Commerce and Management
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Item The Impact of Career Development Opportunities on Employee Organizational Commitment: A Study in a Sri Lankan Private Sector Organization(KIU University, 2025) Madhushani W.K.U.; Darshani R.K.N.D.Introduction: Employee organizational commitment is increasingly recognized as a critical factor in improving productivity, reducing turnover and also sustaining competitiveness. However, limited empirical studies in developing country contexts have examined how specific dimensions of career development shape employee commitment. This study investigates the influence of three career development dimensions as training and skill development, promotional opportunities, and career counseling on employee organizational commitment. Objectives: The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of career development opportunities specifically training and skill development, promotional opportunities, and career counseling on employee organizational commitment. The study also aims to determine which of these three dimensions has the strongest influence on organizational commitment. Methodology: A quantitative research design through a standard questionnaire was applied to a medium-sized organization employees. The sample consisted of 150 employees selected through stratified random sampling. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression analysis were used to test the data and explore relationships among career development dimensions and organizational commitment. Results: The findings of the study indicate significant positive relationship between career development opportunities and employee organizational commitment (r = .58, p < .001). The regression analysis revealed that career development opportunities explained 43% of the variance in organizational commitment. Among the three dimensions, promotional opportunities had the strongest influence on organizational commitment (β = .39, p < .001), followed by training and skill development (β = .28, p < .001). Career counseling also had a positive effect, though it was smaller in comparison (β = .12, p = .041). Conclusion: This study concludes that career development prospects are core motivators of organizational commitment and contribute to organizational behavior and HRM literature through the assertion that opportunities for promotion are most important in regard to employee commitmentItem Determinants of Purchase Intention and Strategies for Promoting Organic Greenhouse Products in Sri Lanka(KIU University, 2025) Ekanayake, E.M.N.K.; Darshani, R.K.N.D.Introduction: The rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and growing concerns about food safety have intensified the demand for healthier alternatives. Organic greenhouse products (OGPs), cultivated without synthetic inputs under controlled conditions, are a promising option. Yet, their acceptance in Sri Lanka remains limited due to cultural, structural, and economic challenges. Objective: This study examines the determinants of consumer purchase intention for OGPs in Sri Lanka, focusing on health concerns, awareness, price, cultural values, peer influence, and government commitment. It also proposes strategies to enhance consumer acceptance and strengthen market development. Methodology: A quantitative design was employed using a structured questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. Data were gathered from 384 respondents in Galle, Matara, and Hambantota districts through stratified sampling. Statistical analyses examined relationships between six independent variables and purchase intention. Results: Findings revealed that health concerns (β = 0.421, p < 0.01), consumer awareness (β = 0.367, p < 0.05), cultural values (β = 0.298, p < 0.05), and peer influence (β = 0.284, p < 0.05) positively influenced purchase intention. Barriers included high prices (β = -0.312, p < 0.05), weak trust in certification, and inadequate policy support. Urban and educated respondents reported higher intention than rural consumers. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that purchase intention for OGPs can be strengthened through awareness programs, pricing strategies, certification reforms, and supportive government initiatives. Leveraging cultural values and peer influence is essential to building consumer trust. These findings imply that promoting OGPs can reduce NCD risks, enhance consumer health, and support sustainable agriculture in Sri Lanka.Item Review on Analysis of Factors Influencing Customers’ Purchase Intention towards Organic Cosmetic Care Products in Sri Lanka(KIU University, 2025) Mohanachanthiran, N. P.; Darshani, R.K.N.D.Introduction: Cosmetic use dates back to ancient civilizations, where natural ingredients were used for beauty and health benefits. With industrialization, synthetic cosmetics gained popularity but raised concerns over their harmful effects, leading to renewed consumer interest in organic alternatives. Objective: The study aims to examine factors influencing the purchase intention of organic cosmetic care products, focusing on consumer attitudes, knowledge, health consciousness, social influence, and past experiences. Methodology: This research is grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Learning Theory to examine consumer behavior. Moreover, many scholarly works are referred to for this research. This study reviews existing literature to analyze relationships among consumer attitudes, knowledge of organic cosmetics, perceived health benefits, social influence, and prior experiences. These