustainable tourism development in any tourist destination is the active participation and collaboration of stakeholders. The beach boys are one of the major stakeholders in the coastal tourism and depend upon tourists, who generate both positive and negative impacts to the tourism industry as well as to the local community and society. Therefore, the study investigates the roles of the beach boys and their effect on the sustainable tourism operations in Hikkaduwa beach area. The study also identifies the problems and difficulties faced by the beach boys while participating in the tourism. The study was conducted using the mixed methodology. A survey was conducted using a selfadministered questionnaire and the data gathered from 113 tourists who visited Hikkaduwa beach area. In addition, 10 unstructured interviews and discussions were conducted to gather information from the beach boys and all the other stakeholders such as hotel managers, shop owners and three wheel drivers. The study revealed that most of the tourists like to obtain the beach boys’ service as it is cheap and widely available. Further, the tourists perceived the beach boys as friends and believed that they play positive roles in tourism. There were few segments of foreign tourists who were highly afraid of the beach boys and their appearance and behaviours and further believe that they play negative roles. On the other hand, the local community including hoteliers refuse the role and the behaviour of the beach boys from tourism operations. The study found that there is a positive relationship between the beach boys and sustainable beach tourism in Hikkaduwa according to the tourists’ point of view. The prevailing conflicting situation has negatively affected on the sustainable beach tourism in Hikkaduwa. Keywords: Beach Boys; Beach Tourism; Sustainable Tourism Operations; Tourists’ Perception

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Ontology Beyond Borders: Tourist Gaze and the Sense of Universal Appreciation in World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka I. Ratnayake1 & M. Hapugoda2 Department of Tourism Management ,Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.1 Department of Languages, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.2 [email protected]

From an ontological point of view, tourism sites which host World Heritage stamp have faced an existential crisis; the reality that sustains its monumental significance gets altered and lost in the face of commercialization. The holistic appearance that attracts the tourist’s nostalgia is irreparably damaged by the community who struggles for survival in these sites. However, tourism as a modern cultural phenomenon is possible only when man develops a generalized interest that catches the gaze of the tourists who are driven to travel beyond his particular habitat. For those who present a reality to the tourist must also have a Kantian ‘public sense’ of universal appreciation, aesthetic judgment and cultural awareness in things that can existentially attract and excite them. The cosmological sense of appreciation that transcends from government agencies to community stakeholders, as this paper reviews, not only preserves the historical and holistic integrity of the site itself, but may advance the tourism industry which can sustainably promote these sites for the alienated tourists. By reviewing the empirical evidence through observations and stakeholder interviews in Kandy City and Galle Dutch Fort in Sri Lanka, where serious site mismanagement issues and stakeholder interference can be found in disturbing holistic aesthetic integrity that caters the tourist gaze, this paper suggests that tourism ontology on holistic universals should be taken into account rather than spatiotemporal particulars such as abstract individual and political interests of those who struggle in the respective sites.

Keywords: Aesthetic integrity; Galle Dutch Fort; Kandy City; Tourism Ontology; Universal Appreciation

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Issues and Challenges Related to the Wedding Tourism Development in Sri Lanka D. Samarasekara1 & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala2 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Wedding Tourism, as an authentic and looming part of the tourism industry, is sensations that have taken off universally in recent years and which is becoming prevalent, especially for small islands. Therefore, the research into the wedding tourism industry in Sri Lanka has great significance. The prime objective of this study is to find out the issues and challenges faced by wedding tourism industry people in Sri Lanka. In addition to that the study investigates the satisfaction level of the wedding tourists. A mixed method approach was used comprising questionnaires, that were given to 45 tourist couples who visited Sri Lanka to identify the level of satisfaction they have on the wedding package and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 different hotels and 5 travel agents in relation to identify the issues and challenges. The study identified that Sri Lanka has a booming demand as a wedding destination and few issues and challenges facing by industry while promoting wedding tourism. That identified main issues and challenges are limited budget of the foreign couples, competition with the highly established wedding and honeymoon destinations, heavy documentations and lack of government supports and their inappropriate rules, regulations and taxes etc. The findings revealed that wedding tourists are satisfied with the cost of wedding package, behavior and attitude of the industry employee, specialized services, and wedding location and theme. Finally, the destination managers should better understand travel motivations of tourists and their satisfaction before developing packages, marketing and promotional strategies.

Keywords: Wedding tourism; Tourist satisfactions; issues and challenges; destination marketing

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Behavioral Characteristics of Solo Female Travellers in Sri Lanka M. P. D. R. S. Senevirathne1 & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala2 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Over the last decade the participation of Solo female in tourism has increased significantly. A Solo female traveller is a free and independent woman traveller who does not accompany any as a travel partner, at that particular time, they make sheer desire or enjoyment of travelling alone. The main objective of this study is to identify the behavioural characteristics and travel motivations of Solo female travellers in Sri Lanka. In addition, the study intends to discover the relationship between Solo female travellers’ attitudes, perception and satisfaction related to their holiday stay in Sri Lanka. The study was carried out with a mixed methodological approach. Structured questionnaire was administered with 50 Solo female travellers and structured interviews were conducted with 4 accommodation providers and 6 travel service providers in the industry. SPSS 21 software package, Percentages, open coding and axial coding methods were mainly utilized to analyze the collected data. The findings derived that Solo female travellers are the self-motivated young travellers who wish to use normal destination facilities. The majority of the Solo females expect only budget facilities in the destination and their behaviours are as ordinary as a backpackers. Solo females are highly motivated on ‘visit a place that they have not visited before’ and ‘experience new and different lifestyles or traditions’. Statistical results from multiple regression analysis indicate that the factors such as attraction & facilities’ and supportive services have significant impact on Solo female traveller satisfaction. The factors, such as accommodation & food, infrastructure facilities and behaviour of the community do not significantly effect on their satisfaction. However, almost all destination attributes should be improved to match with the requirement of this niche travel segment. This study provides the useful guidance and accurate information to establish a friendly environment to promote Solo female travel market in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Behavioural Characteristics; Perception & Satisfaction; Solo Female Travellers; Travel Motivation

