Research Papers - Dept of Information of Management
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Publication Open Access Unveiling the challenges: exploring start-up hurdles faced by small and medium-sized enterprise entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka(Springer Nature, 2025-03-30) Gankandage, A; Jayathilaka, RThis study specifically focuses on the factors contributing to start-up failures in the SME sector in Sri Lanka, with particular emphasis on the educational, socio-cultural, economic, and psychological variables that affect entrepreneurial outcomes. The primary objective is to identify and analyse the factors contributing to these failures. Data collection involved interviews, telephone surveys, and online questionnaires. Given that the dependent variable categorises outcomes as either success or failure, a Probit regression model, was deemed the most appropriate analytical method. The findings reveal significant impacts of educational and economic factors on start-up failures in the SME sector. Additionally, psychological, and socio-cultural factors were found to influence these failures. Most participants recommended integrating entrepreneurship and skill development topics into the O/Level and A/Level curricula. Based on these insights, this study proposes several policy recommendations. It suggests that policymakers improve the education system to meet the country’s educational needs more effectively. It also recommends that family members, society, and religious leaders receive education pertaining to start-up development. Furthermore, it advises policymakers and financial institutions to align more closely with entrepreneurial needs to prevent business failures. Lastly, the study emphasises the importance of educating entrepreneurs on maintaining a motivated and positive attitude, addressing the fear of loss, and understanding the psychological aspects of business management. Building upon the brief overview in the abstract, the following introduction lays the foundation for our study, elaborating on the economic concepts and contextual background.Publication Open Access A FLOURISHING OR FALTERING ECONOMY: UNEMPLOYMENT IMPACTING SRI LANKAN ECONOMIC GROWTH(Sri Lanka Journal of Economic Research, 2023-02-03) Atigala, P; Maduwanthi, T; Gunathilake, V; Sathsarani, S; Jayathilaka, RThe primary goal of any economy is to achieve long-term economic growth while maintaining a stable rate of unemployment, which is a macroeconomic factor. Moreover, when unemployment rises, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falls short of potential GDP. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of unemployment on the economic growth of Sri Lanka. By using data from the first quarter (Q1) of 2000 to the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021 and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and Granger Causality are applied to analyse the impact of unemployment on economic growth. The findings indicates that there is a unidirectional causality between unemployment and economic growth, and that there is a long run relationship between these two variables, with both long-term and short-term negative impacts on economic growth in Sri Lanka. Macroeconomic policies need to be formulated to sustain the unemployment rate in line with the current economic realities of Sri Lanka for sustainable economic growth and significant contribution to the creation of new jobs and the expansion of existing employment in Sri Lanka.Publication Open Access Factors influencing the timely completion of construction projects in Sri Lanka(Public Library of Science, 2022-12-15) Abeysinghe, N; Jayathilaka, RTimely completion is a crucial factor for the success of a construction project, especially in the Sri Lankan context. This study aims to identify the most influential factors that affect the timely completion of construction projects in Sri Lanka. Thirty-nine factors were identified through a comprehensive literature review and experts’ opinions. A questionnaire incorporating the 39 project delay factors was distributed among 163 Civil Engineers, and responses were obtained. Random sampling method was adopted to select the sample. The Relative Importance Index (RII) analysed and ranked the project delay factors. The top ranked significant project delay factors were identified as shortage of skilled subcontractors/suppliers, shortage of labourers (Skilled, semi-skilled, unskilled), financial difficulties of contractors, delay in delivering materials to the site, and Covid-19 pandemic situation. According to the main three respondent types, i.e., clients/owners, contractors and consultants, the contractor related factors was the key group among others that delay a construction project. The scientific value of the study includes assisting the Sri Lankan construction industry to identify the factors affecting the timely completion of construction projects, and developing mitigation methods and strategies. Also, the stakeholders could duly schedule the construction work by identifying areas that need more attention. The contribution of this study would assist stakeholders to adopt a proactive approach by identifying mistakes on their part and minimising potential issues that lead to construction project delays in Sri Lanka. FiguresPublication Embargo Relationship between Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics of Persons with Visual Impairment and Blindness to their Levels of Vision: evidence from two geographical areas in Sri Lanka(Sri Lanka Journals Online, 2022-02) Wickramarachchi, C; Jayathilaka, R; Serasinghe, W; Kollure, L; Kollure, T; Suraweera, T; Thelijjagoda, SThis paper examined the extent to which socio-economic and demographic characteristics are related to the levels of vision of persons with visual impairment and blindness. A mixed method approach was employed in this study. Data collection was conducted in Siyanethugama Village in Hambanthota district and Polpithigama Divisional Secretariat in Kurunegala district in Sri Lanka. The study deployed convenient and purposive