SLIIT Business School Scopus2
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://rda.sliit.lk/handle/123456789/4899
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Publication Embargo Rising from the crisis by raising their businesses exploring the social media strategies for micro-level women entrepreneur success(Emerald Publishing, 2025-10-03) Jayasuriya, N; Wisenthige, K; Kalansuriya, N; Munasinghe, S; Shamila, P; Swaris, SPurpose – This study examines the social media strategies adopted by micro-level women entrepreneurs who successfully transitioned their businesses from “brick and mortar” to online operations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Design/methodology/approach – The research consisted of two phases: semi-structured interviews followed by focus group discussions (FGDs). Twelve participants were selected through a judgmental sampling method for the interviews. The sample included contemporary successful micro-level female entrepreneurs who shifted to online platforms during the crisis. New factors were identified as determinants of success for online-based small businesses. The FGDs provided insights into these determinants, which were analyzed thematically. Findings – The findings indicate that the success of online businesses is influenced by an active presence on social media, the maintenance of a strong online network with customers and industry partners, vigilance in seizing strategic opportunities in a diverse environment, and the generation of powerful word-of-mouth (WOM) through excellent customer service. In contrast to gender inequality typically observed in business across Asian regions, no such gender stereotype issues were found among micro-level Sri Lankan women entrepreneurs. Originality/value – This study enhances the understanding of social media strategies in micro-entrepreneurship by identifying key success factors that have been underexplored in existing literature. It challenges assumptions about gender barriers in Asian entrepreneurship, demonstrating that Sri Lankan women entrepreneurs navigate digital business environments effectively. Unlike prior studies focused on larger firms or developed economies, this research highlights unique success determinants in an emerging market. The study introduces a conceptual framework that integrates social media engagement, strategic adaptability and network strength as critical components for online business success. These insights provide a foundation for future empirical studies in digital entrepreneurship.Publication Open Access Influencing players to download new games: role of in-game pop-up advertisements(Springer Nature, 2026-04-30) Vidanagama, S; Ulapane, N; Thilakarathna, D; Wijekoon, C; Wisenthige, K; Aluthwala, CThe utilization of pop-up advertisements in promoting online games has become increasingly prominent, particularly within freemium gaming models, where advertising serves as a critical revenue and acquisition mechanism. Despite their widespread adoption, limited empirical research has examined how specific advertisement attributes shape advertising value and subsequent player download intentions, especially in emerging digital economies. This study investigates the influence of four key pop-up advertisement attributes; informativeness, creativity, personalization, and credibility, on perceived advertising value and its effect on game download intention in the context of freemium games. Undergraduate game players who belong to the age category of 18–25 years, representing Generation Z were determined as the study sample. Randomly selected participants were asked to engage in a game-playing experience and respond to a structured survey afterward. A total of 386 responses were collected for the analysis and 12 individuals were interviewed after the analysis intending to validate the results. The results revealed that the considered ad characteristics; informativeness, creativity, personalization, and credibility have a significant impact on advertising value and the perceived advertising value significantly influences the player’s game download intentions. Subsequent qualitative interviews conducted with individual gamers validated the analyzed results. The qualitative findings corroborated the quantitative results, offering deeper insights into how gamers interpret and respond to in-game pop-up advertisements. This study contributes to the online gaming and digital advertising literature by empirically validating a model of advertising value in freemium gaming contexts. Practically, the findings provide actionable insights for marketers and game developers seeking to optimize pop-up advertisement design to enhance player engagement and increase game installations. Conducted within the Sri Lankan context, the study addresses a notable research gap in emerging digital markets and offers implications applicable to similar underexplored regions.Publication Embargo E-commerce success redefined: integrating information systems and customer empowerment for e-customer engagement(Emerald Publishing, 2026-03-17) Boyagoda, G; Thalagala, S.M; Pathirana, S.L; Jeewantha, S; Wisenthige, KPurpose – This study aims to explore the impact of system quality, information quality, service quality and customer empowerment on customer satisfaction and e-commerce success in Sri Lanka, focusing on Millennials and Generation Z. By integrating the DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success (D&M ISS) model with customer empowerment theory, the research seeks to provide insights into the key drivers of e-customer engagement in e-commerce. Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 413 respondents employing the purposive sampling technique. The data collection instrument comprised 32 questions related to system quality, information quality, service quality, customer empowerment and customer satisfaction, as well as demographic questions. