bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Why Sri Lankan State-Owned Enterprises Continue to Make Losses: A Special Case Study on a State-Owned Enterprise in Sri Lanka
Authors: Perera K.M. Vidushini Wasana 
Published: April 2024

This is a qualitative study that mainly focuses on the loss incurred by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) during the past few years. It mainly focused on identifying how the CEB has utilised their management functions and developing trends while identifying their impact on the performance of the CEB during the past few years. At the same time, it focused on identifying the factors that are contributing to the loss through the inefficiencies in the management functions and the developing trends relevant to their industry. Further, the data relevant to this study has mainly been gathered through various primary data generation methods like semi-structured interviews and non-participatory observations in relation to nine managerial employees representing the financial management, human resource and the corporate strategy division of the CEB. Also, the above sample was selected based on the purposive sampling technique as well. Also, this study has used some secondary sources like journal articles related to inefficiencies of the state-owned enterprises, newspaper articles and the CEB websites as well. The data generated through the primary and secondary data sources have been analysed using the thematic analysis which is considered to be popular among qualitative research. Having tariff stagnation since 2013 which caused to increase the generation cost compared to its revenue, unavailability of low-cost power plants, not implementing the low-cost power plants, improper planning of the internal processes, unavailability of proper political leadership for the CEB are some of the factors that have highly contributed to the loss of the CEB through their management functions during the past few years. Also, the continuous debts carried out by various state-owned enterprises like the army, navy, hospitals and various religious places have high had a high impact on this loss during the past few years.
Keywords: State-Owned Enterprises, Ceylon Electricity Board, Inefficiency, Management Functions, Developing Trends
Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Performance by Differently Abled: The Case of Western Province, Sri Lanka
Authors: Balasuriya J.M.K. , Kumarasinghe P.J. 
Published: April 2024

The main aim of this paper is to examine the factors associated with entrepreneurial performance by differently abled individuals, using the data collected from a survey. The study employs a self-administered questionnaire with a sample of 100 physically differently abled entrepreneurs from the Western Province. This study has used descriptive and multivariate analysis techniques for examining the effect on entrepreneurial performance. Models provide evidence for key factors that affect entrepreneurial performance moderated by the variable of gender. The findings are statistically significant and highlight the necessity of intuiting active policies in entrepreneurial training, access to credit facilities and technological usage especially for the physically differently abled in the Western Province, Sri Lanka.
Keywords: Entrepreneurial Performance, Physically Differently Abled, Access to Credit Facilities, Technological Usage
Impact of Individual Factors on Business Performance of Women Entrepreneurs in the Construction Industry in the Western Province, Sri Lanka
Authors: Darshani R.V.S. , Perera G.D.N. 
Published: April 2024

Entrepreneurship is seen as a crucial factor of the development of any economy because it contributes to the generating of revenue both locally and globally, facilitating economic and social progress. It focuses on not just the generation of income, but also the improvement of people's living standards and the acceleration of production, among other things. Scholars have identified women entrepreneurship as one of the most vital variables in a country's economic progress. Sri Lankan women have most newly begun to participate actively in the commercial sector. This study makes an effort to investigate the impact of individual factors on business performance of women entrepreneurs in the construction industry in Sri Lanka and six hypotheses were developed along with six main research objectives. The population includes all the women entrepreneurs in the construction industry who have established their businesses in the Western Province. The sample of 113 women entrepreneurs was selected with random sampling method. Multiple linear regression analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis were used to examine the hypotheses. Based on the tested hypotheses, individual factors which are motivation and goals, social learning, network affiliation, human capital and environmental influences positively impact on the business performance of women entrepreneurs in construction industry in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. The study's findings will be useful in implementing practical ramifications in the construction industry, particularly for women entrepreneurs, by enabling women to participate in more entrepreneurial endeavours while effectively conquering their obstacles. With this understanding, Sri Lanka is forging a novel route to a novel period of growth by promoting women entrepreneurship.
Keywords: Business Performance, Construction Industry, Entrepreneurship, Individual Factors
“To Know the Score” - A Critical Analysis on the Shift of Workplace Culture Created by the Pandemic and Its Influence on Conflict Management and Employee Morale in Corporates in South India
Authors: Varsha A.C. Merlin , Ramya S. 
Published: April 2024

