Browsing by Author "Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S."

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Authentic Sri Lankan Experience: Insights from Boutique Hotel Customers
(Department of Marketing Management, University of Kelaniya, 2016) Kumbukage, E.U.P.; Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.
There has been increased attention given in the tourism literature to authenticity of destinations and the experiential consumption of tourism via accommodation products. The purpose of this study is to explore authentic Sri Lankan experience in the eyes of tourists who were at boutique accommodations in Sri Lanka. Mainly, study explored the authentic experience of boutique hotels and overall authenticity experience of Sri Lanka. This study adopted the phenomenology research approach to assess the tourists experience in Sri Lanka. These two phenomena were explored in the perspective of boutique hotel customers in order to identify their experiential needs. Total of 10 in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 boutique hotel customers who had visited Sri Lanka within the past 6 months. Findings indicated boutique hotel customers seek authenticity and their choice of accommodation influences the overall authentic experience they receive from the country. This study presents 5 key elements of Sri Lankan authenticity and 6 key influential factors of boutique hotel experience. Boutique hotels are a form of specialist accommodation product, serving a high-end niche group of customers that has become a trend in the world and minimal academic studies devoted to assess the needs and expectations of the customers in these hotels in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this study addresses the lag of knowledge on Sri Lankan authenticity and the experiential nature of Sri Lankan boutique hotels.
Brand personalities of telecommunication service providers in Sri Lanka: an empirical study
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Wanninayake, W.M.C.B.; Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.
Evaluation of Herbal Brand Values: An Empirical Study
(University of Kelaniya, 2007) Wanninayake, W.M.C.B.; Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.
Branding is considered as a process that involves changing external or internal boundaries of any product and it plays immense role in marketing. With that over the past few years, herbal brands and natural brands in fast moving consumer goods market have taken an increasing amount of brand manger's time, and this continues further due to shifting consumers' choice from non - herbal products to herbal products across developing countries and developed countries. For this reason brand managers are trying to attribute herbal values to their products in order to get the competitive advantage in the market place. Nevertheless the major argument is that, how far consumers may consider herbal brands and its value in their buying decision. This study examined the major features of herbal brands and its relative importance to consumer's buying decision. Researchers selected reputed brands from fast moving consumer goods that represent hair care, oral care, beauty care, baby care sectors in the market in order to examine relative importance of their brand features. Values of herbal brands were grouped into four features namely ingredient, package, product design and effective communication. Survey approach was employed to evaluate the consumer attitudes and questionnaire was the major research instrument. Two hundred respondents were selected as the sample from Gampaha and Colombo area. The study revealed that ingredients of the products are significantly influence in evaluating brand values of herbal brands by Sri Lankan consumers. Communication and product design also moderately influence to determine the brand values. The communication is important to position the brands in consumers mind as genuine herbal products. Therefore, researchers recommended that brand managers should emphasize the natural ingredients in their herbal brand with using effective communication.
Factors Affect Sri Lankan Consumers to Choose Ready to Wear Garments
(University of Kelaniya, 2007) Hearth, H.M.R.P.; Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.
Being human beings, every one has to fulfill their needs and wants. Wants are the several ways or means that a need can be satisfied. In today's turbulent and competitive business environment, there are .numerous ways that a particular need can be satisfied. In other words same product is in different brands and since the customer has to make a choice in between different brands. This becomes a critical decision to a customer who is bombarded with several brands pertaining to a single product. Therefore prior make the decision of which is to buy; the customer tends to evaluate each brand or product against with a criteria with different variables subject to them. Following the same way when the customers are going buy ready to wear garment either, they tend to evaluate them along with a criteria before buying. Hence this paper deals with an identification of the variables that the customers are involving with as the elements of their own criteria and ranking them according to the degree of importance that customers are attributing to each variable. The researchers were able to identify three four key variables that customers are looking for when buying ready to wear garments such as quality, price, dealer reputation and the brand of the garments through going depth in to secondary data . Mainly the study was based on primary data. Primary data were collected though a representative survey through which 400 questionnaires were distributed among 400 respondents who were the adult customers from Colombo, Kandy, Kurunegala and Anuradhapura districts. From each district 100 respondents were selected on the basis of 50 were female, 50 were male. Two stage cluster sampling method was used as the sampling technique. Findings showed that a higher portion amon_g the interviewed customers give priority to the variables of dealer reputation, quality, price and rather than the brand. Among the rankings first priority has given to dealer reputation, second the quality, third the price and the brand was the last to concern. Based on the results it can be concluded that in today's business environment though there is a tend towards brand image regarding all most all the products still in the garments industry brand doesn't play such a role . First the buyer selects the dealer and then evaluates the garments in terms of quality and price but the brand is not much concern. Therefore an opportunity is there to garment producers to come up with brand image developing strategies to the existing ready to wear garments market.
