Browsing by Author "Peter, P.L.S."

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An investigation of dividend policy behavior and information content of dividends in selected countries
(2006) Peter, P.L.S.; Bamunuarachchi, G.K.
Any company that essentially exists with the objective of maximizing the wealth of its shareholders is faced with the choice of either paying dividends now or reinvest now to pay later. This choice forms the background for the dividend policy decision that defines the time pattern of dividend payout.Numerous theoretical and empirical publications have kept dividend policy in its prominent status in corporate finance literature. Studies on dividend policy have been applied on companies listed in stock markets of both developed and developing countries.Employing meta-analysis that combines the results of several studies conducted on capital markets of a selected sample of countries, this paper analyses the dividend policy behavior of countries around the world in terms of dividend policy stability and the information content of dividend announcements. The paper concludes that the state of development of the country does have an impact on the dividend policy stability as companies in more matured markets in developed countries tend to maintain dividend stability although companies in emerging markets of developing countries have been unable to do so. On the other hand with respect to information content of dividend announcements it is evident that dividends have significant information content in all share markets and that on average all markets react negatively to surprise decreases in dividends which is more than proportionate to the positive reaction to surprise increases in dividends. Further it can be concluded that emerging markets take considerable time to fully incorporate information contained in dividend announcements while in mature markets it is less so. Mature markets tend to be more inline with the market efficiency hypothesis with respect to dividend announcements. As future research an investigation of dividend policy behavior and information content of dividends in a Sri Lankan context is to be conducted.
Determinant of Factors affecting Customer Satisfaction: Case of the Logistics Industry in Sri Lanka
(IEOM Society International, 2021) Egodawela, S. M. D. T. K.; Wijayanayake, A.N.; Peter, P.L.S.
Sri Lanka is a key transshipment hub on the important East-West trade route. In terms of logistics performance, Sri Lanka ranked 94ft out of 167 countries according to the World Bank's Logistics Performance tndicator (LPI) for 2018. If Sri Lanka is to exploit and leverage its positioning to its fullest potential, then it is imperative that the country must improve on its overall positioning in the index, by being competitive, improving on efficiency and being sensitive to customer needs, Improving customer satisfaction is crucial for business sustainability, and importantly act as a deterrent to prevent customer switching. Although previous research has captured the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality through a combination of the SERVQUAL (Service Quality) or SERVPERF (Service Performance) model, there are other controllable factors that can influence this relationship. The study examines from both a service as well as the performance perspectives and incorporates other controllable factors that influence customer satisfaction. The study is based on the third-party logistics (3PL) industry in Sri Lanka.It considered all the important influencing factors and their relationships with each other in a systematic review process and was supplemented by reviews from industry experts and data inputs from 3PL customers. It was found that customer handling, tech initiation, competitive prices, and flexibility, have a significance impact over the all the dependent variables (Customer Loyalty, Switching Behavior, Customer Complaints). The results could be used by the service providers, to realign their offerings to suit the demands of its customers and help the country become a logistics hub for the region.
Dividend policy determinants and dividend stability
(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Peter, P.L.S.; Fernando, V.
A key decision that a company is faced with is the timing and the size of the distribution of wealth it has created to its shareholders. The company has to choose between paying out dividends now, or reinvesting it and paying it out at a later date. This choice forms the background for the dividend policy decision. This study examines the corporate cash dividend policy behaviour in Sri Lankan listed companies in two different dimensions: the type of dividend policy and major determinants of the dividend decisions, incorporating both primary and secondary data. Furthermore, it investigates the role that dividend policy plays in Sri Lanka. Primary data were assimilated through a formal questionnaire sent to 41 listed companies to assess management belief on distribution of dividends and the most influential factors that shape dividend policy decisions of investors. The Lintner Model was used to assess the stability of the dividend payouts, using panel data methodology. Secondary data on dividend information and stock prices were assimilated from information available with the CSE (Colombo Stock Exchange) for a ten year period. The analysis revealed that the most significant factors that influence the dividend policy include level of current earnings, free cash flow, stability of earnings, firm’s liquidity and financial leverage. Compared to studies in developed markets, the companies are less conscious with lagged dividend and target payout ratio, which are the main signals of stability of one’s dividend policy. Supporting the findings, the fixed effects regression model also showed that the current dividend has positive but comparatively low relationship with lagged dividends. It was also revealed that mature companies are less stable in their dividend payout than the new companies. The research findings provide evidence that Sri Lankan companies have less stable dividend policies and are less aligned with signaling effect and clientele effect on dividends.
Framework for Evaluating Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
(University of Kelaniya, 2006) Peter, P.L.S.; Weligamage, L.P.
Business organizations are entities engaged in creating value for stakeholders by utilizing the investments made by shareholders. Therefore, organizations in today’s business world are concerned about how the shareholders’ investments are managed in order to maximize shareholder wealth. As part of a company’s overall business strategy, capital investments are made on various projects. Due to rapid development in the information technology sector and its impact on businesses, organizations have heavily invested on information systems to improve their competitiveness. The literature on the success of implementing large scale information systems around the world is divided; one group says that there is no return at all and the other group says there is substantial evidence to prove that these investments provide long term returns. However, the majority is in the opinion supporting the view that there are positive returns generated from investments made on information systems. Further, it is theorized that most of the perceived benefits or returns are in intangible (soft or nonfinancial) form & only a few of the returns are tangible (hard or financial). This is considered as the possible reason for the basis of the first group’s argument. We chose Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems because they have an organization-wide scope and because they are large scaled investments. Employing a meta-analysis of literature, we were able to identify that the return of investment is evident in strategic, tactical & operational levels. For example, the ability to create more value for shareholders (measured by ROCE or EPS) is an indication of a strategic return, while improvements in IT supported decision making (measured by ability to plan, schedule & drill-down analysis) is a return experienced at tactical level. Similarly, improvement in process efficiency (measured by processing time, reduction of data entry errors & throughput) is identifiable as a benefit experienced in the operational level. Based on such factors, we have proposed a theoretical framework which can be used to evaluate the performance of ERP systems in the local context.