The pandemic has made organisations abandon the fundamental working premises and has drastically altered the work culture affecting significant shifts in the workplace and subsequently influencing a redesigning of the organisational culture, conflict resolutions and management. The paper explores and critically examines the work conditions viewed from within the context of the global pandemic and discusses the relationship between the employees’ morale and the conflict crisis in manufacturing companies in South India with specific elaborations on the meaning of conflict management, workers’ morale, causes and effects of the shift in the workplace and conflict resolution. With specific reference to corporate organisations in Chennai and Bengaluru, the study analyses through a qualitative methodology how organisations get ravaged by one form of conflict or the other ranging from intrapersonal and group conflict, intra-organisational cultural conflict, constructive or functional conflict, dysfunctional or destructive conflicts. The survey indicated that conflicts occur in organisations as a result of incompatible goals, different values and beliefs, inconsistent evaluation, communication problems, negative power politics, authority, lack of leadership style, scarcity of common resources and organisational demands. It was also found that if conflicts are not appropriately and promptly managed, it can lead to truncated or reduced workers’ morale. The discussion leads to findings which indicate that the workplace as we know it is forever changed by the lockdowns owing to the pandemic. Management and leadership of organisations should begin to take steps to consider redesigning the workplace to readdress the working conditions with innovation and aim to develop better co-relationship between organisations and employees within the virtual platform. What are the ways in which employees’ morale can be positively uplifted during an organisational conflict on a virtual working mode? How do innovative digital operations improve the standard of an organisation? What may be the conflict resolutions that can bring about a positive shift in the workplace for the future owing to the phenomenal disruption caused by the Pandemic? These and other related questions will be raised and addressed in the course of the discussion. The study was initially intended for working employees as the target readership. The scope of this research may further be extended and can prove to be beneficial for further research on Human Resource and Management Studies.
Keywords: Workplace Culture, Conflict Management, Employee Morale, Pandemic
Factors that Help the Work-Life Balance of Female Graduate Employees Holding Administrative Positions at Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka
Authors: Sellahewa W.N. , Samarasinghe T.D 
Published: April 2024

The objective of this study is to identify the factors that help the work-life balance of female graduate employees who are holding administrative positions at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (SUSL). The focus group study method was used to select the sample for the study. The primary data has been collected using three focus groups which consist of four members working in SUSL. Therefore, 12 members contributed to this study. Each focus group discussion lasted 45 minutes to one hour. Gathered data is expected to be analysed descriptively following the thematic analysis method. The results of the study revealed that some factors help to have a balance between these two domains of life among female graduate employees who are holding administrative positions at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. The identified factors which help the Work Life Balance (WLB) are working conditions, supportive organisational culture, manageable gross income of the family, behaviours of the colleagues, family support and individual skills on WLB.
Keywords: Concepts in WLB, WLB, Work-Life Balance, WLB Theories
Determinants of Turnover Intention of Rubber Harvesters in Medium Scale Rubber Holdings: A Case Study in Colombo District
Authors: Gunarathne P.K.K.S. , Jayasundara K.K.I. 
Published: April 2024

It was witnessed that a high income among the Latex Harvesters (LHs) in medium-scale rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) smallholder sector in Sri Lanka during the past few years, where serious efforts had to be made to find out the factors triggering the situation. Such findings will be useful for policy makers to develop the approaches relating to human resource development programmes of LHs in order to achieve better performance in the rubber sector. The focus of this study was on three independent variables, namely Job Satisfaction (JS), Organisational Commitment (OC) and Job Demand (JD) that were thought to be linked with Turnover Intentions (TI) of the LHs, with an effort to fill the research gap. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire survey in 2020 from 297 LHs in rubber-growing areas in the Colombo District. The sample was selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The variables were measured with the use of validated items. The responses to the LHs for the items were captured on a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used. Female LHs were predominant in the sample, and the age of the LHs varied from 19 to 79 years. Only 8% of LHs had pursued/completed tertiary level education which, was the highest educational level. The majority of the sample (nearly 50%) had 11 to 15 years of work experience in rubber farming. The composite three-predictor conceptual model was validly and reliably capable of explaining 79% of the variances in the TI of the LHs. The findings revealed that JS and OC of LHs had a negative effect on TI. This can enhance JS and OC in order to lower their TI in the medium-scale rubber smallholder sector in Sri Lanka.
Keywords: Latex Harvesters, Rubber, Turnover Intention
Being Underemployed is the True Test of Who You Really are - The Nexus of Underemployment and Employee Engagement: Evidence from Sri Lanka
Authors: Jasintha N. 
Published: April 2024