Impact of Perceived Web Site Quality on Consumer Buying Intention: Online Retail Consumers in Colombo District
(Department of Marketing Management, University of Kelaniya, 2016) Wijethunga, K.D.S.K.; Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.
Main purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived web site quality of the online retailers on consumers purchase intention in Sri Lanka. Literature review identified five dimensions namely web site performance, access, sensation, and security and user interface information as web site quality dimensions. This study adopted quantitative research approach to test the relationship between the e-retailer’s site quality and purchase intention. Total of 175 respondents who are in Colombo district in Sri Lanka approached through convenient sampling method and questionnaire was developed to collect the data. Descriptive statistics followed by correlation analysis and regression analysis have been adopted to test the formulated hypothesis. Analysis shows the significant relationship between quality factors and purchase intention and finally regression analysis shows the significant impact of quality dimensions on purchase intention. However, this study limited to Colombo district and therefore generalization of the findings to the larger context has limitations.
Impact of self service technology quality on customer satisfaction: A case of retail banks in western province in Sri Lanka
(Gadjah Mada International Journal of Business, 2015) Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.; Kulathunga, D.; Perera, W.L.M.V.
Abstract: Rapid technological advancement in the banking environment drives Sri Lankan banks to adopt self-service technologies to deliver services via SMS banking, Internet banking and telephone banking facilities, Automated Teller Machines (ATM) etc. This study explored the perceived quality of the self-service technology of these services and its effect on customer satisfaction. The literature survey and in depth interviews helped to formulate quality dimensions: security, efficiency, eases of use, reliability and convenience and those dimensions were assessed through a questionnaire. This study surveyed 215 customers from branches of six dominating commercial banks located in Western Province of Sri Lanka. Data were subjected to Principal Component Analysis and retained factors were regressed using multiple regressions to assess the impact of quality dimensions on customer satisfaction. The results revealed that reliability and convenience have positive impacts on customer satisfaction but efficiency has a negative effect.
Impact of Website Quality on Purchase Intention in Online Retailing Environment in Sri Lanka: Perceived Trust as a Mediator.
(Department of Marketing Management, University of Kelaniya, 2016) Bambarawana, N.S.; Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.
Purpose of this paper is to investigate effects of website quality factors (Aesthetic appeal, Layout and functionality and financial security) on customer purchase intention towards an online retailers and mediating role of consumers’ trust in Sri Lanka. This study employed the quantitative research design to test the relationship between web site quality constructs and purchase intention and trust as a mediator. In order to test the relationships this study surveyed 200 local online shoppers who are in western province of Sri Lanka by adopting the convenient sample technique. Correlation analysis and mediated regression analysis adopted to test the relationship and impact of quality factors on purchase intention. The findings confirm that web site quality affects consumers’ trust and in turn consumer purchase intention. Notably, this study identified Layout and functionality as the most influential factors in building online customer trust. Furthermore, the study reveals that the mediation of trust is partial. Consequently, it is recommended that online retailers who wish to build website trust should focus primarily on enhancing the Layout and functionality of their websites in Sri Lankan context. Findings of this study should be interpreted in cautious manner due to the representation of sample.
