Research Publications
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://rda.sliit.lk/handle/123456789/4194
This main community comprises five sub-communities, each representing the academic contribution made by SLIIT-affiliated personnel.
Browse
3709 results
Filters
Advanced Search
Filter by
Settings
Search Results
Publication Open Access Impact of Terminal Handling Charges on the Performance of Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers with Special Reference to the 2013 Government Regulation(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-12) De Silva,M; Vilasa,S; Bandara,A; Weerasekara,H; Karunarathne,N; Galappaththi,KBefore the imposition of the regulation, terminal handling charges for containerized cargo were included in the all-inclusive freight listed in the bill of lading and were recovered from consumers at discharging ports. Since the regulation's implementation in 2013, terminal handling charges for containerized cargo can only be recovered from the contractually obligated party to pay them, not from the consumers. In this study, the researchers argue that the former is easier to execute because even though the government has implemented these regulations to secure the consignees and shippers, there are many negative impacts of the regulations on the non-Vessel operating common carriers, as well as indirect impact on the whole shipping industry and the economy of the country. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data gathered through semi-structured interviews, and thirteen initial codes were identified under three themes during the analysis. Through the findings, the researchers have examined the impact of terminal handling charges in the Colombo port on the non-Vessel operating common carriers after enforcing the 2013 government regulations, analyzed the functions of non-Vessel operating common carriers and their relationship with the major shipping lines, and last suggested the strategies to overcome the negative impact on non-Vessel operating common carriers after enforcing 2013 government regulations. This study can guide future researchers and business sectors to construct their plans and processes to ensure that organizations run smoothly and consistently.Publication Open Access Effect of Social Media Influencers’ Attributes on Customer Purchasing Behavior in Sri Lankan Context (Special References to Facebook and Instagram)(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-12) Bandara,G; Jayasuriya, N; Nimnajith,M; Withanage,N; Fernando,K; Jayawardana,SThis study aims to identify how social media influencer’s attributes can be useful to tune the customer purchasing behavior. Since social media influence highly affects the day-to-day life of people, he/she highly impacts on decision making of customers to purchase products in the market. Therefore, it is essential to identify how these significant attributes support him/her to influence customer purchasing behavior. Through the literature, attractiveness, expertise, prestige, follower base, and trustworthiness are identified as major attributes and are considered as independent variables, while customer attitude and customer mimicry desire act as the mediating factors of the relationship between these attributes and customer purchasing behavior. The research is designed as a quantitative study and primary data were collected from a sample of 405 participants through questionnaire. All the Facebook and Instagram users in the country are considered as the population. Reliability and validity of data are ensured through pilot test and data were analyzed through factor analysis, correlation analysis developing multiple regression models and hypothesis testing. Considering the findings, all the attributes show positive correlation, and all the correlations are significant at the point of P = 0.001. The conceptual framework is acceptable since all the hypotheses are supported. The conclusion is that there is a positive and significant impact of social media influencer’s attractiveness, expertise, prestige, follower base, and trustworthiness on customer purchasing behavior while customer attitude and customer mimicry desire act as mediators. Policy implication of the study is to identify the suitable social media influencer and determine the criteria for selecting the social media influencer for social media marketing. The selected influencer will highly support the company by marketing its products and ensuring the customer attraction. He can apply these results and improve his follower base earning more through effective marketing campaigns. Hence, he can ensure high demand for the product, maintain competitiveness, and contribute to profit maximization. Novelty of the study is that it shows the significance of social media influencer’s attributes on social media marketing. By utilizing these attributes, he can attract new customers, retain existing customers, change customer perception towards the brand. Eventually, he will cause the brand to become the market leader.Publication Open Access The Role of Green Supply Chain Practices on Environmental Sustainability(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-12) Dassanayake,A; Gamaarachchi,T; Ranathunge ,I; Karunarathna,NIn the past decade environmental sustainability is one of the major considerations in supply chains all around the world. With noticeable environmental changes, companies couldn’t look past the negative environmental impact of their supply chains. Many customers expect companies to adhere to these sustainable practices to achieve sustainability, not only in the environmental aspect but also in the social aspect as well. The main purpose of the study was to conduct an in-depth analysis on Green Supply Chain Practices (GSCP) and how this environmental sustainability can be achieved through this concept and how Sri Lankan companies embed GSCP into their supply chain to reduce environmental impact. For this, supply chain phases such as procurement, manufacturing, transportation, warehousing, and reverse logistics were considered when developing the framework for the study. In