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings – The results revealed that the system quality, information quality and service quality significantly influence customer satisfaction and intention to use the system in the context of e-commerce, which leads to higher customer engagement. Furthermore, the findings substantiate the crucial role that customer empowerment plays in terms of increasing customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – This study focuses on Millennials and Generation Z e-customers in Sri Lanka. It provides insights into this demographic, but does not capture the diverse cultural and technological landscape of the entire country. The study examines Information System (IS) dimensions and customer empowerment, excluding other significant variables like overall customer engagement. Self-reported data may introduce biases, and future research with larger sample sizes and different methods could improve the validity. Focusing on four selected online shopping platforms may limit the applicability as the e-commerce landscape is continuously evolving. Practical implications – The findings offer guidance to e-commerce businesses and policymakers to enhance their digital services and customer satisfaction. Businesses can improve their system quality with intuitive designs, offering accurate information to boost engagement and deliver excellent service quality. Initiatives such as interactive tools, loyalty programs and tailored support can empower customers, fostering a stronger impact. Policymakers can support e-commerce growth by improving regulations and providing training programs. These measures contribute to a more efficient and satisfying online shopping experience, driving long-term customer loyalty and business growth. Social implications – The research emphasises the role of customer empowerment in fostering customer engagement, contributing to the growth of the digital economy and enhancing online shopping experiences. Originality/value – This research enhances the academic understanding of e-commerce success by strengthening the DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success model by adding the concept of customer empowerment. This unique improvement is applied in the context of Sri Lanka, an emerging market with its own socio-economic characteristics. This addition provides new insights into key factors affecting e-customer engagement in the e-commerce sector.Publication Embargo Focus on Middle East and Central Asia: rationale of IMF assistance seeking(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2026-03) Wisenthige, K; Pathiranage, H. S.K; Jayathilaka, RThis study delves into the rationale behind the tendency of nations in the Middle East and Central Asia (MECA) to seek aid from the IMF. The IMF supports global financial stability, aiming to foster economic growth and prosperity across its member countries by promoting policies that encourage monetary cooperation and financial resilience. The study employs a conditional fixed-effects logit model, the analysis spans 22 years of data from twenty-five MECA countries to identify the factors driving these nations to seek IMF assistance. It focuses on six determinants: Current Account Balance (CAB), Inflation (INF), Corruption (CORR), General Government Net Lending and Borrowing (GGNLB), General Government Gross Debt (GGGD), and Gross Domestic Product Growth (GDPG). The fixed-effects logit shows that slower GDP growth raises the odds of an IMF programme, while short-run changes in corruption control and public debt ratios are not significant once country and year effects are absorbed. Inflation is weakly positive; the current account balance is still insignificant. A post-GFC and an income-group robustness check confirm the pattern. Furthermore, the study identifies Lebanon, a lower-middle-income country, as a leading example of seeking IMF assistance during the study period. Overall, this research highlights the importance of policymakers understanding the dynamics and rankings within the MECA region to effectively address economic challenges, provide financial support, and foster a more sustainable economic structure.Publication Open Access Assessing the influence of diverse skills on employability outcomes for IT undergraduates(Public Library of Science, 2026-04-10) Senadheera, D; Wisenthige, KRapid technological advancements have reshaped the global job market, emphasizing the importance of specialized competencies such as user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design, alongside technical and interpersonal skills.. This study examines how UI/UX skills (UIUX), soft skills (SS), and technical skills (TS) influence the employability (EP) of IT undergraduates in Sri Lanka, addressing a notable gap in existing literature that often examines these competencies in isolation and predominantly within Western contexts. The current study offers a detailed examination of employability determinants in Sri Lanka’s IT sector by incorporating gender as a moderating factor and investigating the mediating roles of self-efficacy (SE) and proficiency levels (LP). The collection of data involved 345 IT undergraduates participating in structured surveys, which were subsequently analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that gender significantly affects the relationship between soft skills and technical skills with employability, underscoring differences in the assessment of these competencies among different genders. Moreover, the degree of proficiency influences the connection between technical skills and employability, yet it does not play a significant mediating role in the relationship between soft skills and UI/UX employability. Self-efficacy has proven to be a significant mediator across various skill categories UI/UX, soft, and technical highlighting its essential function in converting competencies into career success. This work seeks to add to existing knowledge by tackling the main significant gap of examining the combined effect of UI/UX, soft, and technical skills on employability. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of employability by presenting an integrated model that elucidates the complex interactions among skills, mediators, and gender within the Sri Lankan IT sector. The results provide actionable insights for educators, policymakers, and industry leaders, advocating for curriculum alignment with industry needs and the promotion of self-efficacy through mentorship and experiential learning.Publication Open Access How social media impact social entrepreneurial intentions: the serial mediation roles of risk propensity and entrepreneurial self-efficacy(Cogent OA, 2025-08-20) Gomes, C; Wisenthige, KAs societies around the globe experience various social problems with a rising population and an ever-changing political and economic landscape, scholars have been paying much attention to social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship possesses the ability to address many social problems, especially in developing nations such as Sri Lanka. In this light, this study was carried out to find the impact that social media has on social entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate students in Sri Lanka, while exploring the mediation effects of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and risk propensity. A sample of 252 students was taken from a Sri Lankan university, and a telephone-based survey was used to collect data. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyze data, using the SmartPLS4 software. The results from the analysis showed that social media significantly impacts social entrepreneurial intention, while entrepreneurial self-efficacy and risk propensity had a serial mediation effect on the impact. This study makes many novel contributions to social entrepreneurial intention research, as it explores how social media impacts social entrepreneurial intentions and the serial mediation effect of risk propensity and entrepreneurial self-efficacy in a single theoretical model. Policymakers and educational institutions are heavily encouraged to use social media platforms to diffuse social entrepreneurial concepts among undergraduate students. Finally, the study offers limitations and directions for future research.Publication Embargo Driving performance in the digital nomad era: the mediating roles of well-being and job satisfaction(Emerald Publishing, 2025-12-07) Peiris, P; Kavindya, S; Mandodari, A; Jayasinghe, Y; Wisenthige, K; Rajapaksha, V; Suraweera, BPurpose – Despite the growing academic focus on digital nomadism, there is a lack of studies on the job performance of digital nomads, which compounds an essential theoretical and empirical gap. Informed by this, the study explores the role of nomadic work drivers in job performance, with well-being and job satisfaction acting as mediators, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the job performance of digital nomads. Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a quantitative approach, this study used an online survey disseminated to digital nomad Facebook groups, collecting data from 226 participants through systematic sampling. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings – The findings revealed that well-being and job satisfaction significantly mediate the relationships between nomadic work drivers (destination, technology and work preferences) and job performance. Conversely, the relationship between work-life balance and job performance through both mediators was found statistically insignificant. Practical implications – The study contributes to the growing body of literature on digital nomadism, clarifying how work drivers influence job performance through well-being and job satisfaction, while offering practical insights to create supportive work environments that boost productivity, a priority in today's era of global remote work. Originality/value – This research is unique to the extent that it explores the dual mediating effects of well-being and job satisfaction in the relationship between nomadic work drivers and job performance, an approach that has been significantly absent in previous studies.Publication Open Access Does management support drive sustained agile usage? a serial mediation model and cIPMA perspective(Public Library of Science, 2025-02-05) Wijesinghe, U; Mapitiyage, V; Wickramarathne, C; Wickramage, C; Wisenthige, K; Aluthwala, CAgile software development is immensely popular in the industry, but most teams struggle to sustain its use. Human factors like management support, agile training, agile mindset, and team resilience are often neglected, hindering long-term success. However, research has not explored their underlying mechanisms in depth. Therefore, this study examines if management support impacts the sustained usage of agile methodologies within software development teams. It subsequently investigates the individual and serial mediating effects of agile training, the agile mindset, and team resilience on this relationship. Additionally, it compares the importance and performance of management support, agile training, the agile mindset, and team resilience in infusing agile practices. Finally, it determines these antecedents’ necessity for the enduring success of agile application. Data collected from 391 agile software development professionals using a structured questionnaire. Partial-least-squares structural equation modelling, importance-performance map analysis and necessary condition analysis were used to investigate relationships. The findings underscore the pivotal role of management support in infusing agile practices. Agile training, mindset, and