Thilina Dk | University of Kelaniya (original) (raw)

Papers by Thilina Dk

The digital landscape in Sri Lanka is rapidly evolving and continues to present a range of opport... more The digital landscape in Sri Lanka is rapidly evolving and continues to present a range of opportunities for businesses and individuals since recent years. The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has placed a strong emphasis on expanding access to digital technology, with a focus on increasing connectivity and digital literacy. There are visible changes to the way people consume media and use the internet. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift toward digital communication and online commerce, and it is likely that this trend will continue in 2023. For businesses in Sri Lanka, the wider digital footprint presents a range of opportunities to connect with customers and expand their reach. The e-commerce sector is expected to continue to grow as more people turn to online shopping, and businesses that are able to adapt to this trend will be well-positioned to succeed. Overall, 2023 promises to be an exciting year for the digital landscape in Sri Lanka, with many opportunities for both consumers and businesses. Companies that can adapt to the changing digital landscape will be well-positioned for success. At the same time, policymakers and regulators will need to work to ensure that the internet remains open and accessible for all. The Asia Pacific Institute of Digital Marketing (APIDM) one of the leading digital skill training institutes in the region, publishes its 4th edition of the Digital Outlook Sri Lanka - the annual market insights report in collaboration with the Department of Marketing Management, the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, with the purpose of providing Marketing and business professionals with the latest data and important insights on rapidly evolving digital sector.

Sri Lanka Journal of Management

Facebook advertising has become one of the most used social media advertising platforms in the Sr... more Facebook advertising has become one of the most used social media advertising platforms in the Sri Lankan telecommunication industry. The industry is growing rapidly over the past decade of time and demand for telecommunication services has been enormously raised. In today's context, telecommunication service providers utilize Facebook advertising to accomplish specific marketing goals and objectives. Thus this study aims to interpret how Facebook advertising affects ebrand equity. Moreover, the researcher's secondary aim is to examine the moderate role of negative sentiments. This analysis was quantitative and structured questionnaires were used to obtain primary data from the sample. The study used the convenience sampling method, which comes under nonprobability sampling and three hundred thirty-three responses were collected from the western province which includes Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara districts. The data were analyzed using the software SPSS 25 to obtain descriptive statistics, comparing mean analysis and correlation analyses. The findings of the study revealed that Facebook advertising significantly impacted e-brand equity while negative sentiments significantly moderated the relationship between Facebook advertising and e-brand equity. Finally, the study contributes with several strategies for the telecommunication industry with their Facebook advertising practitioners in planning the advertising campaigns and improving the existing practices.

International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2022

The technological development of the transportation modes, non-fuel-based vehicle concept becomes... more The technological development of the transportation modes, non-fuel-based vehicle concept becomes the most challenging customer decision. Using internal combustion engines will cause damages to the environment by producing deleterious emissions and fossil fuels. The movement to alternative fuel vehicles (AEVs) as a sustainable transportation method supports reducing environmental issues. As it found the grey area in knowledge in Risk and benefits in the context of AEVs ,this study aimed to improve the current understanding of the risk-benefit relationship concerning intentions to adopt AFVs. This study is based on five dimensions of perceived values to measure the intention to adopt AFVs by associating perceived risk and consumer attitudes. The current investigation is based on 399 consumers, and the results depicted that quality, price, emotion, social, and ecological values greatly impact consumer attitudes towards AFVs. However, as a moderator, perceived risk impact only social and emotional values with consumer attitudes.

Sri Lanka Journal of Marketing, 2021

This concept paper aims to conceptualize internet banking adoption in the Sri Lankan context with... more This concept paper aims to conceptualize internet banking adoption in the Sri Lankan context with special reference to Undergraduates. Even though the rapid spread of technology has made the internet the best channel to provide banking services, it is explored in many studies that the internet adoption rate in Sri Lanka is at an inadequate level. This paper primarily focusses on millennial internet banking consumption, which is intended to study through a sample of Undergraduates in Sri Lanka. Although there are numerous studies carried out by different researchers on the internet banking context, the attention given to millennial internet banking behavior is insufficient. The review is based on the theoretical rationale based on the extension to Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), which mainly incorporates purchasing determinants (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, price value, habit, and facility conditions) and supportive empirical findings. A descriptive statistical review shows why Sri Lanka is considered a context to be examined while empirical evidence supports the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine factors that influence the adoption of internet banking.

Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though wi... more Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though with their decision-making process. However, social media has brought a new perspective to EWOM, enabling users to communicate with their existing network on the internet. As of social media, Facebook is the most prominent as it is the most engaging platform compared to the other social media platforms. As it is proven by the descriptive statistical review, Facebook word of mouth is found to be significant in the context of food and beverage. Hence, the current study has opted to find out the impact of EWOM on the Consumer Purchase Intention in the Fast-Food Industry among the Facebook users. Fast food industry being one of the most competitive industries in the world, indicates that even though there is a negative EWOM towards fast food, the industry sales have grown. Therefore, it can be argued that, there isn't any impact on the negative EWOM on the purchase intention of fast food which anyway contradicts to previous scholar's findings pertaining to EWOM. Hence this is a notable research area. The review is based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings, whilst empirical evidences are presented to support the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine how EWOM makes an impact on the purchase intention of the consumer in the context of the fast-food industry. As there was not a clear notion on the behavior of the EWOM created in the Facebook environment in shaping the purchase intention, this study would direct the researchers to conduct future studies with clear, theoretical and empirical rationale.

Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though wi... more Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though with their decision-making process. However, social media has brought a new perspective to EWOM, enabling users to communicate with their existing network on the internet. As of social media, Facebook is the most prominent as it is the most engaging platform compared to the other social media platforms. As it is proven by the descriptive statistical review, Facebook word of mouth is found to be significant in the context of food and beverage. Hence, the current study has opted to find out the impact of EWOM on the Consumer Purchase Intention in the Fast-Food Industry among the Facebook users. Fast food industry being one of the most competitive industries in the world, indicates that even though there is a negative EWOM towards fast food, the industry sales have grown. Therefore, it can be argued that, there isn't any impact on the negative EWOM on the purchase intention of fast food which anyway contradicts to previous scholar's findings pertaining to EWOM. Hence this is a notable research area. The review is based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings, whilst empirical evidences are presented to support the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine how EWOM makes an impact on the purchase intention of the consumer in the context of the fast-food industry. As there was not a clear notion on the behavior of the EWOM created in the Facebook environment in shaping the purchase intention, this study would direct the researchers to conduct future studies with clear, theoretical and empirical rationale.

Sri Lanka Journal of Marketing, 2021

The competition in the fashion retail industry is reaching new heights due to various demands of ... more The competition in the fashion retail industry is reaching new heights due to various demands of the fashion consumers. As per the significant growth in the fashion retailing sector, the marketers need to define the strategies to address their customer intentions. With the increase of ad blocking, shift from traditional media to online platforms and especially the rapid growth of the social networking sites (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter), fashion retailers have to align their social media strategies with the online and offline behavior of the consumers. This researcher study mainly focuses upon understanding the impact of social media influencers and the purchase intention among the consumers. Objectives of this study were to understand the effectiveness of social influence on consumer purchase intention for fashion related products, therefore this study has investigated main construct of Influencer Credibility and Information Quality of the content shared by these social influencers and their relationship with both Attitude towards reviews and Purchase Intention respectively. Finally, the researcher further investigates whether there is a mediating effect of Attitude towards reviews on the relationship between effectiveness of social influence and Purchase Intention. The study commences with a general overview into the subject of focus, followed by an in depth review of the literature on the main concepts Influencer Marketing, Purchase Intention and Attitude towards reviews. Based on the understanding of the literature and concepts with regard to the area of study, the conceptual frame work was derived.

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT, 2020

Brand Activation claimed to be a promotional tool use by organizations in order to induce their c... more Brand Activation claimed to be a promotional tool use by organizations in order to induce their customers towards the brand. Literature evidence proves brand activation as an experiential learning technique compels customers to retain brand-related information within the minds. The inconclusive literature on brand activation provides the platform further to investigate the area of brand activation with customer-driven concepts. The review enlightens the avenues of brand activation in advance, customer engagement use as the outcome variable with brand activation as the predictor variable. The study adopted the literature and case review as the methodology. The review identified that brand
activation is a manipulative factor on customer engagement, and customer loyalty is the final result of it.

International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2020

The internet and digital device usage has become an integral part of everyone's life and among th... more The internet and digital device usage has become an integral part of everyone's life and among them majority are young adults. Ease of access to digital devices, availability of the internet facilities and prominence given to Information Communication Technology in education system are the contributing factors towards this trend in Sri Lanka. Thus, this article explores the general profile of the young adults reflecting their practices towards the internet and digital device usage. In accordance with this aim, digital behaviour of young adults related to the internet consumption and digital media platforms usage such as frequency, time spent, type of content followed, viewed and subscribed etc. are illustrated. Subsequently, research findings reveal that the majority of the young adults who pursue either secondary or tertiary education, log on to digital media platforms in a daily basis by their smart phones (91%) through consuming personal mobile data (90%) and they log in to online platforms while travelling. Furthermore, the frequently accessed digital media platforms are Facebook (98%) and YouTube (93%) and mostly accessed in between 6-8 am and 6-10 pm. At the same time, this study discloses that youth's perception and conduct towards pre roll and pop-up advertisements are not satisfactory since they often skip pre roll advertisements and do not access information provided by the pop-up advertisements. KEY WORD:Digital behaviour, digital natives, social media, the internet usage, young adults

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT, 2020

Brand Activation claimed to be a promotional tool use by organizations in order to induce their c... more Brand Activation claimed to be a promotional tool use by organizations in order to induce their customers towards the brand. Literature evidence proves brand activation as an experiential learning technique compels customers to retain brand related information within the minds. The inconclusive literature on brand activation provides the platform further to investigate the area of brand activation with customer driven concepts. The review enlighten the avenues of brand activation in advance, customer engagement use as the outcome variable with brand activation as the predictor variable. The study adopted the literature and case review as the methodology. The review identified that brand
activation is as a manipulative factor on customer engagement, and customer loyalty is the final result of it.

