bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Women Empowerment Through Microfinance: An Empirical Study on Ampara District of Sri Lanka
Authors: Perera V. 
Published: March 2022

The prime objective of this study is to identify the association between microfinance and women empowerment by giving opportunity for self-employment, rural women and the impact of micro-credit, savings, skill training and education on women empowerment as well. This study focuses on women empowerment through micro finance under post-war development in Ampara District selecting five rural areas which are Uhana, Padiyathalawa, Weeragoda, Damana, and Ampara in Ampara District. The information has been gathered by primary data from the rural women in the above selected areas and 105 responded out of 50. From the results, it is concluded that the micro-finance has significant relationship and positively correlated (0.852) with empowerment at 0.01 significant levels and its impact is crucial as well. It is suggested that the micro- finance facilities are essential in empowering rural women and developing the women entrepreneurs under post-war development in Ampara District.
Keywords: Micro-Finance, post-war development, women empowerment, Rural Development
Limitations and Hypothesis Underlying the Application of CIDA Price Fluctuation Formula in Sri Lanka
Authors: Jayalath C. , Wickramasinghe W.M.U. 
Published: March 2022

The CIDA price fluctuation formula has been recommended in construction projects of more than three months’ duration. The aim is to recover unforeseen costs due to open market escalation, at least to some extent. The industrial perception has not however been researched in detail for further improvements. This research is to gauge the industrial enthusiasm towards the CIDA price fluctuation formula as a means of recovery of loss. The objectives are to disclose the limitations and hypothesis underlying its application, reveal the context in which it operates, measure the perception and key concerns of the users with regard to its reliability. At the outset, a desk review was carried out to identify the logic behind the formula. Existing pre-published information was tracked down in this review. A literature survey was carried to understand the context in which it operates. A series of interview was conducted to gauge the individual perception of practitioners who have been dealing with the formula application. A Maximum Variation Sampling method was adopted to ensure collecting a wide range of participants with different viewpoints and, a narrative analysis method was used to identify shared comprehension among the practitioners. It was found that many of the criticisms entail a valid basis. Hence, it is recommended to publish the indices regularly and calculate the input proportions jointly. It is also recommended to calculate cost adjustment factors for individual contracts and publish the price indices in district basis or introduce price adjustment procedure specific to each administrative district.
Keywords: CIDA formula; Compensation; Open market vacillations; Price escalation
Appraisal of the Competency Gap between UOM Quantity Surveying Degree Programme and IQSSL Competency Standards
Authors: Padmasiri N.A.K.A.S. , Rathnasinghe A.P. , Seneviratne L.D.I.P. 
Published: March 2022

Quantity Surveying is one of the prominent professions in the construction industry which fulfils varied and comprehensive duties to support cost-effective construction and property development. Thus, Quantity Surveyors (QSs) should adorn with competencies to deal with complex situations in the construction industry. The Quantity Surveying profession has become an emerging profession due to the increasing number of Quantity Surveying degree programmes offered by many Sri Lankan institutions. However, many construction professionals claim that Quantity Surveying education in Sri Lanka has not distinguished the actual needs of the profession, thus the graduates are presumed to not being up to the standards expected by the industry. Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka (IQSSL) is the local professional organization that has set out competency standards for QSs under the Act of parliament. Assessment of Professional Competency (APC) is being evaluated by the IQSSL. IQSSL will only accredit any degree programmes which comply with specified competencies. On the other hand, the University of Moratuwa (UOM) is one of the government institutions that conduct the Quantity Surveying education in Sri Lanka and IQSSL has accredited its degree programme. Thus, this study intends to ascertain to which extent the IQSSL competency standards are being satisfied by the UOM Quantity Surveying degree programme to address the above claim of industry practitioners. To attain the aim, an extensive literature synthesis was piloted to develop a theoretical competency mapping framework upon the key findings of the literature. This research outlines a 'competency' as the ability of an individual to follow a set of professionally agreed standards. Due to the rapid evolvement and complexity in the construction industry, it is much required to enhance QSs' competencies. The literature synthesis identified that the UOM's competencies are slightly different from IQSSL competency standards. Hence, the research outcome has successfully argued that there is a competency gap between the UOM Quantity Surveying degree programme and IQSSL standards through competency mapping techniques. Thus, identifying such a competency gap would enhance any knowledge requirement of the UOM graduates in line with the construction industry.
Keywords: Competency, Quantity Surveyor (QS), Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka (IQSSL), University of Moratuwa (UOM), education
role of Social Capital in Education Literature: A Critical Synthesis
Authors: Rv. Fr. Perera K. , Gunawardena K. D. , Banda Weerakoon 
Published: March 2022

