Research Papers - Dept of Business

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Author: search.filters.author.Wisenthige, K

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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    PublicationOpen 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, K
    As 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.
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    PublicationEmbargo
    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, B
    Purpose – 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.
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    PublicationEmbargo
    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.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    The role of platform interactivity in enhancing trust: unlocking purchase intentions for skincare products on Facebook
    (Cogent OA, 2025-10-07) Jayasingha, N; Kavindiya, W; Ranjith, D.P; Pathiranage, S.N; Wisenthige, K; Dayapathirana, N
    Social commerce, which integrates social media with e-commerce, has transformed how consumers engage with brands and make purchasing decisions. In Sri Lanka, the skincare product market on Facebook has seen significant growth, emphasizing the need to understand the factors influencing consumer purchase intention. This study explores how social media, perceived usefulness and platform interactivity influence trust in the seller and, in turn, affect social commerce purchase intention. Using purposive sampling, the study targeted active Facebook users who purchase skincare products. An online questionnaire was administered to 384 such users. Using structural equation modelling, the study found that perceived usefulness and platform interactivity significantly enhance trust in sellers. Additionally, trust in the seller plays a mediating role between these factors and purchase intention. The study offers theoretical contributions by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) into a high-involvement product context. The findings highlight that a more interactive and engaging platform experience increases consumer confidence in online sellers, ultimately encouraging purchase behavior. Social media platforms like Facebook not only provide a space for product promotion but also serve as trust-building environments through user engagement and perceived usefulness. This study finds that useful and interactive Facebook posts build trust and lead to more skincare product purchases. Brands should post better content to earn trust and boost sales. For businesses, especially skincare brands operating in social commerce environments, this study offers practical insights into developing strategies focused on enhancing platform interactivity and trust to drive consumer engagement and intention to purchase.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Development of Analytical Framework for SME’s Competitiveness Based on Competency Approach
    (PROCEEDINGS OF THE 13 th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION & MANAGEMENT, 2016-11-28) Wisenthige, K; Guoping, C
    The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical rationale for investigating the relationship between entrepreneurial characteristics and the SME’s performance at the firm level through adopting the concept of competitiveness incorporated with entrepreneurial competencies. The model distinguishes between two dimensions of competitiveness, assets and process and six areas of competencies of an entrepreneur with the in creating competitiveness scope and capabilities of the firm. A major contribution of the theoretical framework is the organization of the existing theories and findings in entrepreneurial characteristics, and future theoretical development and empirical studies of SME competitiveness can be made based on this framework.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Firm Level Competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Analytical Framework Based on Pillars of Competitiveness Model
    (International Research Journal of Management, IT & Social Sciences, 2016-09) Wisenthige, K; Guoping, C
    The research on competitiveness has been increasing in popularity amongst scholars, there is a lack of studies focusing on the firm level competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). The objective of this paper is to develop a framework model, which can be used to analyze the competitiveness of the SME at the firm level. In this paper, we propose a framework of six pillars of competitiveness, which constitute the physical and human resources, innovation, networking, management processes as well as customers (demand conditions) and competitors (supply conditions). The methodology is unique in the sense that it incorporates the unique analytical framework called the bottlenecks over the pillars of competitiveness, which calculate the individual level competitiveness points for each SME and competition points that can collate significantly with the selected measures of competitiveness. This comprehensive framework needs to be tested empirically with the data in future research.