The current study intends to explore the nexus of underemployment and employee engagement among development officers in Sri Lanka. This study integrates the person-job fit theory with underemployment and employee engagement research. Employment possibilities exist for graduates in specific fields, but for a sizable number of graduates, finding a job has become the biggest challenge. As a result, improving graduate employability without having underemployment is a problem for the Sri Lankan university system. Expecting higher outcomes from underemployed employees has become pervasive by nature in Sri Lanka. Though previous studies paid attention to engagement level, little attention was paid to underemployment as an antecedent of employee engagement among the development officers, with the effect of age and gender as moderators. In addition to that, this study sheds new light on the underemployment level of development officers in Sri Lanka. A survey research strategy was used and data were collected from conveniently chosen 549 development officers working in the public sector. The Smart PLS 3.0 was utilised to analyse the data with a Multi group Analysis test to determine the age and gender effect on the nexus between underemployment and engagement. The results revealed that the individuals with the perception of underemployment are more likely to have lower employee engagement. No significant effects of age and gender were found in the nexus between underemployment and employee engagement. The study advances the boundaries of Human Resource Management literature while also providing helpful practical applications to the community. Policymakers can make more policies towards graduates to give them more proper job opportunities. This study can be done in a longitudinal way in order to identify the actual level of engagement throughout the period of time for a better understanding of development officers.
Keywords: Underemployment, Employee Engagement, Development Officers, Age and Gender
Competency Framework Developed for Site Administration Officers in a Sri Lankan Construction Company
Authors: Gunathilake G.G.T.Y. , Jayasooriya S.D. 
Published: April 2024

This case study research was conducted to address the prevalence of ineffective performance management tools and practices that negatively impact the individual work performance (IWP) of site administrative officers in one of the highest-graded construction companies in Sri Lanka by developing a competency framework. Thirty competencies were empirically tested based on the opinion of both administration officers and their direct supervisors, namely project managers using two online questionnaires to ascertain desired, actual, and competency gaps. They were further analysed based on their degree of contribution to the successful performance and their difficulty in improving to create a simplified four -grid competency model, uncovering key, supportive, threshold-trainable and threshold-hardly-trainable competencies, providing important insights for effective recruitment and selection, performance management, training, and career development. Several established models were adopted in the competency framework development process, considering both empirical and thematic aspects. The ability to create trust-building relationships was found to be the key competency that differentiates best performers, along with initiative, stress-tolerance, responsibility, and achievement-orientation as the other key competencies useful as evaluative criteria for IWP. Emotional awareness, commitment, and optimism were found as threshold-hardly-trainable competencies that any administrative officer should embody, making them a predictive criterion in recruitment and selection. The study effectively addressed a theoretical gap of an evidence-based competency framework for the target job role with a Weighted Proficiency Rating (WPR) which could be used as a reference for other highest-graded Sri Lankan construction companies despite its inability to generalise the findings to a broader population due to the limited scope of the study which certainly makes an avenue for inclusive further research. The development of a competency profile, a competency framework, and a simplified competency model for construction administrative officers providing evaluative and predictive criteria for several HRM functions are the major contributions of the study.
Keywords: Competency Framework, Competency Model, Administration Officer, Construction, Weighted Proficiency Rating
Maturity Model for Assessing the Extent of Automation in Sri Lankan Warehouse Operations: A Multiple Case Study
Authors: Liyanage Harishani , Delpachitra Kavindu 
Published: April 2024

