Social Sciences

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Determinants of Growth of Supermarkets in Sri Lanka
(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Karunaratne, H.D.; Vishvanathan, D.
The number of supermarkets has been rapidly growing in Sri Lanka during the recent past. This study attempts to identify determinants of such growth. There are four main objectives of this paper, namely (i) to understand the factors which are considered in establishing the supermarket outlets;(ii) to understand the factors which determine their growth; (iii) to understand how supermarkets can increase profits by minimizing social and economic externalities; and (iv) to understand how consumers can be better off by using supermarkets. In order to achieve these objectives, this study present SWOT of supermarkets, analyzing the growing trends of supermarkets, socio-economic characteristics, family consumption patterns and income and expenditure patterns of supermarket shoppers. This study utilized both published and unpublished macro and micro level data. The primary data was obtained by means of conducting in-depth interviews and two surveys. Secondary data was collected from the survey findings published by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. According to the facts established by means of analysing the data collected, a strong relationship was found between the two variables, growth of supermarkets and the emerging consumer behaviour patterns in Sri Lanka. Further, the study revealed a clear change of the patterns of consumer behaviour associated with the expansion of supermarkets. Finally, interdependent relationship between the growth of supermarkets and emerging patterns of consumer behaviour was identified in the context of urban Sri Lanka.
Profit & Competition of the Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka with a special Emphasis on, Non - Life Insurance Business
(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Ekanayake, I.I.K.; Dassanayaka, S.
This research study is focused on the influence of firm-specific competitive conditions on competitors' actions. Because only a few empirical studies have examined factors shaping patterns of inter-firm rivalry within the general insurance industry field and the subsequent effects on profit margins, there have been even fewer attempts made to link patterns of inter-firm rivalry to firm-specific competitive conditions as well. There is, however, a great interest in the dynamics of non-life insurance firms' strategic behaviour and the evolution of competitive advantage over time. This strategic interaction will typically be studied at given points in time and an attempt will be made to model it dynamically. New insights into why the strategies of some firms lead to competitive superiority over time but those of others do not may, therefore, be gained by examining how firms' market domain overlap and multi-market contact influence the dynamics of the inter-firm rivalry of the general insurance industry. General insurance firms whose market entries and exits are key among strategic moves will also be studied. Such competitive and counter-competitive actions represent clear, offensive challenges that invite competitor responses on the one hand, and obvious signals of retreat or acquiescence on the other.
The Profits of Doom: Agriculture, Construction, Water and Land Use in Jaffna Peninsula
(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Nesiah, D.; Rajasooriyar, L.D.; Jayasingam, T.
The fresh water problem in Jaffna has engaged the attention of scholars and community leaders for over a century, and specific remedies, including the progressive desalination of the lagoons, have been explored for over half a century. Various investigations have been carried out and corrective measures tried out from time to time, but these have been neither comprehensive no sustained. Jaffna has long been noted for its distinctive system of intensive, lift irrigated cultivation, particularly of tobacco and certain subsidiary food crops; and Jaffna farmers for their capacity to extract maximum profits from their mini-plots through high yields and rotational cropping, for their willingness to experiment with new crops and novel techniques, and for their quick response to change (and impending changes) in the market. Overall, agriculture in Jaffna had been profitable till the outbreak of the civil war in the mid 80s. But Jaffna has no rivers or lakes, and water for irrigation and domestic use is extracted from wells or from rain. Over extraction led to increased salinity compounded by extensive mining of limestone for the cement industry or directly in to construction, and over use of agro-chemicals to serious contamination of well water. Almost everywhere, well water was gradually turning saline and polluted. There are 20,000 open wells, and 30,000 households are supplied pipe borne water by the municipal authorities. The demand for such supply exceeds the availability. The pollution problem is even more serious. The peculiar nature of the Miocene limestone aquifer in much of the peninsula is such that the bulk of the agro-chemical used percolates in to it and much of it, in due course, is directly or indirectly consumed by humans. Thus the short term profits based on over use of water and agro-chemicals were leading Jaffna inexorably to doom when the civil war intervened. With the suspension of the civil war, the re-opening the A9 high way, the mine clearing, the gradual return of the displaced, the progressive resumption of agriculture and possible reconstruction of the cement factory, the specter of renewed deterioration in the quantity and quality of fresh water may again hover over the peninsula. The paper explores the available data in the light of recent developments and new research, identifies and analyses various policy

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