IRSPAS 2017
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/18078
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Item Consumer behavior models and microfinance in Sri Lanka: A systematic review of literature.(International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2017 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Senasinghe, V.; Peter, S.Study of consumer behavior helps enterprises understand the psychology of the customers on how they make their purchase decisions. The objective of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the literature on the models of consumer behavior. The studies on consumer behavior and consumer decision making have developed various theories and models to explain the consumer behavioral patterns. There are two types of cognitive models that are widely used. Analytical models provide a framework of the key elements that are purported to explain the behavior of consumers and prescriptive models provide a framework to organize how consumer behavior is organized. The theory of buyer behavior is an analytical model and it provides a sophisticated integration of various social, psychological and market influences on consumer decision making. There is, however, widespread questioning of the model’s validity due to the lack of empirical work. In the consumer decision model, many of the elements are similar to those presented in the buyer behavior model. However, the structure of presentation and relationship between the variables somewhat differs. The model is also critiqued to be too restrictive to adequately accommodate the variety of consumer decision making situations. Theory of reasoned action is a prescriptive model and it is a further development of the Fishbein model which proposed that a person’s overall attitude toward an object is derived from his beliefs and feelings about various attributes of the object. Theory of planned behavior which is an extension of theory of reasoned action is developed including an additional mediating variable between intentions and behavior. The model of goal directed behavior can be described as humanistic in its approach as it seeks to explore concepts introspective to the individual consumer rather than describe generic processes. Microfinance relates to the provision of financing to those traditionally unable to obtain funds due to lack of formal income sources. Due to the mushrooming of companies offering the product due to the low default and the high interest rates charged, assessing risk behavior of these customers have become critical. Misuse of the product may cause the entire industry to fail and deprive legitimate customers from obtaining much needed finance to uplift their economic status. In the literature, there are no models relating to the customer risk behavior in microfinance. Therefore, the general consumer behavior models are used to try and explain customer risk behavioral patterns in the microfinance. Though the contexts differ in these two instances, since the loans could also be considered as products and a customer is involved, the models used in consumer behavior are assumed to depict the same type of behavior in the microfinance industry as well.Item A multi-pronged approach to assess informational efficiency of the Colombo Stock Exchange.(International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2017 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Upeksha, P. G. S.; Peter, S.With the dynamic nature of the capital market environment, understanding informational efficiency of financial markets has become crucial. Efficient market is one in which prices fully reflect the available information. An implication of an efficient market is that no excess returns can be made from the available information, since it has already been reflected on the current prices. Efficient markets where information can be trusted, channeled to market participants, absorbed and reflected in the stock prices, are important characteristics that global investors look for when deciding to invest, especially in the emerging markets. The objective of this study is to assess the market efficiency of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), Sri Lanka, which is one of the emerging markets in the world. In the post millennium period, a number of studies that have assessed market efficiency at the CSE. However, after the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, the economy underwent dramatic change with the indices showing rapid growth and achieving new heights. Therefore, due to the difference in the sentiment and behavior of the market and investors post conflict, it would be prudent to review whether the results seen previously for weak form and semi-strong form of efficiency still holds. In order to test for weak form efficiency, existence of any correlations of share returns are evaluated. This is done by testing the autocorrelation nature of the selected time series. In order to assess semi-strong efficiency, ‘Event study’ methodology is applied. In event study, the following approaches have been used to derive the abnormal returns. Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) Model is a multifactor model. It permits the researchers to choose the best factors. However, it cannot explain variation in asset return in terms of a limited number of easily identifiable factors. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) accounts for systematic risk. However, it imposes an additional restriction (the intercept equals the risk-free rate) that the variance of the error will be larger than in the market model. Market Model is the vastly used and widely accepted method in short return windows in the event studies. Market Model usually outperforms CAPM. GARCH Model estimates volatility. It is a preferred method because, with asset returns volatility seems to vary during certain periods of time. It further aims to minimize errors in forecasting by accounting for errors in prior forecasting, enhancing the accuracy of ongoing predictions. Taking into consideration the context of the local stock exchange, market participation, and institutional activity, two alternative methods were identified to derive the abnormal returns, i.e. Market Model and GARCH Model. The study expects to use dividend announcements as the primary informational source, and it is expected to identify whether evidence of abnormal returns is shown after the announcement, in order to determine whether CSE is semi-strong efficient.Item Customer perceived quality management practices and organizational performance: Case of private healthcare sector in Sri Lanka.