team resilience emerge as critical mediators, with a strong serial mediation effect. While management support is paramount, its practical implementation falls short within teams. All four antecedents are found to be necessary for optimal agile sustainment. Thus, this study significantly advances theoretical understanding by introducing a serial mediation model that elucidates their mechanisms in impacting agile infusion. It extends prior organisational-level findings to the team-level. The study’s quantitative verification of qualitative findings strengthens their generalisability to a broader spectrum of teams. It pioneers in expounding the constructs’ relative importance, performance and necessity, to offer actionable insights for agile practitioners. Finally, it provides methodological guidance to apply importance performance map analysis and necessary condition analysis in agile software development research. AdultPublication Embargo Fueling the future: unveiling what drives gig worker motivation and engagement in Sri Lanka’s corporate landscape(Emerald Publishing, 2025-03-25) Perera, L; Jayasena, C; Hettiarachchi, N; Siriwardana, D; Wisenthige, K; Wickramaarachchi, CPurpose: The gig economy has rapidly grown due to economic trends supporting flexible work and digital platforms, leading to increased demand for corporate gig workers. Although numerous studies have explored various aspects of the gig economy, research on the motivational and engagement factors of gig workers remains relatively rare. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence corporate gig workers’ motivation and engagement in the geographical context of Sri Lanka. Specifically, job autonomy, remuneration, social connection and technology and investigated here. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative study, employing a deductive research approach, was conducted with data gathered through a survey designed using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. Respondents were conveniently selected from Sri Lankan corporate gig workers. A total of 397 responses were obtained through a snowball sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling, providing a robust framework for evaluating the hypothesized relationships. Findings: The findings revealed that job autonomy, remuneration, social connection and technology significantly influence corporate gig worker motivation, whereas motivation significantly influences the engagement of corporate gig workers in Sri Lanka. Research limitations/implications: This study faced common limitations. Due to challenges in identifying the framework for the population, a snowball sampling technique was employed. One key limitation is the study’s narrow focus on motivation factors within the Sri Lankan context, which may affect the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, the geographic focus and uneven sample distribution could limit the broader applicability of the conclusions. Future research should adopt a cross-cultural approach to explore the influence of social commerce adoption, enhancing the generalizability of the results. Practical implications: A comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence the corporate gig worker motivation and engagement is provided, facilitating, the decision-makers to gain insight to enhance worker motivation and engagement by adapting strategies. This can lead to higher productivity and job satisfaction among gig workers. Originality/value: Examination of the motivational and engagement factors specific to corporate gig workers in Sri Lanka, a context that has received limited attention in previous research. Also, it contributes to the existing literature by providing a deeper understanding of the gig economy and gig work, particularly in a non-Western setting.Publication Open Access Does social media information credibility influence social commerce purchase intention of skincare products? Evidence from Facebook(Public Library of Science, 2025-10-22) Ranjith, P; Nisansala, S; Jayasingha, N; Weerasekara, K; Wisenthige, K; Dayapathirana, NSocial commerce is transforming consumer purchasing behaviours by blending social media interactivity with e-commerce functionalities, and most purchases today are evidently facilitated through social media platforms with ease. Recognising the importance of credibility in skin-related purchases, this study aims to examine how social media information credibility factors, specifically source credibility and electronic word of mouth (e WOM) credibility, influence consumers’ purchase intentions for skincare products on Facebook, considering the mediating roles of trust in online communities and perceived privacy risk. Primary data were collected through a structured survey from 384 skincare purchasers who made their purchases via Facebook, and the model was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Further, the results reveal that source credibility, e WOM credibility, and trust in online communities positively influence social commerce purchase intention (SCPI), while perceived risk has a negative effect. Trust in online communities also reduces perceived risk and mediates the relationship between information credibility and purchase intention. Hence, these findings highlight the pivotal roles of trust and risk perceptions in shaping online consumer behaviour in the social commerce space, especially within the skincare market. The study emphasises the need for businesses to leverage credible information sources and build trustworthy online communities to enhance consumer confidence and engagement. Moreover, it contributes to the growing literature on social commerce by offering insights from an emerging market context, Sri Lanka, and suggests future research into broader dimensions of credibility and cultural comparisons to deepen the understanding of social commerce.