Sri Lanka Journal of Marketing, 2019

The competition in the fashion retail industry of Sri Lanka is reaching new heights due to variou... more The competition in the fashion retail industry of Sri Lanka is reaching new heights due to various demands of the fashion consumers in Sri Lanka. As per the significant growth in the fashion retailing sector in Sri Lanka the marketers need to define the strategies to address their customer intentions. Especially with the rapid growth of the social networking sites especially Facebook in Sri Lanka, fashion retailers have to align their social media strategies with the online behavior of the consumers. This is study; mainly focused to understand the influence of Facebook fashion retailers' brand page and purchase intention among the Sri Lankan Face book users. Objectives of this research were to understand the influence of engaging on Facebook brand page on purchase intention for fashion retail in Sri Lanka, therefore the researcher has investigated main construct of Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) of the Facebook brand page and their relationship with both Attitude towards Brand (ATB) and Purchase Intention respectively. Finally, to see whether there is a mediating effect of Attitude towards Brand on the relationship between PU and Purchase Intention and PEOU and Purchase Intension respectively. The review is based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings. A descriptive statistical review is presented to reasoning why fashion industry is considered as a context to be examined whilst empirical evidences are presented to support the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine how Facebook Brand Page make an influence on Consumer Purchase Intention.

Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2019

The purpose of this study to identify the influence of user generated content on purchase intenti... more The purpose of this study to identify the influence of user generated content on purchase intention of automobiles in Sri Lanka. The said study is based on the theory of Uses and Gratification and supportive findings. This study has been addressed the survey type research method and structured questionnaire was used to collect data and utilize sample frame of automobile followers on Facebook. Measuring the influence of user generated content on purchase intention through developed hypotheses. Researchers have used analysis technique of descriptive analysis, regression, and frequency test where statistical package for social science (SPSS) was used as the main analytical software. The results of the study discuss the main eight element affect the purchase intention of automobiles, but the two elements not strongly affect the purchase intention which were namely, homophily and trust. These two elements have weak relationship with the purchase intention. Mainly consumer resonance mediating the user generated characteristics to purchase intention of automobiles. Hence this study has been significantly contributing to the existing knowledge explaining the need, motivation (users and gratification)-consumer resonance-intention linkage in customer behaviour.

International Journal of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, 2019

Electric cars will be the future of the transportation industry as it records a significant marke... more Electric cars will be the future of the transportation industry as it records a significant market penetration including Sri Lanka. The purchasing mechanism drives customers to make purchasing decisions is a critical notion to investigate since it engages a multi connected matters. Accordingly, this study reviews how perceived risk factor influences purchase intention referring to Electric Vehicles in Sri Lanka. The said review based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings. A descriptive statistical review presented to signify why Sri Lanka considered as a context to be examined whilst empirical evidences were presented to support the arguments. Paper concludes research propositions to examine how perceived risk influences the purchasing mechanism of Electric Vehicles whilst buying intention referred as a main notion within.

Sri Lankan Journal or Management, 2019

The diffusion of AFV’s is comparatively high in Sri Lanka, even though the uncertainties and nega... more The diffusion of AFV’s is comparatively high in Sri Lanka, even though the uncertainties and negative consequences of owning them are perceived to be high. This contradicts the theory of perceived risk which postulates that when customers perceive the negative consequences of purchasing, goal driven purchase intention should weaken. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of perceived risk on the relationships between key purchasing determinants and purchase intention of alternative fuel vehicles in Sri Lanka. This study examines this unexpected local consumer behaviour through the lens of the Theory of Perceived Risk and the study employed structured questionnaires to gather primary data from the sample utilizing a convenience sampling technique. It employed two-step Partial Least Squares (PLS)-Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the data, and the analysis revealed that performance expectancy facilitating conditions (FC) are the key determinants of the purchase intention of AFV customers in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, perceived risk was found to moderate the relationships between these determinants and the purchase intention of customers who plan to invest in AFVs.

Keywords: Alternative fuel vehicles, Perceived risk, Purchase intention,
UTAUT. PLS.

According to Researchers knowledge this is the first research on purchase intentions of Hybrid V... more According to Researchers knowledge this is the first research on purchase intentions
of Hybrid Vehicles in Sri Lanka. This research has been done to determine the purchaseintention of Hybrid Vehicles in Sri Lanka. This research article focuses mainly ondetermining the links between customer’s environmental attitudes, subjective norms, price perception, preferences, knowledge, perceived risk, intentions as well as expectations of thecustomers given to the environment while buying a hybrid vehicle. The research survey questionnaires were developed to get information for eachand every aspect mentioned in the objectives. To go deep in to the study areas researcher referredsecondary data sources such as other research studies that were done in Tokyo Japan andIndia. The data for the present work has been collected personally by the researcher aswell as helps has been taken from others in getting structured non- disguisedquestionnaire filled properly. By using the snowball sampling, 200 surveyquestioners were distributed and 150 useable responses weretaken in to this research. All the responses were collected online and taken them to onedata base for the purpose of analyzing. For this study, respondents who were identified as “being in the market” and other potential respondents who intended to purchase cars in thenear future. After the analysis has been done researcher has identified the impact of predetermined variables over buying intention of Hybrids vehicles in Sri Lanka. As per the results, researcher has also come up with the managerial implications of the study and recommendations.