sampling techniques. Information was gathered through questionnaires and personal interviews. Overall, results revealed that level of vision vary with several socio-economic characteristics. Age and education were not related to the levels of vision in the Polpithigama region whereas in the Hambanthota region a significant relationship between age and education with levels of vision was observed. Income was not related to the level of vision. Participants’ views and opinions of resources, opportunities, income, employment, and government activities were found to be the driving forces of quality of life related to vision. The study concluded that age and education need to be considered in improving quality of life related to vision and further investigations are needed to determine the relationships between levels of vision and socio-demographic characteristics and to explore perceptions related to vision impairments.Publication Open Access Exchange rate sensitivity influencing the economy: The case of Sri Lanka(PLoS ONE, 2022-06-16) Jayathilaka, R; Thevakumar, pThis particular study investigated the possibility of modelling the exchange rate volatility of the USD/LKR currency pair and analysed whether macroeconomic factors influence the exchange rate. To model the exchange rate volatility, a combination of Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) family models were used. The ARDL model was utilized to explore the presence of dynamic short-run and long-run relationships between the exchange rate and macroeconomic variables. The ARDL model empirical findings inferred that a long-run relationship does not exist between any of the examined macroeconomic variables and the exchange rate. In contrast, a short-run relationship exists between exchange rate lag one, exchange rate lag two, inflation, and merchandising trade balance. Thereby, as per the findings improving the merchandising trade balance and minimising inflation would minimise volatility in the exchange rate. All stakeholders who are exposed to foreign exchange volatility including policymakers, importers, exporters, and financial institutions can benefit from this study’s findings. This research focused on the most recent economic phenomena of Sri Lanka and used Gross official reserve as a variable that was rarely used in existing literature on Sri Lankan exchange rate.Publication Embargo Sell-Net: Mobile Based Solution to Strengthen the Seller-Buyer Relationship of Small-Scale Businesses in Sri Lanka(IEEE, 2022-01-21) Wickramarathne, N; Siriwardana, U; Karunarathna, A; Jeremiah, P; Thelijjagoda, S; Krishara, JAs a developing country, Sri Lanka is getting a greater number of people who are using an online application and online purchase for various kinds of items nowadays. The number of users is highly increasing day by day. These online applications and their usages have a major role in the economy of Sri Lanka. The usage of online purchasing is widely observed in Sri Lanka as well it has been observed that most of the delivery persons and small-scale business people are facing many challenges while using these applications in practical ways. This is an application that connects small-scale business sellers directly to the buyer on an online platform. Goods Delivery vehicles are widely spread in Sri Lanka with traveling their paths. Most of the time they traveled with some extra free spaces. Authors are trying to manage these vehicles to give up an extra service and get extra income with proper management. It tries to improve the service to get more people an advantage and build up their businesses. This app aims at three main user areas: seller, delivery persons, and buyer. The buyer can place the order for these goods through the online platform and then the system calculates and find the nearest driver to the seller and choose the driver. From using the app driver sees the best path to the seller. Also, there's an algorithm to calculate ordered goods type, quantity, size and select which vehicle is suited for delivering these goods. The delivery person delivers those goods to the buyer by their path. The System tracks down until the buyer received their goods. and also detecting the fake review also if buyer using this application never get unsatisfied for the practical usage. The outcome of this project will help to develop a reliable seller-buyer relationship for small-scale business parties and improve their business activities.Publication Open Access Relationships between Socio-Economic and Demographic Characteristics of Persons with Visual Impairment and Blindness(Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Ruhuna, 2022) Wickramarachchi, C; Jayathilaka, R; Serasinghe, W; Kollure, L; Thisarani, T; Suraweera, T; Thelijjagoda, SThis paper examined the extent to which socio-economic and demographic characteristics are related to the levels of vision of persons with visual impairment and blindness. A mixed method approach was employed in this study. Data collection was conducted in Siyanethugama Village in Hambanthota district and Polpithigama Divisional Secretariat in Kurunegala district in Sri Lanka. The study deployed convenient and purposive sampling techniques. Information was gathered through questionnaires and personal interviews. Overall, results revealed that level of vision vary with several socio-economic characteristics. Age and education were not related to the levels of vision in the Polpithigama region whereas in the Hambanthota region a significant relationship between age and education with levels of vision was observed. Income was not related to the level of vision. Participants’ views and opinions of resources, opportunities, income, employment, and government activities were found to be the driving forces of quality of life related to vision. The study concluded that age and education need to be considered in improving quality of life related to vision and further investigations are needed to determine the relationships between levels of vision and socio-demographic characteristics and to explore perceptions related to vision impairments.