each of these stages it focuses on how the companies can use GSCP to reduce energy consumption, water usage, reduce waste and emissions of the supply chain. The data were collected from Sri Lankan manufacturing companies by referring to secondary sources. Gathered data were analyzed using the narrative analysis method and furthermore the study findings indicated that there is a positive effect on environmental sustainability by the implementation of GSCP.Publication Open Access Challenges of Mobility and Access to Transport for People with Visual Impairment and Blindness: An Exploratory Study(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-12) Suraweera, T.; Bandara, S.; Wickramaarachchi, C.; Perera,D.The ability to move around to get things done to fulfil one’s wants, and needs is critical for independent living, irrespective of his or her age or existence of impairments or disabilities. Safe and efficient mobility with confidence is widely recognized as influential factors of the positive wellbeing of persons with visual impairment and blindness. Inability to confidently move around pushes persons with visual impairment and blindness to a risk of social exclusion. Even though research into this area is significant, such research in developing countries like Sri Lanka is quite limited. While aiming at bridging the said knowledge gap, this research intended to explore challenges and obstacles of mobility and transport experienced by people with visual impairment and blindness in Sri Lanka. This study adopted a qualitative method through in-depth interviews. Fifteen persons with visual impairment and blindness were purposively chosen to represent a wide range of social and economic boundaries and interviewed in May-August 2021. With the prior consent of respondents, interviews were recorded and transcribed. The interview transcriptions were analyzed using a thematic approach. Data triangulation was done through focus group discussion and observation methods. The results confirmed that persons with visual impairment and blindness confronted challenges and obstacles in mobility and transport that is discussed in six themes: deficient infrastructure, access to information, improper attitudes of sighted persons, service provider issues, personal attitudes, and support. The findings urge the importance of implementing the existing provisions while introducing relevant public policies and social awareness.Publication Open Access Impact of Psychosocial Factors on Sustainability of Stock Investors’ Inclination: A Case of the South Pacific Stock Market(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-12) Saliya, C. APrevious research has documented that psycho-cognitive resources and socioeconomic status have significant influences on investment behavior in financial assets. Drawing from the positive psychosocial perspective, I hypothesized that positive enterprising personality mediates the influence of individual characteristics on investment behavior. I tested this hypothesis in the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework using a purposive sample of potential stock investors in Fiji. The theoretical framework and analytical procedures, I introduce here, can also be used to discover additional factors influencing investment inclination and then estimate the predictors of stock market investments in other developing countries with similar socioeconomic contexts, for example, Sri Lanka. The results revealed that four latent factors (Intuition, Education and knowledge, Sociocultural norms, and Enterprising personality) are distinct dimensions of investment inclination together with the maturity factor (Age) towards stock investments. The findings could broaden our understanding about the direct and indirect impact of psychosocial characteristics on stock market participation through positive, personal resources such as an enterprising personality. The findings will be useful for financial service providers and regulators in designing educational programs for different levels of maturity, knowledge, and education, to enhance enterprising personality qualities amongst people generally, and inculcate positive attitudes towards stock investments in the young through high school curricula and mass-awareness programs.Publication Open Access Study on the Behavioral Intention to use Cryptocurrency Market among Non-State University Students in Sri Lanka(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-06) Maduranga H.A.C.P; Bandara H.M.C; Nipuna Ravishka E.A; Ranjitha H.D.K; Dissanayake, L.D.A. D.The rise of cryptocurrency in the modern digital economy is relatively new and evolving rapidly. Due to the intricate structure and insufficient knowledge about cryptocurrencies, it's use is limited to industrialized countries. The study consists of four independent variables: awareness, trust, ease of use, and risk. The dependent variable is cryptocurrency behavioral intention. A survey of 380 undergraduates is undertaken to get information on respondents' perceptions of cryptocurrency's attributes and their intention to invest in it in the future. Pearson Correlation analysis is being utilized to study the relationship between awareness, trust, ease of use, risk, and behavioral intention of cryptocurrencies as the major purpose. The dependent variable and Cryptocurrency Factors have a positive relationship, with a 0.01 level of significance for correlation. We adopted snowball sampling technique as the survey's sample design based on survey's results. Furthermore, the data is analyzed for reliability and validity using AMOS statistical software. Two of the four hypotheses were not supported while the other two were significantly supported. The study's findings enhance to undergraduates' potential investment opportunities in cryptocurrency and validate the level of accuracy of cryptocurrency knowledge among undergraduates in developing countries. By studying human behavior, researchers can better predict the prospects for future cryptocurrency adoption and success.Publication Open Access Impact of the Challenges in Implementing Human Resource