Browsing by Author "Ranaweera, H.R.A.T."

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Exploring the Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement on Sri Lankan Fashion Industry
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2021) Hewage, V.H.; Ranaweera, H.R.A.T.
Celebrity Endorsement (CE) strategy can be an effective competitive measure to differentiate a firm’s products from that of its competitors. However, there is a serious lack of prior research on assessing the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements on Sri Lankan fashion industry. Given this background, the current research seeks to explore the effectiveness of CE on the Sri Lankan fashion sector. Adopting a mixed research approach, both qualitative and quantitative data were used to fulfill this research aim. During the qualitative phase of this research in-depth interviews were conducted with six fashion retailers in Sri Lanka. The seven key themes emerged from the thematic analysis were celebrity endorsement in local fashion brands; choosing the right celebrity; increasing sales; celebrity advertising drawbacks; types of celebrities; overall brand strategy of CE and building a brand with a celebrity. The subsequent survey phase was devoted to gathering data from 85 local consumers. The analysis strongly suggested that celebrity endorsement indeed has an impact on the Sri Lankan fashion retail sector. Thus, this research contributes to the existing theoretical understanding of CE. From a practical point of view this research shows the effectiveness of CE on the Sri Lankan fashion industry, thereby suggesting that fashion marketers would benefit by the use of CE in their advertising and branding.
The Impact of Switching Barriers on Consumer Intention to Purchase Ecofriendly Products within Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Hewage, K.G.I.; Ranaweera, H.R.A.T.
The modern consumer is keener on eco lifestyle. Using the theoretical lens of the theory of planned behavior, this current research seeks to examine the impact of switching barriers on consumers’ intention to purchase eco-friendly products. The research adopts an explanatory quantitative approach followed by a survey conducted by a structured questionnaire with 200 consumers. Accordingly, we identified a positive relationship between the high price, poor quality, high cost of purchase, lack of green advertising, low quality of information, and negative social norms on consumers’ purchase intention of eco-friendly products. However, no significant relationship was identified between negative attitudes and purchase intention. Further consumers’ environmental knowledge was found to be affected as a moderator with poor quality, high cost of purchase, low quality of information, negative social norms but not with the high price, and lack of green advertising. The findings of the study will support future businesses, governments, and individuals to take action to identify the strategies by examining the purchase intention. As this current research was limited to a quantitative study with a limited number of variables future research, particularly with a large sample size can provide further insights.As per the Central bank report statistics (Central Bank Annual Report, 2021), MSMEs improve social well-being while promoting equal wealth distribution and have a significant impact on Sri Lanka's GDP. The growth of the MSME sector will open up numerous chances for people at all societal levels through generating employment prospects.
The Persuasive Power in Virtual Reality Advertising on YouTube
(, International Conference on Business and Information (ICBI – 2019), [Marketing Management], Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2019) Ranaweera, H.R.A.T.
Virtual Reality (VR) is a rapidly booming area of technological advancement. Despite, the evaluation in VR technology which gives rise to both opportunities as well as challenges, there is a severe lack of research exploring VR from a marketing perspective. Given this background, this preliminary study seeks to understand the persuasive power of VR advertising. The study adopts a qualitative content analysis of 1690 User Generated Content (UGC) corresponding to 10 digital advertisements created using VR technology. They were selected based on their popularity which was determined by the number of viewers. The content analysis revealed three major persuasive mechanisms applied in VR advertising: 1) Persuasion through immersive experience; 2) Persuasion as a function of people reflections about the content of a message and; 3) Persuasion through emotional engagement. This extant research adds to the emerging scholarship on the application of VR in marketing by identifying how persuasion mechanisms are applied in VR adverts.