This critical synthesis incorporates both theoretical and empirical literature on social capital. A primary role of social capital is to enable a child to gain access to human, cultural, and economic capital, as well as to school resources and support. The focus of the review is on educational literature that studies social capital and educational equity. After outlining the approach, next, the study undertakes a critical review of the literature by first examining emphatical literature, trends in conceptualization, theoretical base, method and then assessing empirical support for claims that social capital is positively linked to education equity. Finally, discuss gaps in the conceptualization, measurement, and analysis of social cultural, economic and human capital in educational literature.
Keywords: educational equity, literature reviews, social, economic, cultural and human capital
Impact of Corporate Governance on Corporate Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Dissanayake D.H.S.W. , Dissabandara D.B.P.H. , Ajward A.R. , Perera K.L.W. 
Published: March 2022

The COVID-19 impact has caused rethinking about Corporate Sustainability in the world. During the last decade, the relationship between Corporate Governance (CG) and Corporate Sustainability (CS) has been discussed by various scholars in the world, but with inconclusive evidence. This study systematically reviews the literature to understand the relationship between compliance with corporate governance principles and its impact on CS in order to understand the trend, country-wise publications, journals of publications, methods applied, and the relationship in the past and to discuss the possible relationship, and finally to provide a future agenda. For this systematic review, the SCOPUS database was utilized due to having comprehensive coverage of sources in the selected area. This study reviewed related articles from the year 1998 to 2020. There were 1,205 articles at the first screening and finally 70 qualified articles were selected for final review after assessing each article based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings of this study suggest that CG and CS area is an emerging field and the published journal articles and citations during the period 1998 to 2020 have increased drastically. Further, according to the review, only 30% of studies have been published in the Asian context. Moreover, approximately 80% of the articles considered the theoretical underpinnings of this relationship using Agency theory, Legitimacy theory, and Stakeholder theory. Further, the systematic literature review indicated that only very few studies used primary data, and most of the studies used listed firms as a sample of the study. Besides, the majority (94%) of the studies used regression analysis as the data analysis method. Finally, most of the research (78%) articles found a positive relationship between CG and CS and only a few (16%) articles found a negative, mixed, and no relationship. This paper contributes the research knowledge on CG and CS literature via shedding theoretical and empirical insights. Further, as this paper highlights predominantly the positive relationship between CG and CS, and thus managers and policymakers could focus more on CG to improve CS.
Keywords: Corporate Governance, Corporate Sustainability, Systematic Review
Challenges Faced in the Implementation of Sustainability Reporting: Empirical Evidence from Listed Companies in Sri Lanka
Authors: Sandali W.A.P.L. , Gunathilake W.K.N.C. , Deshapriya M.G.C.D. , Nirman M.A.C. , Lokeshwara A.A. , Weerarathna R.S. 
Published: March 2022

Sustainability reporting is a voluntary endeavor that involves publishing reports for reflecting the economic, social and environmental performance of an organization (Isenmann and Kim, 2006). When reporting sustainability practices, corporations encounter many challenges. The objective of the study was to discover the challenges faced by public listed companies in the implementation of sustainability reporting practices. Qualitative approach has been applied in gathering data and structured interviews were conducted among public listed companies who make sustainability disclosures aligning with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. The study has been undertaken selected sectors in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) who reports sustainability against GRI framework. Researchers have conducted twelve (12) interviews with the responsible personal for sustainability reporting in each company. The data were analyzed utilizing Word Cloud software named as ‘Word It Out’. The findings revealed that gathering information on sustainability practices is a key challenge for most of the companies. Mainly, it was identified that additional resources and costs have to incur in facilitating the reporting purposes. Furthermore, identifying material topics, data accuracy, setting the optimal sustainability goals and measuring sustainability disclosures were also recognized as challenges faced by companies with regard to sustainability reporting. An independent assurance for sustainable reporting by an external auditor is the key overcoming method identified by the researchers as per the interviews. The main limitation was that we were unable to conduct interviews with all the sectors, which would not be adequate for giving an overall representation of sectors in the CSE. Therefore, it is recommended for the future researchers to take a bigger sample who make sustainability reporting according to the existing frameworks.
Keywords: Sustainability Reporting, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Challenges
Awareness of Sustainability and its Impact on Gaining Sustainable Competitive Advantage in the Sri Lankan Food Industry
Authors: Perera K.D.I.M. , Fazana S.F. 
Published: March 2022