Warehouses are facing substantial challenges due to the COVID-19 context. In this regard, automation in the warehouse industry has become an emerging trend in the supply chain sector. However, there is no proper model to measure the maturity level of warehouse operations. This paper aims to provide a maturity scale model to measure the automation stage in the Sri Lankan warehouse context. This research uses qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess the maturity level. A refined maturity assessment model was developed using early literature and industry expert views. The study analysed data collected from five major warehouses in Sri Lanka, and those were modelled as ad-hoc, mechanisation (semi-automated), and fully automated stages of examining the overall maturity stage of the selected warehouses. The study findings reveal that the majority of selected Sri Lankan warehouses have developed soft-based automation practices. According to the study, chosen warehouses in Sri Lanka retain the stage of 1.93 in maturity scale, which means combining traditional manual processes with some part of automation. Further selected warehouse operations belong to the mature stage of ad-hoc level in the maturity scale of automation. It may dramatically move to the mechanisation stage with the globalised market dynamics. Further, the maturity model of the study provides a practical diagnostic tool that will help warehouses assess the warehouses' automation level in the Sri Lankan context.
Keywords: Automation of Warehouse Operations, Maturity Scale, Warehouse Automation Practices
Bourdieusian Perspective to Identity Work in Strategy Work: Evidence from Sri Lanka’s Coconut Industry
Authors: De Peiris T. Nayomi S. , Kaluarachchi K.A.S.P. 
Published: April 2024

The purpose of this empirical study is to discuss how the identity work of organisational actors is reflected through their strategy work in an organisational context from the Bourdieusian perspective. Further, based on a case study following the qualitative research approach, the paper also presents empirical evidence from Sri Lanka’s coconut industry on the identity work of organisational actors in their strategy work, which, in turn, contributes to shaping the organisational strategy. The participants in the study were managers representing a cross-section of the organisation. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were used for the generation of the data for thematic analysis. NVivo12 data management software was used for the data management and the initial coding. It was found that managers are engaged in different identity work, introducing and normalising a new organisational strategy during their strategy work. Further, the behaviour and practices normalised in the selected organisation through managers' strategy work reflected their identity work in defining the other(s). The discussion was based on the theory of practice by Pierre Bourdieu. Accordingly, this research shows how the identity work of new position takers supports shaping the practices linked with a new strategy. Further, their identity work reflected through strategy work is also connected with their individual dispositions (habitus). The discussion extends further to show how individuals’ capital—mainly their cultural capital and social capital—contributes to constructing a new operational strategy in the selected organisational field. As for implications of this study, it highlighted the contribution of the position-takers in shaping the organisation's strategy while engaging in identity work for self and others. Consequently, this study illustrates how organisational actors perform different social-symbolic work (identity work and strategy work) in parallel.
Keywords: Capital, Habitus, Identity Work, Social-Symbolic Work, Strategy Work
Factors Affecting Customer Retention: A Case Study of ABC Finance PLC, Sri Lanka
Authors: Indunil W.P. Chathuranga , Udayanga Shyaman 
Published: April 2024

The financial industry is one of the key players in the Sri Lankan economy, which provides a high income to the country. However, at the moment, the growth of the entire industry has stagnated due to some recent incidents such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Easter Attack-2019 as well as the imposed Loan to Value (LTV) ratio restrictions; imposed taxes; time- to- time restrictions on importing vehicles; increased vehicle prices; increased leasing lending rates; decrease in fixed deposits (FD) and savings rates; increase in mortgage registration charges; and a reduction in the world’s economic activities. Since the market is not growing, it is very important to retain the existing client base with the company to create more business opportunities in the future (cross-selling and re-purchasing). This research was conducted to investigate the factors affecting customer retention in the finance industry, with special reference to one of the top finance companies in Sri Lanka. The survey strategy that was used to collect data from the sample of 360 was comprised of a well-developed numerically rated questionnaire while SPSS 20 was used to analyse the collected data. Many secondary data sources of ABC Finance PLC were gathered to identify the problem and conduct the research accurately. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to investigate the factors affecting customer retention. In order to create a suitable model for the research, the researchers performed a thorough literature review and discovered several variables relating to the problem. Finally, the researchers selected brand image, trust, switching barriers, service quality and price perception as the five independent variables and customer retention as the dependent variable, while the conceptual model was constructed based on these. Since it was created based on the literature review, this study was conducted as deductive research. Descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, correlation and coefficient analysis as well as regression analysis were done together with other necessary analysis to test the formulated conceptual model. Findings of the research proved that a positive relationship was shown by brand image, service quality, and trust and switching barriers towards the customer retention while the price perception was excluded from the model. Finally, researchers have submitted some recommendations in relation to the research problem and proposed a new conceptual model. Further, some distinct activities have been suggested by the researchers for the ABC Finance PLC in order to rectify this issue appropriately.
Keywords: Customer Retention, Brand Image, Trust, Switching Barriers, Service Quality