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Interpretation Quality of Tourist Guides and it’s Impacts on Tourists’ Satisfaction in Round Tours H. Dinusha1 & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala2 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Tourist Guides play a vital role in satisfying the tourists visiting a country and the quality of interpretation is the main concern of the tourists as well as the travel agencies. The travel agencies receive complains frequently from overseas tour operators about the tour guides regarding their poor knowledge about the attraction sites, cheating behavior, lack of fluency in language etc. The study focuses to identify interpretation quality of tourist guides and its impact on tourists' satisfaction. The study is conducted as a questionnaire survey using 192 foreign tourists who experienced round tours with National or Chauffeur guides registered in reputed DMCs in Sri Lanka. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression analyses. The study has proved the interpretation quality of guides greatly influence the tourists’ satisfaction. The factors related to the interpretation quality such as elaboration and relevancy of information are positively influenced the tourists satisfaction whilst the factors i.e. empathy and positive attitude towards nature are negatively influenced the tourists’ satisfaction. The study offers both theoretical insights related to interpretation and tourist satisfaction as well as practical implications for improving interpretive tour guiding in round tours in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Interpretation Quality; Round Tours; Tourist Guides; Satisfaction

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Quality of Physical Environment and its Effect on Tourists' Satisfaction: A Study on Sri Lanka M. Wijemuni1 & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala2 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Sri Lanka is a competitive tourism destination located in South Asian region. It is rich with valuable natural resources all over the island. However, the declining environmental quality adversely affect the tourist satisfaction in Sri Lankan. Therefore, the objective of

this study is to assess the quality of the physical

environment and its effects on the tourists’ satisfaction. The study was carried out as a questionnaire survey by using 384 international tourists selected through convenience sampling. The descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analyses were utilized to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the poor quality of the physical environment has negatively influenced the tourists' satisfaction and the majority of tourists are dissatisfied with the environmental management of Sri Lanka as a tourist and destination. It is necessary to improve the quality of the physical environment to satisfy the existing tourists then the satisfied tourists will act as evangelists of the Sri Lankan tourism, who spread the positive word of mouth about their positive experiences to others. Therefore, Sri Lanka as a fast growing tourism destination needs taking immediate actions to have a proper garbage management system in order to reduce the visual population of the tourists in order to improve their satisfaction.

Keywords: Destination management; Environment quality; Tourists satisfaction

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The Relationship between Operational Efficiency and Service Quality of Restaurants with Reference to Waters Edge N. A. P. Priyakeerthi1 & W. K. A. C. Gnanapala2 Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Mangement Studies Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [email protected]

Operational efficiency and service quality are regarded as important components in business practices. Service quality in the tourism and hospitality industry is considered as the core of the business because the success of the tourism and hospitality industry depends on the level of service quality and delivery. The higher operational efficiency provides competitive advantages that are critical to the success of the service oriented business, However, the researcher has observed that the operational efficiency of the employees are lacking in the restaurant operations. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the relationship between the operational efficiency and the service quality of the restaurant. The study was conducted as a case study at Pranzo restaurant of Waters Edge. A questionnaire survey was conducted as the primary data collection technique and the entire population of the restaurant, 50 employees, were considered as the sample of the study. This study propose that an operational efficiency of the restaurant is depending on seven dimensions such as customer orientation, management support, quality of work environment, employee engagement, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior and turnover intention which are independent variables while the service quality is the dependent variable. Mainly, the correlations and regression analysis were employed to analyze the collected data and the result indicates that there is a strong, positive relationship between the operational efficiency dimensions and the service quality of the restaurant. Finally, it is concluded that the service quality of the restaurant can be increased by improving the operational efficiency as there is a high positive correlation between dependent and independent variables. The findings can be used by the restaurants industry to take management decisions related to operational processes and service quality. Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Operational Efficiency; Restaurants Industry; Service Quality

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A Study of Guests’ Motivation to Select Ayurvedic Hotels in Sri Lanka: A Case Study of Baberyn Beach Hotel, Weligama M. H. D. Madurangi1 & C. N. R. Wijesundara2 Department of Front Office, Baberyn Beach Hotel, Weligama, Sri Lanka1 Department of Tourism Management Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka2 [email protected]

The concept of Ayurveda hotels and their rapid expansion in island- wide has been noticed by the industry and academics for several years after re-establishing the peace & harmony inside the country in 2009. Even though the demand has increased, it has not been investigated why tourists are demanding the Ayurveda hotels in Sri Lankan context. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the pull motivational factors that affect tourists’ decision in their choice of Ayurvedic tourist hotels in Sri Lanka. The study has employed a mix-method where both quantitative and qualitative techniques such as questionnaire survey & interviews were utilized for data gathering. The mean ranking & descriptive statements were utilized for the data analysis. The findings demonstrate that Authentic Ayurveda treatments are the most compelling pull motivation forces followed by Sri Lankan Hospitality, Exotic Atmosphere, and Authentic Sri Lankan culture, Value for money & Safety & security. The results of this study may offer useful information regarding guests’ pull motivation factors which could benefit hotel managers in designing marketing strategies such as targeting, packaging, and advertisement.

Keywords: Ayurvedic hotels; Pull factors; Sri Lanka; Tourists motivations

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1stIntradisciplinary Conference of Management Researchers Innovation, Integration and Inspiration towards Sustainable Future 10th & 11th August 2016 – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka

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