(International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2017 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Sowmiya, B. A.; Peter, S.Quality in a healthcare organization is three dimensional: patient quality is what patients say they want, professional quality is what professionals believe patients need (outcome and process), and management quality is the optimisation of resources to provide patients what they want and need, without waste, errors or delay, and within the policy and legal regulation. Therefore, Patient perceived quality is the overall service quality of healthcare organization. Perceived service quality is the customer’s judgment about the service’s overall excellence, based on perceptions of what is received and what is given. Most studies on quality however, have focused on the manufacturing with relatively less focus on the service sector. In Sri Lanka, private healthcare services have flourished with even the middle to lower income people patronizing their services. This growth has had a positive effect on public healthcare service in raising their standards and service level from what they were previously. The study investigates the impact of customer perceived quality management (QM) practices on organizational performance in selected private healthcare providers. The study assesses the extent to which customer perceived QM components have been implemented in these hospitals and to identify which of these customer perceived QM components are associated with improvement of performance at these hospitals. The study was restricted to the Western Province which the Private Health Services Regulatory Council reveals has over 40% of the private hospitals in the country. Hence, the sample included a total of eight healthcare service providers which comprised some of the leading healthcare providers in Colombo. Many previous studies have focused on the customer-perceived quality in services. Parasuraman in his study on customer-perceived quality, reduced the original ten factors that he identified to five: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. This SERVQUAL model has been successfully used to assess quality in the services industry including the healthcare sector. In general, many studies have found the application of SERVQUAL to be reliable in the health-care context. This study used the SERVQUAL model as a basis to assess the private healthcare sector in the country. It should be noted that interpretation and operationalization of some of the variables were adjusted to suit the local context. Dimensions of SERVQUAL model, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles were assessed while performance was measured using both financial as well as non-financial indicators. The study found significant evidence to establish a relationship between customer perceived QM components and organizational performance of healthcare firms. The regression analysis results suggest that customer perceived QM components, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles all contributed to the improved performance. The results of the study can be used by hospitals to better understand customer needs and thus enhance the levels of patient satisfaction.Item A conceptual framework to assess supply chain risk in the apparel industry.(International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2017 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Erandi, H.; Peter, S.Along with the advent of globalization and the championing of free trade together with improved communication and transportation systems, enterprises have the ability to source supplies from a globally distributed supply chain. However, on the flip side, due to the complexities in dealing with a dispersed network of suppliers, manufacturing companies are facing risks of disruption to their supply chains. As risk is very context dependent, it is important to identify supply chain risks in different contexts and industries. Sri Lankan apparel industry plays a major role in the country’s economy, making it vital for companies to engage in proper identification and assessment of these risks. Therefore, the objective of this study is to conceptualize a model to assess identified supply chain risks and thereby to generate an overall risk assessment score for an apparel manufacturing company. The initial base for risk identification is through the use of the Ishikawa model. The cause and the effect for supply chain risks were established by analysing the initial data collected and via industry experts, a list of risk classes and sub classes were formed. Thereafter, a modified version of risk numeric analysis model is used to setup each and every class weight where industry experts’ opinion is taken for calculating the appropriate weights. Instead of using Analytical Process Hierarchy (AHP) which was used in the original model, Analytical Network Process (ANP) is used to prioritize the identified risk classes. The decision to use ANP is due to its ability to consider the complex inter relationships and linkages between risk classes and sub classes during the prioritization process. Finally, an aggregate score is developed for the overall company in terms of the supply chain risks by using the scores obtained for each risk class. The model will highlight the different types of supply chain risks that an apparel manufacturing company may face and how a proper mechanism can be developed to quantify these risks. The model would facilitate the company to directly identify the magnitude of each and every supply chain risk and the risk distribution via the overall risk score of the company. The risk score can be used by managers as a flag or an indicator that signals the company about potential risks. Apart from that, this model can be used to compare historical figures to monitor and evaluate the overall risk scores of the company. Furthermore this risk score can be used to compare the company performance with other competitors’ score values and to analyse how competitive the company is within the industry.