Awareness of sustainability and compliance with the sustainability requirements in volatile business environments are important with the increasing concern of customers and legislations when considered about the current business arena. Being one of the most competitive yet the most pollutant contributing industries in Sri Lanka, gaining a sustainable competitive advantage with an accountable awareness of sustainability in the food industry remains questionable. This study aims to identify the impact of awareness of economic, environmental, and social sustainability on gaining sustainable competitive advantage for an organization. The study focuses on the top management of hotels, restaurants and fast - food chains in Western Province. The research sample includes 150 respondents which were extracted through stratified and convenience sampling techniques while mixed - method technique was adopted for data analysis. The first study follows the quantitative method in which data were collected by using a self-administered questionnaire, while qualitative data were collected via interviewing participants in the second study to validate the findings of the first study. The results revealed that awareness of environmental, economic and social sustainability create a significant impact in gaining sustainable competitive advantage. Particularly awareness of social sustainability highly impacts on gaining competitive advantage compared to the other two variables (R2 = 0.85). These findings were validated via qualitative analysis and findings revealed that having awareness about the three pillars of sustainability will have a significant impact on gaining sustainable competitive advantage. The researcher was able to contribute to the existing literature of relevant constructs and the study contributes as a strategic tool for policy makers in the sustainable strategy formulation process in order to gain sustainable competitive advantage by adopting the latest market trends within the industry. This exposed to number of future research areas on different influential factors relevant to gaining sustainable competitive advantage in addition to the elements discussed within the study.
Keywords: Environmental sustainability, Social sustainability, Economic sustainability, Sustainable competitive advantage
Barriers in Implementing Total Quality Management in Organizations: A Literature Review
Authors: Pussella H.D.M.M. , Yapa S.T.W.S. 
Published: March 2022

Present-day customers are very conscious of the quality of products and services. They are ready to pay a higher price for a quality product or service. A company that meets such demands gains a competitive advantage in the market over its competitors. One of the best approaches to address this challenge is the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM). TQM, a systematic management approach and a journey to meet competitive and technological challenges, has been accepted by both service and manufacturing organizations globally. It is commonly agreed that by adopting TQM, the overall effectiveness and performance of organizations can be improved. Despite TQM offers numerous benefits, it is not an easy task to implement it. It is generally experienced that implementation of TQM is hard and painful due to certain barriers that inhibit the successful implementation of TQM. Understanding the factors that are likely to obstruct TQM implementation enables managers to develop more effective strategies for achieving business excellence. Therefore, the purpose of this literature-based paper is to identify the barriers in implementing TQM in business organizations. An extensive literature review was carried out to achieve this objective. The barriers in implementing TQM were identified under three main thematic areas namely: managerial issues, people-oriented issues and organizational issues. Under managerial issues, there are five barriers which hinder the successful implementation of TQM; lack of communication, lack of top-management commitment, lack of coordination between departments, no benchmarking and poor planning. There are four barriers under the category of the people-oriented issue namely, employee resistance to change, lack of proper training and education, inadequate use of empowerment and teamwork, and human resource barrier. Moreover, three barriers were identified under organizational issues, i.e. lack of continuous improvement culture, the attitude of employees towards quality, and high turnover at management level. Among these three categories, managerial issues were the most vital category followed by people-oriented issues and organizational issues. However, an in-depth empirical investigation is needed to explore the barriers in implementing TQM in the context of Sri Lankan organizations.
Keywords: Total Quality Management, Barriers, Implementation
Role of Employer Green Commitment and Employee Green Awareness in Predicting Employee Green Behaviour: An Empirical Study of Apparel Manufacturing Firms in Sri Lanka
Authors: Wickramaratne W.P.R. , Perera H. A. J. C. L. , Senarathna U. G. N. A. 
Published: March 2022

