Browsing by Author "Pathirana, U"

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Embargo
Determinants of student satisfaction in private universities: examining the impact of academic staff quality
(Emerald Publishing, 2025-02-14) Wisenthige, K; Pathirana, U; Perera, B; Wijesinghe, K; Wijethunga, A
Purpose: The study utilized a quantitative approach to investigate student satisfaction, focusing on the lecturers’ knowledge, quality of delivery, student support and evaluation. The population included second- to fourth-year undergraduates, data from a sample of 600 were collected through a structured questionnaire using stratified random sampling and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Design/methodology/approach: The aim of this study is to examine the various dimensions of academic staff quality that affect student satisfaction within a selected private higher educational institute in Sri Lanka, providing a clear understanding of the dimensions of academic staff quality and recognizing the important role of the said dimensions in shaping the educational experience of the students. Findings: Results revealed that effective support for students, lectures’ broader knowledge, quality of delivery and quality of evaluation were significant predictors of student satisfaction and that they are crucial indicators of how strong the impact of the academic staff is in contributing to overall undergraduate student satisfaction. Originality/value: This study filled a gap in higher education research in Sri Lanka by offering empirical evidence on the impact of academic staff quality on satisfaction among students in private universities. It serves as a valuable reference for those exploring higher education concepts, providing a novel understanding of the influence of the key component of academic staff quality.
Embargo
Macroeconomic determinants of child mortality in low and lower-middle-income nations
(Emerald Publishing, 2025-05-18) Samarawickrama, P.A; Fernando, G; Bernadeen, R; Jayasuriya, N; Pathirana, U
Purpose: Child mortality remains a major problem in the world, especially for children under five, as many deaths are reported each year. Disproportionately high death rates are seen in low- and lower-middle-income nations. This study seeks to examine the impact of macroeconomic factors on child mortality in low- and lower-middle-income countries to formulate policies for those income levels to achieve SDG 3.2 by 2030. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses panel regression analysis to investigate the impact of macroeconomic factors including inflation, labor force participation female, Current healthcare expenditure and GDP per capita income on child mortality within the two income groups, covering 18 low-income and 41 lower-middle-income nations from the year 2000 to 2022. Findings: The findings of the study indicated that in low-income countries women’s employment positively and significantly affects child mortality, while GDP per capita and current health expenditure negatively and significantly affect child mortality. In lower middle-income countries, inflation and GDP per capita negatively and significantly affect child mortality. This demonstrates the significance of economic stability, health investments and modifications in labor force participation female in mitigating child mortality in low and middle-income countries while offering critical insights for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) related to infant mortality reduction by 2030. Originality/value: Although previous research has investigated child mortality, there is a lack of comprehensive research that has examined the combined impact of inflation, labor force participation rate female, current healthcare expenditure and GDP per capita in these countries. This study offers new empirical evidence regarding the influence of macroeconomic conditions on trends in child mortality by implementing a rigorous methodological approach.
Open Access
Reputation of Entrepreneur Mediates the Business Performance: A Study of Women-owned Small Enterprise in Sri Lanka
(SLIIT Business School, 2023-12-14) Gunawansha, N; Rajapaksha, N; Witharana, N; Ishara, N; Wisenthige, K; Pathirana, U
This study intends to examine the impact of entrepreneurial network relationships on the success of women-owned small enterprises (WOSEs) in Sri Lanka. Knowledge sharing, innovation, transaction cost, and market opportunities all play a significant role as the network relationship's independent variables, with reputation representing as a mediator for the impact of innovation on women-owned small enterprises' performance. The present study used partial least square (PLS) structural equation modelling to examine the constructed hypotheses technique to examine the impact of entrepreneurial network relationships on WOSEs performance. The data used in this study is primary data collected from 384 women entrepreneurs registered in the chamber of commerce in Sri Lanka using a simple random sampling technique. The findings show that there is a significant positive impact of transaction cost, reputation, market opportunity, and knowledge sharing, on the performance of WOSEs. Innovation as a mediator also positively and significantly mediate the impact of knowledge sharing on performance. It implies that innovations strengthen the impact that knowledge sharing does on business performance. The findings of this study highlight the policymakers to take steps to improve the collaboration between other businesses which will indirectly improve the entrepreneurial network and ultimately improve the performance of WOSEs. Consequently, network relationships afford enterprises the opportunity to leverage embedded linkages to mitigate their vulnerabilities and attain economic benefits. Future studies could focus on businesses other than women-owned enterprises to examine the impact of entrepreneurial network relationships on small enterprise performance in Sri Lanka. Hence future research should establish how the entrepreneurial networks can help businesses to enhance competitive advantage and thus the performance of women owned enterprises.