Information Systems in Sri Lankan MSMEs(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-06) Gunawardane, Y; Sathiyakumar, J; Sivalingam, K; Rasathurai, B; Rajapakshe, W; Kumarapperuma, CNowadays, the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a trending software that is a highly efficient platform for the HR department to carry out their operations. Still, there are some challenges faced by organisations with regard to HRIS implementation. The primary objective of the research is to explore the impact of the challenges such as the cost of maintenance, technical knowledge, management support and staff training in implementing the HRIS in Sri Lankan micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The authors collected both primary and secondary data. The primary data have been referred from previous research. To study the impact of the challenges and to obtain secondary data, authors analysed 300 surveys as a sample in the Western Province from a total of 1,017,352 MSMEs population in Sri Lanka. This survey had closed-ended questions to collect quantitative data from the respondents, and the convenience sampling method has been used as the data collection method. As the data analysis tool, the authors have used simple and multiple regression analysis to study the significant impact of the challenges on implementation. Lack of researches have been conducted on HRIS implementation, especially in MSMEs, and a minority of HRIS service providers are focusing on MSMEs to promote their systems. To conclude, this research will boost the demand for HRIS technology among MSMEs, pay attention to the HRIS service providers to focus on MSMEs. Further, it helps to spread HRIS knowledge among HR students and HR industrial people to improve the information technology units in the HR industry.Publication Open Access Analysis of Customer Satisfaction and Internet Service Quality During the Covid 19 Pandemic in Sri Lanka(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-06) Rashad, M.N.M.; Hansini, M.P.; Muthugala, M.H.N.; Karunarathne,U.W.S.P; Munasinghe, R.M.; Bulathsinghala,A.S.K.The tracking of Service Quality is an important consideration for a business as customers may go with an alternative service provider if they are dissatisfied with the standard. In particular we look at Internet Service Providers (ISP) and research the impact of Internet Service Quality (ISQ) on Customer Satisfaction. The prevailing COVID-19 situation in Sri Lanka reveals the importance of this study as government rules and regulations have been imposed to promote work from home, online learning and online entertainment. Previous studies have looked at the influence of ISQ on Customer Satisfaction in other countries – however to the best of our knowledge, no such evaluation has been done in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, in the context of COVID-19 the existing literature is lacking. Past research identifies the following factors which impact ISQ: Tangibility, Assurance, Empathy, Reliability, Responsiveness (Eze, et al., 2008) and Price (Joudeh & Dandis, 2018). This study was carried out as a deductive study and a quantitative method was employed. Our sample included 500 respondents obtained from the convenience sampling method by distributing a questionnaire survey among university undergraduates within Sri Lanka. The findings revealed that there is a positive relationship between Internet Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction. The study was also able to extract insights for ISP managers by highlighting the aspects of ISQ which can satisfy their customer base as well as measures which could be taken with reference to the practice gaps identified.Publication Open Access Impact of Service Quality on Tourist Satisfaction: A Case of Sri Lankan Hotels(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-06) Nagendrakumar, N; Rathnayake, R.R.M.T.R.T.The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of service quality on tourist satisfaction in the hotel industry in Sri Lanka with reference to ABC hotels. In recent years, the hotel industry in Sri Lanka has become highly competitive and challenging. The SERVQUAL model has been applied to detect the quality improvement areas on tourist satisfaction based on five dimensions such as tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Data were collected from 376 respondents which consisted of 34 five-point Likert scale questions, using a stratified random sampling technique. The multiple regression analysis was run to establish the model and the model fit. Results indicated that all five dimensions of service quality had a significant impact on tourist satisfaction. The findings help managers of Sri Lankan hotels to identify the service quality areas that need to be improved and assist in related decision making to enhance tourist satisfaction.Publication Open Access Does Culture Impact on Impulse Buying Behaviour? – A Study on Fast Moving Consumer Good Industry(SLIIT,Business School, 2022-06) Jayasuriya, N.A.; Wijesekara,T.; Tennakoon, T.M.A.P.; Wijesinghe, P .T.; Hidellarachchissss, K.A.Culture has been an important factor concerning the purchasing behavior of people. This research aims to identify the impact of cultural factors on impulse buying. The present study applies the Hofstede’s cultural model dimensions to determine its impact on impulse buying in FMCG in the Sri Lankan context. Accordingly, the factors that were under investigation in this study were individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, long-term orientation and power distance. Primary data for the study were collected employing questionnaires responded to online by 267 Sri Lankan consumers, which were later analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation method. The results indicate that individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, long-term orientation and power distance influence consumers’ tendency to impulse buy. This study is one of the early studies which focuses on testing/validating all five elements of Hofstede’s model against impulse buying.