relationships were used to develop a conceptual model explaining purchase intention. Results: Findings indicate that consumer attitude is the most influential factor driving purchase intention, largely shaped by beliefs in product safety, natural composition, and environmental friendliness. Greater knowledge of organic ingredients and awareness of the harmful effects of synthetic cosmetics build consumer trust and encourage purchasing. Health consciousness significantly motivates the preference for chemical-free options. Social influence, especially peer and family recommendations, enhances adoption, while previous positive experiences with organic cosmetic products reinforce loyalty and repurchase behavior. Conclusion: Purchase intention toward organic cosmetics is primarily driven by positive attitudes, knowledge, health awareness, social support, and favorable past experiences. The growing preference for organic products reflects increasing concern for personal well-being, effectiveness, and eco-friendliness. To expand the market, brands should focus on consumer education, product quality, and building lasting trust through positive consumer experiences.Item Packaging Strategies and Consumer Response in the Ayurveda Sector: Evidence from Sri Lanka(KIU University, 2025) Kariyakarawana M. H. G; Darshani R. K. N. DIntroduction: Ayurveda, the ancient “Science of Life”, has been practiced for 5000 years and remains a trusted healthcare system. With rising global and local demand for Ayurveda products, packaging has become a crucial factor shaping consumer behavior. Beyond protection, it serves as a medium for branding, information, cultural identity, and sustainability. Effective packaging must reflect traditional Ayurveda values while appealing to modern consumer expectations and sustainable design principles. Objective: This review explores how Ayurveda product packaging influences consumer buying behavior and identifies opportunities to enhance packaging practices within the Sri Lankan context. Methodology: A systematic qualitative literature review was conducted to ensure analytical rigor and transparency. Academic databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, and Research Gate, were searched for literature published between 2010 and 2024 using the keywords Ayurveda, Product packaging, consumer behavior, sustainability, and branding. Peer-reviewed journals, government publications, and case studies focusing on Ayurveda or herbal product packaging and its effect on consumer behavior were included. Non-English publications and irrelevant studies were excluded. Thematic synthesis was used to identify major dimensions, including design, eco-friendliness, material safety, labeling, convenience, and smart technologies. Comparative insights were drawn between Sri Lankan and International Ayurveda packaging practices. Results: Packaging strongly influences consumer trust, perception, and purchase intention. Cultural relevance, aesthetic appeal, and sustainability emerged as key determinants. International brands increasingly adopt eco-friendly and smart packaging, while Sri Lankan brands face constraints in innovation, cost, and access to sustainable materials. Conclusion: Ayurveda packaging should evolve into a strategic communication and engagement tool. Balancing cultural authenticity with innovation and sustainability can strengthen competitiveness. Future research should focus on regional consumer preferences and the practical adoption of smart, eco- friendly packaging designs.Item Stability through Resilient Leadership: A Qualitative Case Study on Employee Retention in Sri Lankan Apparel Sector(Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management, 2025-10) Darshani, R. K. N. D.; Surangi, H. A. K. N. S.Employee retention is a critical issue for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in developing economies facing economic and social disruptions. This study explores how resilient leadership contributes to employee retention in a medium-scale apparel SME in Sri Lanka. Using a qualitative single-case study design, data were collected through six semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and field observations. Thematic analysis revealed four aggregated leadership practices that supported long-term employee retention: emotional care during crisis, inclusive workplace culture, internal career development, and moral, community-oriented leadership. These findings demonstrate how resilient leadership is characterised by adaptability, trust-building, and ethical consistency which helps sustain employee commitment and workplace stability. The study also shows how elements of transformational and transactional leadership were embedded within a broader resilience leadership approach. This research contributes to leadership and HRM literature by offering empirical insights into how SMEs in resource-constrained settings can retain workers through informal, values-based leadership. Practical implications are provided for SME leaders aiming to build committed, inclusive, and stable workforces during and beyond times of crisis.Item Relational Sustainability Leadership in Sri Lankan Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises(Faculty of Management and Finance University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka., 2025) Darshani, R. K. N. D.; Surangi, H. A. K. N. S.This study explores how small and medium enterprises leaders in Sri Lankan apparel and textile sector handle sustainability in organizations through informal, relational leadership practices that differ markedly from formal models prevalent in