Impact of using information technology in local banks in Sri Lanka: A customer’s perspective
(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Hettiarachchi, K.P.; Peter, P.L.S.
Technological advances have revolutionized the way banks perform their financial transactions with emphasis on ‘electronic banking’. The banking industry has become virtually dependent on, and continues to invest in Information Technology (IT) to gain a competitive advantage as it has the ability to enhance differentiation of products and services delivered to customers. Although the adaptation of IT in the financial services sector is widespread, certain services like internet banking, mobile banking are still in the process of gaining acceptance in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted to uncover if Sri Lankan banks use IT as a tool to gain a competitive advantage, and as a means to enhance customer satisfaction. The most significant service quality dimensions such as access, reliability, responsiveness, security, attentiveness and communication were used for measuring customer perspective on service quality. In order to carry out the research, two questionnaire surveys were carried out among selected local banks and customers. In order to explore relationships between service quality and competitive advantage correlation statistical techniques were used. The research findings revealed that two commercial banks use IT to gain a sustained competitive advantage and has also being successful in delivering a high service quality to their customers through internet channels. It also showed that banks using internet banking have been able to improve certain service quality factors such as accessibility, responsiveness, communication, reliability and attentiveness of banking services as perceived by customers. The data revealed that one of the major obstacles for the use of internet banking is the insecurity of the customers in using such systems. Inadequate technological infrastructure, poor connectivity, customer perceptions, language barrier, password hacking and system failures are inhibiting the adoption of technology by a wider customer base. Given the competitive structure in the banking sector, it is imperative that sufficient resources are allocated to develop their IT systems and to raise awareness of customers on the security and ease of using internet based services for their routine banking operations.
An investigation of dividend policy behavior and information content of dividends in selected countries
(University of Kelaniya, 2006) Peter, P.L.S.; Bamunuarachchi, G.K.
Any company that essentially exists with the objective of maximizing the wealth of its shareholders is faced with the choice of either paying dividends now or reinvest now to pay later. This choice forms the background for the dividend policy decision that defines the time pattern of dividend payout. Numerous theoretical and empirical publications have kept dividend policy in its prominent status in corporate finance literature. Studies on dividend policy have been applied on companies listed in stock markets of both developed and developing countries. Employing meta-analysis that combines the results of several studies conducted on capital markets of a selected sample of countries, this paper analyses the dividend policy behavior of countries around the world in terms of dividend policy stability and the information content of dividend announcements. The paper concludes that the state of development of the country does have an impact on the dividend policy stability as companies in more matured markets in developed countries tend to maintain dividend stability although companies in emerging markets of developing countries have been unable to do so. On the other hand with respect to information content of dividend announcements it is evident that dividends have significant information content in all share markets and that on average all markets react negatively to surprise decreases in dividends which is more than proportionate to the positive reaction to surprise increases in dividends. Further it can be concluded that emerging markets take considerable time to fully incorporate information contained in dividend announcements while in mature markets it is less so. Mature markets tend to be more inline with the market efficiency hypothesis with respect to dividend announcements. As future research an investigation of dividend policy behavior and information content of dividends in a Sri Lankan context is to be conducted.
Investor behaviour in Sri Lankan Stock Market
(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Peter, P.L.S.; Senaratne, B.
In traditional theories of finance, it is assumed that the investors are rational. However, research on investor behaviour has documented that many investors do not always take rational investment decisions. Many studies document that their investment decisions are also influenced by behavioural factors. Behavioural finance is a relatively new branch of study in finance, where behaviour of markets is being explained through behavioural characteristics of investors. Sri Lanka being a developing or emerging market with low capitalization and moderate activity levels and high variance in performance levels, compared to even the smaller regional markets, has a unique setting in which investor risk behaviour could be analysed. The study focusses on behavioural factors of investors, with special emphasis on the demographic and psychographic factors of the individual investors. Behavioural attributes/traits were identified via a comprehensive literature review from which the conceptual framework of investor risk behaviour was developed. One hundred Individual investors investing in the CSE (Colombo Stock Exchange) were selected through probability sampling. Most important factors from the selected demographic and psychographic factors for the investor risk behaviour were filtered out from exploratory factor analysis (Principal Component Analysis). Then by applying hierarchical cluster analysis, investors were grouped into 3 separate risk groups. The three groups of investors were classified as high risk, medium risk and low risk. It was found that there was significant difference between the groups on overconfidence, age, marital status, number of dependants and the employment sector of those individual investors. Kruskal Wallis Test was used to identify whether there is a significant difference between the traits of each group.
Profiling Gen Z: Influencing Online Purchase Intention
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Wijerathne, W.D.S.K.; Peter, P.L.S.
With technology playing an ever-increasingly significant part in our everyday lives, the study focused on profiling Gen Z Internet behavior and identifying factors influencing their online purchase intentions. Responses from 253 participants were captured using a standardized questionnaire in order to profile the online shopping behavior of Gen Z. The results showed that Gen Z heavily relies on the Internet for social media, education, and video streaming but spends less time on online purchasing. Significantly, there was a significant gender gap in their online shopping behavior, with females showing a higher propensity to shop online. Perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use were the most significant factors influencing the online purchase intention of Gen Z. In contrast, subjective norm, perceived benefits, and perceived trust were less significant. The findings emphasize the importance of understanding the unique habits and preferences of this market segment and developing strategies to target them effectively.