Nowadays, Green Human Resources Management (GHRM) has become a trend among many countries and organizations worldwide that care about their carbon footprint. According to the existing literature, one of the significant aspects of GHRM is the employee green behavior (EGB) which is deemed to make a positive change towards sustainable development goals. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether employer green commitment and employee green awareness are determinants of the employee green behaviour. In this research, a cross-sectional study was conducted to achieve the purpose of the study. The primary data were collected through 50 randomly selected supervisory level employees of five Apparel Manufacturing Organizations in Katunayaka Industrial Zone, Sri Lanka by using a Questionnaire-based survey method. The results of the regression analysis revealed the employee green awareness and employer green commitment are determinants of the employee green behaviours. Therefore, Employers have a huge responsibility to be committed on the green practices and to transform their green awareness towards their employee so that the employees involve in green behaviour. The policy makers should consider the green practices and green policies in the design of training and development programs as well as they should provide an example to their employees by being committed to green practices. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are also discussed.
Keywords: Employee Green Behaviour, Employee Green Awareness, Green HRM, Sustainable Development.
Women Entrepreneurial Characteristics in Developing Successful Brands in Sri Lanka
Authors: Sumanasekara K.P. 
Published: March 2022

Expansion of women in higher positions of the organizations and emerging trend of women entrepreneurs has enhanced the scholarly interest in the field of women entrepreneurship and their characteristics. Nevertheless, the contribution of them is still invisible in emerging economies. Developed and established economies have been the focus of many researchers whereas the author has focused on Sri Lanka, an emerging economy to understand the contribution of women entrepreneurs. Main objective of this research is to understand the how women entrepreneurs have developed successful brands in Sri Lanka and how they have used their innate femininity in developing their businesses. Industries focused by the researcher in order to obtain an understanding of the women entrepreneurial characteristics were fashion, bakery and cosmetics in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Seminal literature for the research was focused on ten women entrepreneur characteristics. This research was conducted as a qualitative research. Primary data collection has been done using in- depth interviews with three women entrepreneurs selected by purposive sampling method and participant and non-participant observations with data triangulation. Based on the literature an interview guide was prepared and the data was collected. The richer interpretations have been derived from the in-depth interviews and narratives were built using the stories narrated. Data has been analysed using thematic analysis. Practical implication of this research is to identify the unique entrepreneurial characteristics and use them to enhance the women led businesses in emerging economies.
Keywords: Women Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurial Characteristics, Brand Development, Emerging Economies
Mediating Effects of Entrepreneurship Intention on the Relationship between Perceived Behavior Control and Start-up preparation
Authors: Thevanes N. 
Published: March 2022

Recent days, entrepreneurial development has become an extremely vital factor and it is considered as a key feature of economic development through contributing to reduce the unemployment rate, inequality, and poverty. In Sri Lankan context, entrepreneurs have become the seeds of development to provide greater opportunities, increase per capita income and revenue to the Government by the way of taxes and other levies. Despite its importance, Sri Lankan Government employs several entrepreneurial development programmes to enhance the entrepreneurship intention and behaviors among the university students. In this context universities focus more on delivering the entrepreneurial education programmes to the undergraduate and postgraduate students to transform them as the entrepreneurs who can contribute the economic prosperity of the country. However, reviewed literature reveals that how entrepreneurship intention mediates the relationship between perceived behavioral control and start-up preparation has not been empirically tested in Sri Lankan context. Hence, this paper aims to examine the relationships among perceived behavioral control, entrepreneurship intention and start-up preparation and the mediating effect of entrepreneurship intention on the relationship between perceived behavioral control and start-up preparation. In order to achieve the study objectives, primary data were collected from 60 postgraduates from a selected state university in Sri Lanka. The simple mediation analysis was used to test the research model. Findings of the study revealed that, there are positive and significant relationships exist among the study variables. Moreover, empirical finding of the study indicated that entrepreneurship intention mediates the relationship between perceived behavioral control and start-up preparation. The current study is considered to be vital in understanding the empirical knowledge regarding the relationships among perceived behavioral control, entrepreneurship intention and start-up preparation.
Keywords: Perceived behavioral control, Entrepreneurship intention, Start-up preparation, Theory of planned behavior, Sri Lanka