developed economies. Using a qualitative multiple-case study approach, the research investigates how economic, social, and environmental priorities are balanced in resource-constrained contexts. This study holds particular importance as it addresses a significant gap in understanding how relational leadership enables sustainability in small and medium enterprises within the Sri Lankan apparel and textile industry, offering insights that can inform both theory and practice in similar developing country contexts. The findings reveal that sustainability is enacted not through structured governance or incentives, but through trust, emotional closeness, and moral responsibility embedded in daily interactions. These practices, often viewed as unprofessional in Western models, are shown to be strategic, resilient, and contextually adaptive. The study contributes to the growing call for context-sensitive leadership research by highlighting how relational dynamics enable sustainability under institutional voids and limited resources. It calls for rethinking global leadership standards and recognizing embedded practices in developing country small and medium enterprises.Item RELATIONAL RESILIENCE AND ADAPTIVE INNOVATION: A CASE STUDY OF LEADERSHIP RESPONSES TO SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES IN SRI LANKAN MANUFACTURING SMEs(2025) Darshani, R. K. N. D.; Surangi, H. A. K. N. S.; Dissanayake, D. M. S.Sustainability is increasingly essential for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in developing countries where resource constraints and institutional instability challenge formal adoption. In Sri Lanka's manufacturing sector, SMEs play a critical economic role, yet their sustainability practices are rarely explored through a leadership and relational lens. This study investigates how SME leaders navigate environmental, social, and institutional demands while coping with local crises and operational limitations. It aims to uncover how informal, trust-based leadership and adaptive behaviour foster meaningful sustainability outcomes in resource-constrained settings. The research adopts a qualitative multiple case study approach, analysing four certified SMEs in Sri Lanka's Western Province. Drawing on the Triple Bottom Line, institutional theory, and resilience leadership theory, it explores how firms combine compliance with moral commitment, and how relational resilience- leaders' ability to maintain trust and cohesion through emotional support and ethical responsibility, adaptive behaviour - leaders' flexibility in shifting roles and strategies during crises, and frugal adaptation- innovating with minimal resources by repurposing materials or redesigning processes at low cost collectively support operational continuity and innovation. Findings reveal that sustainability is enabled not primarily through formal systems but through role flexibility, emotional support, ethical responsibility, and resource-conscious practices. These informal leadership actions, particularly during crises, were key to embedding sustainability in daily practice. The originality of this study lies in its focus on relational and adaptive leadership in a Global South context, offering a model that challenges dominant Western perspectives centred on policy and technical systems. It contributes to the literature by highlighting that resilience and social legitimacy in SMEs can emerge from informal structures and culturally grounded leadership behaviours. The study also provides policy insights by suggesting that support should promote trust-based networks, incentivise frugal innovation, and strengthen local leadership capacities rather than rely only on compliance mechanisms.Item BRIDGING INSTITUTIONAL, CULTURAL, AND ENTREPRENEURIAL FORCES FOR SUSTAINABILITY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY CASE STUDY OF SRI LANKAN APPAREL AND TEXTILE SMEs(2025) Darshani, R. K. N. D.; Surangi, H. A. K. N. S.; Dissanayake, D. M. S.Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in developing economies, where firms often operate with limited resources and institutional instability. While much of the existing research focuses on formal compliance and structured systems in large firms, far less is known about how SMEs embed sustainability informally, particularly in response to local crises and socio-cultural dynamics. This study investigates how Sri Lankan manufacturing SMEs adopt sustainability practices through relational and adaptive leadership in the face of institutional demands, economic constraints, and external shocks. Drawing on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), institutional theory, and resilience leadership theory, the study explores how SME leaders in Sri Lanka respond to sustainability challenges not merely through systems and policies, but through flexible roles, moral commitments, and low-cost innovations. Using a qualitative multiple case study design, the research examines four certified SMEs in the Western Province. Data from interviews, observations, and document analysis were thematically analysed to uncover patterns in leadership behaviour and sustainable outcomes. The findings reveal that sustainability in these SMEs is shaped by role-sharing, ethical decision-making, and frugal innovation. Leadership responses to crises such as providing emotional support, modifying operations, and reusing waste materials emerged as central enablers of sustainability. A surprising insight was that relational trust and informal ethics were more influential than formal CSR programmes, especially in smaller firms. The study introduces