Search results

The paper aims to clarify the relationship between perceived contextual issues and the self-efficacy beliefs of the employees with e-learning engagement for their competency development. It proposes a model for the banks to utilize their e-learning interventions more effectively by managing the identified contextual issues. Simultaneously, this study aims to expand the domain of self-efficacy beliefs and apply its principles to dilute the impact of the negative contextual issues which were not addressed through similar research.

The paper focuses on an exploratory study using a deductive approach grounded on self-efficacy – one of the main dimensions of Bandura's social cognitive theory. It adopted a mixed methodology, and primary data were collected through an online survey (792 responses analyzed through Statistical Package Social Science [SPSS]) and semi-structured interviews (20 respondents analyzed through thematic analysis). The population comprises employees of private commercial banks who have recently introduced e-learning.

The paper provides empirical insights into the contextual issues influencing e-learning and how self-efficacy beliefs can be utilized to enhance the effective engagement of employees. Contextual issues related to technological, organizational, personal and time-intensive factors influence e-learning engagement. The strengthening of self-efficacy beliefs (learners' enthusiasm and gaining) can be utilized to manage personal and time-intensive factors. However, technological and organizational factors cannot be managed through a similar approach as they did not report a significant relationship with self-efficacy.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study how e-learning can be utilized as an effective competency development tool in the banking sector.

The purpose of this paper is to gain insights into the gap between management accounting professional’s role and the societal expectations of the management accounting professionals in Sri Lanka.

A quantitative research approach was adopted to identify the statistical gap of the management accountant’s role and society’s expectations. Four business sectors were selected from Colombo Stock Exchange as of 31 December 2018. Sample consisted of 160 entities; 480 questionnaires were distributed among three stakeholders (financial accountant/manager, management accountant and human resource manager). Out of the 228 responses received, only 171 responses were usable. Exhibiting an overall response rate of 35.6 per cent.

The role expectation of management accountants varies significantly across the selected business sectors in Sri Lanka. There is an increasing demand for contemporary management accounting skills in Sri Lanka.

The insights of this study would be of use to policy makers and policy implementers to examine and develop remedial measures to enhance the creditability and transparency of the management accounting profession in Sri Lanka. Academic and professional educational providers can identify future trends and necessary skills of management accounting to improve management accounting curriculum.

The evidence from this study contributes to the literature of societal importance of management accounting from a Sri Lankan perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainability reporting is shaped by the global influences and particular national context where businesses operate.

The paper uses both content analysis of published sustainability information and semi-structured interviews with corporate managers to explore how sustainability reporting is used to address unique social and environmental challenges in a developing country – Sri Lanka. The use of integrative social contracts theory in investigating sustainability reporting offers novel insights into understanding the drivers for sustainability reporting practices in this particular country.

The findings reveal that managers’ perceptions about usefulness of sustainability reporting, local contextual challenges and global norms influence the extent to which companies engage in sustainability reporting and the nature of sustainability information reported. In particular, Sri Lankan company managers strive to undertake sustainability projects that are beneficial not only to their companies but also to the development of the country. However, while company managers in Sri Lanka are keen to undertake sustainability reporting, they face different tensions/expectations between global expectations and local contextual factors when undertaking sustainability projects and reporting. This is also showcased in what is ultimately reported in company annual reports, where some aspects of sustainability, e.g. social, tend to focus more on addressing local concerns whereas other disclosures are on issues that may be relevant across many contexts.

Important insights for government and other regulatory authorities can be drawn from the findings of this study. By capitalising on the strong sense of moral duty felt by company managers, policymakers can involve the business sector more to mitigate the social and environmental issues prevalent in Sri Lanka. The findings can also be used by other developing countries to enable pathways to engage with the corporate sector to contribute to national development agendas through their sustainability initiatives and projects.

While the usual understanding of developing country’s company managers is that they try to follow global trends, in Sri Lanka, this research shows how managers are trying to align their responsibilities at a national level with global principles regarding sustainability reporting. Therefore, this paper highlights how both hypernorms and microsocial rules can interact to define how company managers undertake sustainability reporting in a developing country.

This study aims to investigate the motives of mobile payment adoption from both customers' and retailers' perspectives in Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 pandemic period. It also aims to compare the motives of mobile payment adoption across rural and urban contexts.

The study employs a mixed-method approach with a concurrent research design. Both a survey of customers and in-depth interviews of managers in retail companies are used.

The study discloses that performance expectancy and facilitating conditions (PEFC), Hedonic motivation (HM) and perceived technology security (PTS) as significant motives for customers to adopt mobile payment during this pandemic period. Such findings are confirmed by the four challenges disclose by the retailers. The unfamiliarity of customers, lack of employees' knowledge on mobile payment systems, poor management orientation and lack of computer literacy of customers are the main challenges from the retailers' perspectives. Further, it shows, though PEFC is a common motive, other motives are different across rural and urban.

The findings of the study are helpful for retailers and policymakers. Retailers can develop strategies to enhance mobile payment adoption through PEFC, HM and PTS by giving special attention to the rural community. The main motive possible to use in both rural and urban contexts is PEFC. Further, retailers should take the initiatives to uplift the technological know-how of their employees while inculcating supportive management orientation. Policymakers can use this study to develop policies to enhance the community's familiarity with mobile payment technology and computer literacy.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate motives for adopting mobile payments from both customers' and retailers' perspectives while being the first scrutiny to compare rural and urban scenarios. The use of mixed methods with concurrent research design also contributes to originality.

Past studies highlight a wide range of labour-related problems resulting in productivity loss in the construction industry of many developing countries. This study aims to quantify the impacts of labour-related factors on the productivity of construction operations in Sri Lankan building projects based on the viewpoint of engineers and construction managers for upgrading management/organisational policies and practices.

Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to identify the critical factors. Further, a series of industry consultative discussions were conducted through problem-based communication approaches to analyse the actions required.

A total of 21 factors were determined as critical, where skills shortage, labourers’ thinking abilities, work experience, knowledge in construction works and discipline were leading in the list. The statistical tests and the experts’ discussion outcomes ensured the validity and reliability of the study findings.

The study outcomes will contribute to finding out better ways for directing labour in the industry practices and revising organisational policies towards achieving higher productivity levels in construction operations. Though the study findings are limited to the Sri Lankan context, some findings may be tested in other developing countries in similar scenarios.

The study findings show why the identified factors are critical, how those influence construction practices and what actions need to be considered for addressing the industry’s productivity-related challenges. These can play a key role in upgrading the construction management practices and organisational policies to the near-future stages.

The main aim of this study is to explore the appropriate factors in measuring COVID-19-induced supply chain disruptions and the impact of these disruptions on the economic vulnerability of small-scale farmers in Sri Lanka.

The findings revealed that most of the farmers have continued to cultivate even during the pandemic despite several challenges which affected their economic status. Therefore, it is concluded that COVID-19-induced transportation and demand disruptions exacerbated the economic vulnerability of small-scale farmers over the disruptions in supply and production.

The findings of this study are crucial for formulating novel policies to improve the sustainability of the Sri Lankan agricultural sector and alleviate the poverty level of Agri-communities in the countryside. As farming is a vital sector in the economy, increased attention ought to be given on facilitating farmers with government-encouraged loans or allowances for their financial stability. Further, the respective government authorities should develop programs for importing and distributing adequate quantities of fertilizers among all the farmers at controlled prices so that they can continue their operations without any interruption. Moreover, the government could engage in collaboratively work with private organizations to streamline the Agri-input supply process. There should be a government initiative for critical consideration of the issues of farming families and their continued motivation to engage in agriculture. Thus, farmers' livelihoods and agricultural prosperity could be upgraded through alternative Agri-inputs and marketing strategies, providing financial assistance, encouraging innovative technology, etc.

Despite the significance and vulnerability of the vegetable and fruit sector in Sri Lanka, there is a limitation in the empirical studies conducted on the supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 measures and their implications on the farmers' livelihood. Furthermore, previous empirical research has not employed adequate quantitative tools to analyze the situation or appropriate variables in evaluating COVID-19-induced disruptions. Hence, the current study explored the appropriate factors for measuring COVID-19-induced supply chain disruption using exploratory factor analysis. Then, the impact of those factors on the economic vulnerability of the small scale farmers was revealed through the ordinal logistics regression analysis.

Drawing insights from finance and non-finance managers in Sri Lanka, this study unveils complexities and conflicts surrounding the roles of management accountants and the nature of role construction stemming from differing expectations of non-finance managers and external influences.

This paper adopts the qualitative methodology and leans on role theory and new institutional sociology (NIS), as these dual theories complement each other and enable a holistic understanding of management accountants' roles, complexities and conflicts.

The findings reveal that in fulfilling their roles on par with divisional goals, amid expectations of non-finance managers and external influences, management accountants face various complexities and conflicts. Furthermore, in navigating through their roles, understanding the operational realities of work organizations and business sectors and negotiating with non-finance managers is vital.

This research draws evidence from a selection of finance and non-finance managers. Thus the findings are not expected to be generalized to business firms in Sri Lanka.

This paper offers practitioner insights into how management accountants could construct their roles in different organizational settings, balancing the expectations of non-finance managers and external influences.

Despite its importance, complexities and conflicts surrounding management accountants' roles amid multiple influences have attracted scant research attention. Hence this paper is a noteworthy addition to the literature. Besides, using role theory and NIS in tandem although apt, has not been the focus of prior researchers in delving into this phenomenon.

The study aims to examine the factors affecting the customers' choice of Bangladeshi banks during the Covid-19 pandemic and the moderating effects of private and public banks on this association.

This study is based on explanatory research, where significant factors have been explored to evaluate the customers' perception of private and public banks in Bangladesh. Primary data are accumulated through an online survey from customers who have an account in a private or public bank in Bangladesh during the past four months, where 318 (non-probability convenience sampling) are usable, and secondary data are collected from various sources. Descriptive statistics, multiple and hierarchical multiple regressions have been conducted.

The results revealed that customers consider safe and secure websites, infrastructural facilities, technological know-how, service, price, time, payment, administrative and psychological factors in choosing Bangladeshi banks during Covid-19. Moreover, the results show that private and public banks have moderated these associations.

During Covid-19, few studies were conducted on Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Ethiopian banking customers, where different factors are significant; however, this study is unique because all factors are significant for Bangladeshi banking customers. The findings will originate the value with several theoretical implications and managerial guidelines.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between designated corporate governance attributes and the degree of earnings management in selected quoted companies in Sri Lanka.

In total, 70 listed companies in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) were selected based on the highest market capitalisation for the period covering from 2015 to 2017 and representing beverage, food and tobacco, diversified, hotel and travel, manufacturing, oil palms and health care sectors, which accounted for 59.9 per cent of the total market capitalisation of CSE.

This study found a positive relationship between CEO-Chair duality and earnings management.

The insights may also provide investors, economic analysts and regulators with early caution indicators of potential problems in a corporation regarding corporate governance failures and aid stakeholders in assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the board and corporate governance structure and earnings management methods.

This study extends the extant research on board characteristics and real earnings management by adopting prominent research design and modernised data. This study offers evidence on how selected audit and board committee’s characteristics influence real earnings management practices.