Is Case Study Method an Effective Method of Teaching in Commerce & Management Degree Programmes?
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Shamil, M.M.M.; Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.
Case study method is one of the most adopted teaching methods used in management education. The case study method was initially adopted by the Harvard Law School and then by the School of Business Administration in the Harvard University. A case study describes a problem or a real life situation which requires learners to participate in a group discussion extensively to analyze the case study and derive solutions or make suggestion to the given problem. A review of literature shows that many factors influence the effective use of a case study. For the purpose of this study, these factors have been categorized as case study development process, teacher/instructor effectiveness, and learners' perception and preferences. Accordingly this research is to examine how effective is case study method as a teaching method in management programmes. Thus objectives of the study are to examine the use of case study, identify the perception of teachers/instructors and learners on the effectiveness of case study method. The sample comprises teachers/instructors and third and final year students of the Faculty of Commerce & Management Studies of the University ofKelaniya. Initially a focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with 18 third and final year students of the faculty. Based on literature and focus group discussion two questionnaires were developed to collect data from the responding sample units. Data were collected from 80 students of the faculty, 20 from each of the four respective departments and 12 academicians of the faculty. Descriptive statistics were used and hypotheses tests were conducted to identify the most significant variable that influences an effective use of case study method. Though learners accept that case study is an effective teaching method, variations in types and structures of the degree programs, lecturer/instructor, methodology, type of case study, affects differently the use and effectiveness of the case study method.
Perception of Generation Y towards Organic Foods in Sri Lanka: A Case of Individuals in Colombo District
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Fernando, K.G.N.; Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.
This study designed to understand the perception of Y generation towards organic foods available in the Sri Lankan environment. Mainly it explored the positive and negative beliefs and attitudes of Y generation towards organic food choices. Total of 20 depth interviews were carried out by selecting mix of male and female participants who have at least occasionally bought or consume organic foods and respondents who have never bought and consumer organic foods within last three months by applying convenient sampling technique to represent the Colombo district. Insights obtained from interviews were subjected to analysis with the help of software tools and revealed the attributes, consequence and values pertaining to the purchasing of organic foods. The key trigger for purchasing organic food have been attributed to expected health benefits and the respondents who have bought organic food products were inclined to have a higher educational level. The major barriers to purchasing organic food products were inadequate knowledge of consumers on organic foods and high price with limited availability. Hence enlightening consumers about exclusive traits of organic production methods, benefits that they can get from consuming organic foods and increasing availability of affordable are required to market the products. Nevertheless, this study was limited to Colombo district and hence it may not give a fair view about the researched topic with regards to the situation of the country as a whole.
Perception towards Organic Foods: A Qualitative Approach to Y Generation in Colombo Gampaha Districts in Sri Lanka
(Department of Marketing Management, University of Kelaniya, 2016) Fernando, K.G.N.; Gunawardana, H.M.R.S.S.
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the perception among young generation in Colombo and Gampaha district of Sri Lanka on organic foods. Mainly it explored the positive and negative beliefs and attitudes towards organic food choices, purchase behavior and consumption values. Total of 20 depth interviews were conducted among 20 males and females who have at least occasionally bought or consumed organic foods and respondents who have not bought and consumed organic foods within last three months by applying quota & snowball sampling techniques. The respondents were mainly chosen from Colombo and Gampaha districts representing A, B and C categories of Socio Economic Class. A means-end chain value map was then constructed showing attributes, consequences and values pertaining to purchasing of organic foods using Atlas.ti software. The key trigger for purchasing organic food products was “health benefits” and the major barriers which hinder purchasing organic foods were “consumers’ inadequate knowledge about organic foods”, the “high price” and the “limited availability”. Hence enlightening consumers about the exclusive traits of organic production methods, the benefits of consuming organic foods and increasing availability at affordable prices help to develop the market for organic food products. This study is limited to Colombo and Gampaha districts in western province in Sri Lanka and attention should be given on generalization of findings. Yet, this study fills the gaps in qualitative research environment of organic food consumption environment in Sri Lanka.