a novel framework of "relational resilience," which integrates three interrelated dimensions: (1) emotional support and trust-building that strengthen cohesion during crises, (2) ethical responsibility guiding decisions beyond compliance, and (3) operational flexibility enabling continuity under constraints. This shows how culturally embedded leadership can institutionalise sustainable practices without significant financial investment. This challenges dominant Western assumptions about sustainability drivers and contributes a grounded, Southern perspective. The results also have practical implications for policy and buyer engagement by highlighting the need to recognise and support low-cost, trust-based, and ethically grounded sustainability practices in SMEs operating under resource limitations.Item FROM MANUAL TO SMART: HOW LEVELS OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADOPTION INFLUENCE SUSTANABLE OUTCOMES; THE CASE OF TEXTILE SEMS(2025) Kaunakalage, D. S. L.; Darshani, R. K. N. D.This study investigates how sustainability standardisation impacts small and medium-scale textile manufacturers in Sri Lanka's export sector, with specific attention to the mediating role of technology in achieving social, environmental, and economic sustainability outcomes. In global textile supply chains, compliance with sustainability frameworks such as SMETA, SEDEX, and the Higg Index has become essential, yet SMEs frequently face compliance challenges due to resource limitations. Using a qualitative multiple-case study approach, three SMEs with different levels of technological adoption were examined through interviews and observations. The findings indicate a strong positive relationship between technology adoption and social as well as environmental sustainability, reflected in improvements in worker wellbeing, occupational safety, and waste reduction. Economic sustainability, however, demonstrated a plateau effect, where returns diminished beyond a certain point of technological investment. While technology was widely perceived as a transformative enabler, barriers such as capital constraints, limited leadership vision, and insufficient awareness restricted uptake. The study contributes to sustainability scholarship by extending prior research on large-scale manufacturers to SMEs in a developing economy context, providing nuanced insights into the dimension-specific effects of technology. Practically, the findings highlight the need for strategic and context-sensitive technological adoption, as well as leadership and policy support, to bridge the technology gap and help SMEs meet global sustainability expectations. Despite the study's limited number of cases, it offers an original perspective on the non-linear relationship between technology and sustainability in export-oriented SMEs.Item The Impact of Knowledge Sharing Behavior on Enhancing Organizational Innovation Capability: A Study in the Sri Lankan Telecommunication Sector Company(Faculty of Medicine & Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka., 2025) Madhushani, W. K. U.; Darshani, R. K. N. D.Background: Knowledge sharing enhances idea generation and problem-solving, promoting innovation (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Wang & Noe, 2010). Though international studies support this positive relationship (Lin, 2007; Akhavan & Hosseini, 2016), limited research examines it in the Sri Lankan context. Cultural, structural, and organizational factors may influence knowledge sharing differently, highlighting the need to explore how its dimensions drive innovation in Sri Lankan organizations (Hofstede, 2011). Objective: The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of knowledge sharing behaviors—knowledge donating, knowledge collecting, and interpersonal trust—on organizational innovation capability in ABC Company. The relationships will be tested with measurable indicators for each dimension. Methods: This study used a quantitative, cross-sectional design, and data were collected from 120 employees of a leading Sri Lankan telecommunication company via convenience sampling. A structured questionnaire measured knowledge donating, knowledge collecting, interpersonal trust, and innovation capability on a five-point Likert scale. Participation was voluntary, with confidentiality assured. The organization provided a relevant context for studying knowledge sharing in a dynamic service environment, and the questionnaire enabled efficient statistical analysis. SPSS was used for data analysis. Limitations include inability to establish causality, potential response bias, and limited generalizability. Results: The sample included gender, age, education, and department to provide context. After screening for missing values and outliers, correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Results showed significant positive relationships between interpersonal trust (r = 0.66, p < 0.001), knowledge donating (r = 0.60, p < 0.001), and knowledge collecting (r = 0.56, p < 0.001) with innovation capability. Regression analysis indicated these variables explained 55% of the variance (R² = 0.55, p < 0.001), with interpersonal trust as the strongest predictor. Limitations include the cross-sectional design, potential response bias, and limited generalizability. Conclusion: This study shows that building a workplace based on trust is important for improving innovation. Employees are more likely to contribute new ideas when they feel safe to share and receive knowledge. Additionally, encouraging knowledge donating and collecting enables organizations to become more innovative.