Keywords: Customer Buying Behaviour, Purchase Intention, Consumer Buying Decision Making, Information Sources, Social Influence

Thesis Chapters by Thilina Dk

According to Researchers knowledge this is the first research on purchase intentions of Hybrid Ve... more According to Researchers knowledge this is the first research on purchase intentions of Hybrid Vehicles in
Sri Lanka. This research has been done to determine the purchase intention of Hybrid Vehicles in Sri Lanka.
This research article focuses mainly on determining the links between customer’s environmental attitudes,
subjective norms, price perception, preferences, knowledge, perceived risk, intentions as well as expectations
of the customers given to the environment while buying a hybrid vehicle. The research survey questionnaires
were developed to get information for each and every aspect mentioned in the objectives. To go deep in to
the study areas researcher referred secondary data sources such as other research studies that were done in
Tokyo Japan and India. The data for the present work has been collected personally by the researcher as well
as helps has been taken from others in getting structured non- disguised questionnaire filled properly. By
using the snowball sampling, 200 survey questioners were distributed and 150 useable responses were taken
in to this research. All the responses were collected online and taken them to one data base for the purpose
of analyzing. For this study, respondents who were identified as “being in the market” and other potential
respondents who intended to purchase cars in the near future. After the analysis has been done researcher
has identified the impact of predetermined variables over buying intention of Hybrids vehicles in Sri Lanka.
As per the results, researcher has also come up with the managerial implications of the study and
recommendations.

Conference Presentations by Thilina Dk

International Conference on Business and Information (ICBI) 2020, 2020

Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though wi... more Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though with their decision-making process. However, social media has brought a new perspective to EWOM, enabling users to communicate with their existing network on the internet. As of social media, Facebook is the most prominent as it is the most engaging platform compared to the other social media platforms. As it is proven by the descriptive statistical review, Facebook word of mouth is found to be significant in the context of food and beverage. Hence, the current study has opted to find out the impact of EWOM on the Consumer Purchase Intention in the Fast-Food Industry among the Facebook users. Fast food industry being one of the most competitive industries in the world, indicates that even though there is a negative EWOM towards fast food, the industry sales have grown. Therefore, it can be argued that, there isn't any impact on the negative EWOM on the purchase intention of fast food which anyway contradicts to previous scholar's findings pertaining to EWOM. Hence this is a notable research area. The review is based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings, whilst empirical evidences are presented to support the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine how EWOM makes an impact on the purchase intention of the consumer in the context of the fast-food industry. As there was not a clear notion on the behavior of the EWOM created in the Facebook environment in shaping the purchase intention, this study would direct the researchers to conduct future studies with clear, theoretical and empirical rationale.

International Conference on Business and Information , 2015

In Sri Lanka, when concentrating on previous researches on the supermarket environment, the main ... more In Sri Lanka, when concentrating on previous researches on the supermarket environment, the main focus has gone towards how far the customer service has affected customer satisfaction or customer loyalty. However, other than the service quality there are so many areas to be looked at on the supermarket environment. There has been no such research conducted to study how physical evidences are made an impact on consumer behavior in supermarket environment. In Sri Lanka Therefore, there is a gap on identifying variables, which affect consumer behavior other than the service quality in Sri Lankan supermarkets. The consumer mind is changing from time to time but it is questionable whether that change is captured by retailers when designing their strategies. The overall study focused on whether there is an impact on the physical evidence used in supermarkets towards achieving customer store loyalty. This survey has covered the five major supermarkets in Sri Lanka. The sample consists of 100 customers who are doing shopping at the supermarket. To carry out the research there were four physical evidence elements selected such as layout, signage, lighting, and signboards of supermarkets. Through the research findings, there are several aspects of the customer store loyalty was revealed. One of those is present context customers are moving from general trade to modern just because of the opportunity that they getting to compare prices of the goods, quality, and specifications of each product unlike in the general trade shopping. The next reason is most of the people love to have family shopping, especially in supermarkets. Nowadays this has become a new trend in supermarkets.

In Sri Lanka, when concentrating on previous researches on supermarket environment, the main focu... more In Sri Lanka, when concentrating on previous researches on supermarket environment, the main focus has gone towards how far the customer service has affected on customer satisfaction or customer loyalty. However, other than the service quality there are so many areas to be looked at on the super market environment. There has been no such research conducted to study how physical evidences are made an impact on consumer behavior in super market environment. Therefore, there is a gap on identifying variables, which affect on consumer behavior other than the service quality in Sri Lankan supermarkets. Consumer mind is changing time to time but it is questionable whether that change is captured by retailers when designing their strategies. The overall study focused on whether there is an impact on the physical evidence used in supermarkets towards achieving customer store loyalty. This survey has covered the five major supermarkets in Sri Lanka. The sample is consisted of 100 customers those who are doing shopping at supermarket. To carry out the research there were four physical evidence elements selected such as layout, signage, lighting and signboards of supermarkets.
Through the research findings there are several aspects of the customer store loyalty was revealed. One of those is present context customers are moving from general trade to modern just because of the opportunity that they getting to compare prices of the goods, quality and specifications of each products unlike in the general trade shopping. The next reason is most of the people love to have family shopping specially in supermarkets. Nowadays this has become a new trend in supermarkets.

Talks by Thilina Dk

Digital Oultlook 2022, 2022

The Sri Lankan Digital Ecosystem continues to evolve at a rapid pace. According to the Informatio... more The Sri Lankan Digital Ecosystem continues to evolve at a rapid pace. According to the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka & United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Sri Lanka’s Digital Economy has reached 4.37% of GDP by giving some clear signs of Digitally driven societies island wide. Even though the Covid-19 Pandemic unleashed waves of disruptions at the global level, we have approached the two-year mark while being more optimistic in the middle of the pandemic by investing more in Digital Technolgies to enhance connectivity access to trade finance across the country. With the global digital transformation, significant shifts have occurred in consumer behaviour around the world. The pandemic has enormously changed consumer behaviour, and these new behavioural trends are more likely to stay forever. Businesses have started integrating digital technologies into all areas of their business operations to ensure that their value delivery process meets the newest needs of their customers.

