Kamalasena, B. D. T. M.

Assistant Lecturer, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka

Sirisena, A. B.

Senior Lecturer, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka

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ABSTRACT

Effective marketing and advertising campaigns contribute to customer development, profitability, and business success in the long term. The evolving economies, globalization, and innovative technologies, which have quickly transformed the economic community, make present markets more attractive. Marketing firms are pushed in a new direction by social media marketing, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Social media have reached so deeply into millions of people globally and it also has drawn the interest of advertisers. Considering the timeliness and relevance of the phenomenon, this study aims to identify the impact of online communities and e word of mouth on the purchase intention of generation Y. The relevant data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 150 individuals aged 25 to 40 years who are residing in the Colombo district based on the convenience sampling method. This study found a positive significant effect of e word of mouth on brand trust and purchase intention and the relationship between e word of mouth and purchase intention is mediate by the brand trust. Further, online communities have a positive significant impact on brand trust and the relationship between online communities and purchase intention is mediated by brand trust. This research fills the gap in the existing literature and provides valuable insights to organizations that use social media marketing as a communication tool.

Keywords: Brand Trust, E Word of Mouth, Online Communities, Purchase Intention, Social Media Marketing

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Gunawardana, T. S. L.W.

Senior Lecturer, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka

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Sirimanna, U. I.

Engineer, Ceylon Electricity Board, Sri Lanka

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ABSTRACT

To fill the gaps in the computer mediated communication literature and provide useful information on interpersonal relationships within an organization, this study aims to investigate how computer-mediated communication (CMC) system have impacted on employee’s job satisfaction of Ceylon Electricity Board, Sri Lanka. An empirical research was conducted to test the hypothesized relationships based on a conceptual framework developed through a comprehensive literature review on CMC and job satisfaction. Through a literature support this model consisted of three independent variables (i.e., electronic mails, instant messaging and computerized maintenance management) in computer mediated communication system and a dependent variable which is job satisfaction. The sample of the study consisted of 100 respondents representing executive and medium level technical service (MLTS) staff of the transmission division of Ceylon Electricity Board in Sri Lanka. Self-administered questionnaire and the web-based questionnaire was used to collect primary data. The data were analyzed with Partial Least Squares path modeling (PLS) to test the hypotheses of the study. The research findings indicated that computerized maintenance management is the most significant factor impacting on the employees’ job satisfaction. Moreover, it also identified that there is a positive and statistically significant impact of instant messaging and electronic mails on employees’ job satisfaction. The results provide valuable input regarding the instant messaging and job satisfaction. Therefore, managers should have to pay their more and more attention in order to improve instant messaging as one of the communication media in an organization. In this research considered only three CMC dimensions which influence the job satisfaction. But there are more CMC dimensions used as organizational communication in future studies.  

Keywords: Computer Mediated Communication System, Computerized Maintenance Management Solution Electronic Mails, Instant Messaging, Job Satisfaction

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Galdolage, B. S.

University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

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ABSTRACT

Technological maturity brings both the organizations and customers into a digital era where organizations provide its service fully or partly through technological platforms, letting customers to perform by themselves without having direct interaction with the organization’s employees. This transforms customers’ role into more ‘active’ to be a collaborative value creator than be a passive recipient of the value produced by the organization. Organizations’ role also converts from ‘provider’ of the value to the ‘value facilitator’, who offer value prepositions for customers’ co-creation process.  Though both the customers’ and business organizations’ roles have been changed in the current business context, the scholarly attention given to understand this transformation is very rare. In such a backdrop, this study aims at understanding customers’ role in co-creating value at SSTs using the foundations of the Role Theory.Centered on the positivistic approach, this research carried out a quantitative survey distributing self-administered questionnaires among 600 customers chosen based on non-probabilistic convenience sampling method. The study found significant positive impacts of ‘role script’, ‘role performance’ and ‘role set’, and insignificant effect of ‘role congruence’ on customer value co-creation in SSTs.The study theoretically contributes to enhancing the knowledge on customer value co-creation in self-service technologies from role theory perspective, while practically helps business organizations to understand customers’ role well and design SSTs which match with the customers’ expectations. 

Keywords: Customer, Role Theory, Self-Service Technologies, Value Co-Creation

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Fernando, Imali N.

Senior Lecturer, Uva Wellassa University, Sri Lanka

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ABSTRACT

Tourism has been emphasized as one of the main sources of foreign exchange for different economies in the world, whereas most of the developing countries recognized hospitality, Travel, and Tourism as an inspiring element for socio-economic prosperity. Within previous decades, tourism satisfaction or “choice for destinations” were gradually transformed towards different segments as a paradigm shift. The nature of tourism provides a pathway on socio-economic development, whereby entrepreneurship and venture creations, renewal of forgotten natural resources with new value addition, and diminishing the poverty line. Within this notion, COVID-19 Pandemic identified as a peripheral economic shock whereas distressing remarkably to the global economies contrarily by restricting human mobilization, entertainments, and events while negatively affecting the global economy. This paper adopts the Diamond model proposed by Porter by linking the vulnerability of the tourism industry in Sri Lanka during 1st-2nd waves of the pandemic. Research objectives were developed to identify the way-forwarding strategies on recovering the Tourism amid the COVID-19 pandemic, study sample had been derived by prioritizing the locked-down of the country by targeting key stakeholders, and data were qualitatively gathered. Within the light of the literature, each of the six facets has been identified as “Themes” and qualitatively discussed. As main findings, “situational forces” were emphasized as the most vibrant economic facet within the model, whereas the following main recommendations were proposed as way-forwarding strategies; (a) Safety, security, and political harmony of the country (b) Subsidies for tourism MSMEs and conducive environment for entrepreneurship. (c) Destination promotions / e-promotion platforms (d) Attracting foreign joint-ventures/ investments, (e) Healthy rivalry among the local firms and collective bargaining, (f) Prioritizing Spiritual, Health and wellness, Rural and Ayurveda tourism, (g) Popularizing Tea related Tourism through the brand image of “Ceylon Tea” 

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic, External Economic Shocks, Porters’ Diamond Model, Tourism, Way-Forwarding Strategies

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