The digital landscape in Sri Lanka is rapidly evolving and continues to present a range of opport... more The digital landscape in Sri Lanka is rapidly evolving and continues to present a range of opportunities for businesses and individuals since recent years. The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has placed a strong emphasis on expanding access to digital technology, with a focus on increasing connectivity and digital literacy. There are visible changes to the way people consume media and use the internet. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift toward digital communication and online commerce, and it is likely that this trend will continue in 2023. For businesses in Sri Lanka, the wider digital footprint presents a range of opportunities to connect with customers and expand their reach. The e-commerce sector is expected to continue to grow as more people turn to online shopping, and businesses that are able to adapt to this trend will be well-positioned to succeed. Overall, 2023 promises to be an exciting year for the digital landscape in Sri Lanka, with many opportunities for both consumers and businesses. Companies that can adapt to the changing digital landscape will be well-positioned for success. At the same time, policymakers and regulators will need to work to ensure that the internet remains open and accessible for all. The Asia Pacific Institute of Digital Marketing (APIDM) one of the leading digital skill training institutes in the region, publishes its 4th edition of the Digital Outlook Sri Lanka - the annual market insights report in collaboration with the Department of Marketing Management, the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, with the purpose of providing Marketing and business professionals with the latest data and important insights on rapidly evolving digital sector.

Sri Lanka Journal of Management

Facebook advertising has become one of the most used social media advertising platforms in the Sr... more Facebook advertising has become one of the most used social media advertising platforms in the Sri Lankan telecommunication industry. The industry is growing rapidly over the past decade of time and demand for telecommunication services has been enormously raised. In today's context, telecommunication service providers utilize Facebook advertising to accomplish specific marketing goals and objectives. Thus this study aims to interpret how Facebook advertising affects ebrand equity. Moreover, the researcher's secondary aim is to examine the moderate role of negative sentiments. This analysis was quantitative and structured questionnaires were used to obtain primary data from the sample. The study used the convenience sampling method, which comes under nonprobability sampling and three hundred thirty-three responses were collected from the western province which includes Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara districts. The data were analyzed using the software SPSS 25 to obtain descriptive statistics, comparing mean analysis and correlation analyses. The findings of the study revealed that Facebook advertising significantly impacted e-brand equity while negative sentiments significantly moderated the relationship between Facebook advertising and e-brand equity. Finally, the study contributes with several strategies for the telecommunication industry with their Facebook advertising practitioners in planning the advertising campaigns and improving the existing practices.

International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2022

The technological development of the transportation modes, non-fuel-based vehicle concept becomes... more The technological development of the transportation modes, non-fuel-based vehicle concept becomes the most challenging customer decision. Using internal combustion engines will cause damages to the environment by producing deleterious emissions and fossil fuels. The movement to alternative fuel vehicles (AEVs) as a sustainable transportation method supports reducing environmental issues. As it found the grey area in knowledge in Risk and benefits in the context of AEVs ,this study aimed to improve the current understanding of the risk-benefit relationship concerning intentions to adopt AFVs. This study is based on five dimensions of perceived values to measure the intention to adopt AFVs by associating perceived risk and consumer attitudes. The current investigation is based on 399 consumers, and the results depicted that quality, price, emotion, social, and ecological values greatly impact consumer attitudes towards AFVs. However, as a moderator, perceived risk impact only social and emotional values with consumer attitudes.

Sri Lanka Journal of Marketing, 2021

This concept paper aims to conceptualize internet banking adoption in the Sri Lankan context with... more This concept paper aims to conceptualize internet banking adoption in the Sri Lankan context with special reference to Undergraduates. Even though the rapid spread of technology has made the internet the best channel to provide banking services, it is explored in many studies that the internet adoption rate in Sri Lanka is at an inadequate level. This paper primarily focusses on millennial internet banking consumption, which is intended to study through a sample of Undergraduates in Sri Lanka. Although there are numerous studies carried out by different researchers on the internet banking context, the attention given to millennial internet banking behavior is insufficient. The review is based on the theoretical rationale based on the extension to Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), which mainly incorporates purchasing determinants (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, price value, habit, and facility conditions) and supportive empirical findings. A descriptive statistical review shows why Sri Lanka is considered a context to be examined while empirical evidence supports the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine factors that influence the adoption of internet banking.

Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though wi... more Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though with their decision-making process. However, social media has brought a new perspective to EWOM, enabling users to communicate with their existing network on the internet. As of social media, Facebook is the most prominent as it is the most engaging platform compared to the other social media platforms. As it is proven by the descriptive statistical review, Facebook word of mouth is found to be significant in the context of food and beverage. Hence, the current study has opted to find out the impact of EWOM on the Consumer Purchase Intention in the Fast-Food Industry among the Facebook users. Fast food industry being one of the most competitive industries in the world, indicates that even though there is a negative EWOM towards fast food, the industry sales have grown. Therefore, it can be argued that, there isn't any impact on the negative EWOM on the purchase intention of fast food which anyway contradicts to previous scholar's findings pertaining to EWOM. Hence this is a notable research area. The review is based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings, whilst empirical evidences are presented to support the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine how EWOM makes an impact on the purchase intention of the consumer in the context of the fast-food industry. As there was not a clear notion on the behavior of the EWOM created in the Facebook environment in shaping the purchase intention, this study would direct the researchers to conduct future studies with clear, theoretical and empirical rationale.

Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though wi... more Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though with their decision-making process. However, social media has brought a new perspective to EWOM, enabling users to communicate with their existing network on the internet. As of social media, Facebook is the most prominent as it is the most engaging platform compared to the other social media platforms. As it is proven by the descriptive statistical review, Facebook word of mouth is found to be significant in the context of food and beverage. Hence, the current study has opted to find out the impact of EWOM on the Consumer Purchase Intention in the Fast-Food Industry among the Facebook users. Fast food industry being one of the most competitive industries in the world, indicates that even though there is a negative EWOM towards fast food, the industry sales have grown. Therefore, it can be argued that, there isn't any impact on the negative EWOM on the purchase intention of fast food which anyway contradicts to previous scholar's findings pertaining to EWOM. Hence this is a notable research area. The review is based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings, whilst empirical evidences are presented to support the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine how EWOM makes an impact on the purchase intention of the consumer in the context of the fast-food industry. As there was not a clear notion on the behavior of the EWOM created in the Facebook environment in shaping the purchase intention, this study would direct the researchers to conduct future studies with clear, theoretical and empirical rationale.

Sri Lanka Journal of Marketing, 2021

The competition in the fashion retail industry is reaching new heights due to various demands of ... more The competition in the fashion retail industry is reaching new heights due to various demands of the fashion consumers. As per the significant growth in the fashion retailing sector, the marketers need to define the strategies to address their customer intentions. With the increase of ad blocking, shift from traditional media to online platforms and especially the rapid growth of the social networking sites (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter), fashion retailers have to align their social media strategies with the online and offline behavior of the consumers. This researcher study mainly focuses upon understanding the impact of social media influencers and the purchase intention among the consumers. Objectives of this study were to understand the effectiveness of social influence on consumer purchase intention for fashion related products, therefore this study has investigated main construct of Influencer Credibility and Information Quality of the content shared by these social influencers and their relationship with both Attitude towards reviews and Purchase Intention respectively. Finally, the researcher further investigates whether there is a mediating effect of Attitude towards reviews on the relationship between effectiveness of social influence and Purchase Intention. The study commences with a general overview into the subject of focus, followed by an in depth review of the literature on the main concepts Influencer Marketing, Purchase Intention and Attitude towards reviews. Based on the understanding of the literature and concepts with regard to the area of study, the conceptual frame work was derived.

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT, 2020

Brand Activation claimed to be a promotional tool use by organizations in order to induce their c... more Brand Activation claimed to be a promotional tool use by organizations in order to induce their customers towards the brand. Literature evidence proves brand activation as an experiential learning technique compels customers to retain brand-related information within the minds. The inconclusive literature on brand activation provides the platform further to investigate the area of brand activation with customer-driven concepts. The review enlightens the avenues of brand activation in advance, customer engagement use as the outcome variable with brand activation as the predictor variable. The study adopted the literature and case review as the methodology. The review identified that brand
activation is a manipulative factor on customer engagement, and customer loyalty is the final result of it.

International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2020

The internet and digital device usage has become an integral part of everyone's life and among th... more The internet and digital device usage has become an integral part of everyone's life and among them majority are young adults. Ease of access to digital devices, availability of the internet facilities and prominence given to Information Communication Technology in education system are the contributing factors towards this trend in Sri Lanka. Thus, this article explores the general profile of the young adults reflecting their practices towards the internet and digital device usage. In accordance with this aim, digital behaviour of young adults related to the internet consumption and digital media platforms usage such as frequency, time spent, type of content followed, viewed and subscribed etc. are illustrated. Subsequently, research findings reveal that the majority of the young adults who pursue either secondary or tertiary education, log on to digital media platforms in a daily basis by their smart phones (91%) through consuming personal mobile data (90%) and they log in to online platforms while travelling. Furthermore, the frequently accessed digital media platforms are Facebook (98%) and YouTube (93%) and mostly accessed in between 6-8 am and 6-10 pm. At the same time, this study discloses that youth's perception and conduct towards pre roll and pop-up advertisements are not satisfactory since they often skip pre roll advertisements and do not access information provided by the pop-up advertisements. KEY WORD:Digital behaviour, digital natives, social media, the internet usage, young adults

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT, 2020

Brand Activation claimed to be a promotional tool use by organizations in order to induce their c... more Brand Activation claimed to be a promotional tool use by organizations in order to induce their customers towards the brand. Literature evidence proves brand activation as an experiential learning technique compels customers to retain brand related information within the minds. The inconclusive literature on brand activation provides the platform further to investigate the area of brand activation with customer driven concepts. The review enlighten the avenues of brand activation in advance, customer engagement use as the outcome variable with brand activation as the predictor variable. The study adopted the literature and case review as the methodology. The review identified that brand
activation is as a manipulative factor on customer engagement, and customer loyalty is the final result of it.

Sri Lanka Journal of Marketing, 2019

The competition in the fashion retail industry of Sri Lanka is reaching new heights due to variou... more The competition in the fashion retail industry of Sri Lanka is reaching new heights due to various demands of the fashion consumers in Sri Lanka. As per the significant growth in the fashion retailing sector in Sri Lanka the marketers need to define the strategies to address their customer intentions. Especially with the rapid growth of the social networking sites especially Facebook in Sri Lanka, fashion retailers have to align their social media strategies with the online behavior of the consumers. This is study; mainly focused to understand the influence of Facebook fashion retailers' brand page and purchase intention among the Sri Lankan Face book users. Objectives of this research were to understand the influence of engaging on Facebook brand page on purchase intention for fashion retail in Sri Lanka, therefore the researcher has investigated main construct of Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) of the Facebook brand page and their relationship with both Attitude towards Brand (ATB) and Purchase Intention respectively. Finally, to see whether there is a mediating effect of Attitude towards Brand on the relationship between PU and Purchase Intention and PEOU and Purchase Intension respectively. The review is based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings. A descriptive statistical review is presented to reasoning why fashion industry is considered as a context to be examined whilst empirical evidences are presented to support the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine how Facebook Brand Page make an influence on Consumer Purchase Intention.

Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2019

The purpose of this study to identify the influence of user generated content on purchase intenti... more The purpose of this study to identify the influence of user generated content on purchase intention of automobiles in Sri Lanka. The said study is based on the theory of Uses and Gratification and supportive findings. This study has been addressed the survey type research method and structured questionnaire was used to collect data and utilize sample frame of automobile followers on Facebook. Measuring the influence of user generated content on purchase intention through developed hypotheses. Researchers have used analysis technique of descriptive analysis, regression, and frequency test where statistical package for social science (SPSS) was used as the main analytical software. The results of the study discuss the main eight element affect the purchase intention of automobiles, but the two elements not strongly affect the purchase intention which were namely, homophily and trust. These two elements have weak relationship with the purchase intention. Mainly consumer resonance mediating the user generated characteristics to purchase intention of automobiles. Hence this study has been significantly contributing to the existing knowledge explaining the need, motivation (users and gratification)-consumer resonance-intention linkage in customer behaviour.

International Journal of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, 2019

Electric cars will be the future of the transportation industry as it records a significant marke... more Electric cars will be the future of the transportation industry as it records a significant market penetration including Sri Lanka. The purchasing mechanism drives customers to make purchasing decisions is a critical notion to investigate since it engages a multi connected matters. Accordingly, this study reviews how perceived risk factor influences purchase intention referring to Electric Vehicles in Sri Lanka. The said review based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings. A descriptive statistical review presented to signify why Sri Lanka considered as a context to be examined whilst empirical evidences were presented to support the arguments. Paper concludes research propositions to examine how perceived risk influences the purchasing mechanism of Electric Vehicles whilst buying intention referred as a main notion within.

Sri Lankan Journal or Management, 2019

The diffusion of AFV’s is comparatively high in Sri Lanka, even though the uncertainties and nega... more The diffusion of AFV’s is comparatively high in Sri Lanka, even though the uncertainties and negative consequences of owning them are perceived to be high. This contradicts the theory of perceived risk which postulates that when customers perceive the negative consequences of purchasing, goal driven purchase intention should weaken. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of perceived risk on the relationships between key purchasing determinants and purchase intention of alternative fuel vehicles in Sri Lanka. This study examines this unexpected local consumer behaviour through the lens of the Theory of Perceived Risk and the study employed structured questionnaires to gather primary data from the sample utilizing a convenience sampling technique. It employed two-step Partial Least Squares (PLS)-Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the data, and the analysis revealed that performance expectancy facilitating conditions (FC) are the key determinants of the purchase intention of AFV customers in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, perceived risk was found to moderate the relationships between these determinants and the purchase intention of customers who plan to invest in AFVs.

Keywords: Alternative fuel vehicles, Perceived risk, Purchase intention,
UTAUT. PLS.

According to Researchers knowledge this is the first research on purchase intentions of Hybrid V... more According to Researchers knowledge this is the first research on purchase intentions
of Hybrid Vehicles in Sri Lanka. This research has been done to determine the purchaseintention of Hybrid Vehicles in Sri Lanka. This research article focuses mainly ondetermining the links between customer’s environmental attitudes, subjective norms, price perception, preferences, knowledge, perceived risk, intentions as well as expectations of thecustomers given to the environment while buying a hybrid vehicle. The research survey questionnaires were developed to get information for eachand every aspect mentioned in the objectives. To go deep in to the study areas researcher referredsecondary data sources such as other research studies that were done in Tokyo Japan andIndia. The data for the present work has been collected personally by the researcher aswell as helps has been taken from others in getting structured non- disguisedquestionnaire filled properly. By using the snowball sampling, 200 surveyquestioners were distributed and 150 useable responses weretaken in to this research. All the responses were collected online and taken them to onedata base for the purpose of analyzing. For this study, respondents who were identified as “being in the market” and other potential respondents who intended to purchase cars in thenear future. After the analysis has been done researcher has identified the impact of predetermined variables over buying intention of Hybrids vehicles in Sri Lanka. As per the results, researcher has also come up with the managerial implications of the study and recommendations.

Keywords: Customer Buying Behaviour, Purchase Intention, Consumer Buying Decision Making, Information Sources, Social Influence

According to Researchers knowledge this is the first research on purchase intentions of Hybrid Ve... more According to Researchers knowledge this is the first research on purchase intentions of Hybrid Vehicles in
Sri Lanka. This research has been done to determine the purchase intention of Hybrid Vehicles in Sri Lanka.
This research article focuses mainly on determining the links between customer’s environmental attitudes,
subjective norms, price perception, preferences, knowledge, perceived risk, intentions as well as expectations
of the customers given to the environment while buying a hybrid vehicle. The research survey questionnaires
were developed to get information for each and every aspect mentioned in the objectives. To go deep in to
the study areas researcher referred secondary data sources such as other research studies that were done in
Tokyo Japan and India. The data for the present work has been collected personally by the researcher as well
as helps has been taken from others in getting structured non- disguised questionnaire filled properly. By
using the snowball sampling, 200 survey questioners were distributed and 150 useable responses were taken
in to this research. All the responses were collected online and taken them to one data base for the purpose
of analyzing. For this study, respondents who were identified as “being in the market” and other potential
respondents who intended to purchase cars in the near future. After the analysis has been done researcher
has identified the impact of predetermined variables over buying intention of Hybrids vehicles in Sri Lanka.
As per the results, researcher has also come up with the managerial implications of the study and
recommendations.

International Conference on Business and Information (ICBI) 2020, 2020

Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though wi... more Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though with their decision-making process. However, social media has brought a new perspective to EWOM, enabling users to communicate with their existing network on the internet. As of social media, Facebook is the most prominent as it is the most engaging platform compared to the other social media platforms. As it is proven by the descriptive statistical review, Facebook word of mouth is found to be significant in the context of food and beverage. Hence, the current study has opted to find out the impact of EWOM on the Consumer Purchase Intention in the Fast-Food Industry among the Facebook users. Fast food industry being one of the most competitive industries in the world, indicates that even though there is a negative EWOM towards fast food, the industry sales have grown. Therefore, it can be argued that, there isn't any impact on the negative EWOM on the purchase intention of fast food which anyway contradicts to previous scholar's findings pertaining to EWOM. Hence this is a notable research area. The review is based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings, whilst empirical evidences are presented to support the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine how EWOM makes an impact on the purchase intention of the consumer in the context of the fast-food industry. As there was not a clear notion on the behavior of the EWOM created in the Facebook environment in shaping the purchase intention, this study would direct the researchers to conduct future studies with clear, theoretical and empirical rationale.

International Conference on Business and Information , 2015

In Sri Lanka, when concentrating on previous researches on the supermarket environment, the main ... more In Sri Lanka, when concentrating on previous researches on the supermarket environment, the main focus has gone towards how far the customer service has affected customer satisfaction or customer loyalty. However, other than the service quality there are so many areas to be looked at on the supermarket environment. There has been no such research conducted to study how physical evidences are made an impact on consumer behavior in supermarket environment. In Sri Lanka Therefore, there is a gap on identifying variables, which affect consumer behavior other than the service quality in Sri Lankan supermarkets. The consumer mind is changing from time to time but it is questionable whether that change is captured by retailers when designing their strategies. The overall study focused on whether there is an impact on the physical evidence used in supermarkets towards achieving customer store loyalty. This survey has covered the five major supermarkets in Sri Lanka. The sample consists of 100 customers who are doing shopping at the supermarket. To carry out the research there were four physical evidence elements selected such as layout, signage, lighting, and signboards of supermarkets. Through the research findings, there are several aspects of the customer store loyalty was revealed. One of those is present context customers are moving from general trade to modern just because of the opportunity that they getting to compare prices of the goods, quality, and specifications of each product unlike in the general trade shopping. The next reason is most of the people love to have family shopping, especially in supermarkets. Nowadays this has become a new trend in supermarkets.

In Sri Lanka, when concentrating on previous researches on supermarket environment, the main focu... more In Sri Lanka, when concentrating on previous researches on supermarket environment, the main focus has gone towards how far the customer service has affected on customer satisfaction or customer loyalty. However, other than the service quality there are so many areas to be looked at on the super market environment. There has been no such research conducted to study how physical evidences are made an impact on consumer behavior in super market environment. Therefore, there is a gap on identifying variables, which affect on consumer behavior other than the service quality in Sri Lankan supermarkets. Consumer mind is changing time to time but it is questionable whether that change is captured by retailers when designing their strategies. The overall study focused on whether there is an impact on the physical evidence used in supermarkets towards achieving customer store loyalty. This survey has covered the five major supermarkets in Sri Lanka. The sample is consisted of 100 customers those who are doing shopping at supermarket. To carry out the research there were four physical evidence elements selected such as layout, signage, lighting and signboards of supermarkets.
Through the research findings there are several aspects of the customer store loyalty was revealed. One of those is present context customers are moving from general trade to modern just because of the opportunity that they getting to compare prices of the goods, quality and specifications of each products unlike in the general trade shopping. The next reason is most of the people love to have family shopping specially in supermarkets. Nowadays this has become a new trend in supermarkets.

Digital Oultlook 2022, 2022

The Sri Lankan Digital Ecosystem continues to evolve at a rapid pace. According to the Informatio... more The Sri Lankan Digital Ecosystem continues to evolve at a rapid pace. According to the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka & United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Sri Lanka’s Digital Economy has reached 4.37% of GDP by giving some clear signs of Digitally driven societies island wide. Even though the Covid-19 Pandemic unleashed waves of disruptions at the global level, we have approached the two-year mark while being more optimistic in the middle of the pandemic by investing more in Digital Technolgies to enhance connectivity access to trade finance across the country. With the global digital transformation, significant shifts have occurred in consumer behaviour around the world. The pandemic has enormously changed consumer behaviour, and these new behavioural trends are more likely to stay forever. Businesses have started integrating digital technologies into all areas of their business operations to ensure that their value delivery process meets the newest needs of their customers.