CSR Practices in the Maldives: A Post-Baseline Study 

Mohamed Abdulla

National Institute of Education -Maldives

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ABSTRACT 

A baseline study on CSR was conducted in the Maldives in 2010 to understand the level of CSR engagement among the business community and non-corporate stakeholders of CSR promotion in the Maldives and develop recommendations for a CSR policy framework for the Maldives. The study revealed that CSR was understood in the Maldives in its surface-level only. Philanthropic activities were the main CSR consideration and were not widely practiced. Only large public limited companies and the resorts maintain some mainstream CSR practices. This report highlights the progress made in CSR in the decade that followed the baseline study. The report was written based on the analysis of a three recent sustainability reports of the Maldivian resorts. A remarkable progress on ethical dimension and minimal progress on the philanthropic dimension were evident.   

Keywords: CSR, Document Analysis, Maldives, Post-Baseline Study, Tourism Sector\

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The Millennials as Stayers versus Switchers: The Context of Mobile Phone Services in Sri Lanka

Karunaratna A.C.

Senior Lecturer, University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka

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 ABSTRACT 

The study was conducted to evaluate the nature of the behavioral aspects of the Millennials in terms of loyal and switching behavior as reference to the mobile phone services subscription.  The study was conducted in two stages. At the initial stage, a customer survey was conducted with a sample of 521 respondents to identify the nature of retention and switching behaviour of the Millennials in the context of mobile phone services. The comprehensive analysis of customer responses extended the study to the second stage which involved in focus group discussions to probe the perceptions towards the decision of remaining loyal or switching and identify the nature and characteristics of each type of customer. Accordingly, the triangulation research approach involving both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods was adopted to achieve the desired objectives of the study. The study is significant as it evaluates the nature of the behaviour of the Millennials in the context of remaining versus switching and presents a semantic profile of customers with four types of loyalty namely fanatic, satisfied, brand loyal and captive and four types of switchers namely convenience seeker, discontented customer, variety seeker and price-conscious customer with respect to the mobile phone services industry.

Keywords: Loyal, Millennials, Retention, Switching

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Determinants of Financial Literacy: with Special Reference to Consumers in Financial Service Industry

Kumari D.A.T

Senior Lecturer, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka

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ABSTRACT 

The financial literacy is a key dimension which determines the demand of the financial services in the economy. However, most of the previous studies and financial decision makers believe financial literacy in different perspectives. Therefore, it is timely important to identify the main determinants of the financial literacy among potential customers in financial service industry. Accordingly, present study is mainly focused on identifying and verifying the key determinants of the financial literacy in the customer’s point of view in the financial service sector. The study adopted the positivism epistemology and quantitative approach. At the initial phase of the study, the extensive literature review was carried out with the purpose of identifying the determinants of financial literacy. In the second phase, a survey was conducted among 500 potential financial services customers representing nine provinces in Sri Lanka, with the assistance of a researcher administrated questionnaire. The sample was selected based on the multilevel mixed sampling method and the unit of analysis was the head of households in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was employed as the principle data analysis approach, and Smart PLS 3 was employed as the main analytical software. Degree of financial literacy was tested based on 22 items identified by previous researchers and Principle Component Analysis was employed to determine the key factors of financial literacy. The reliability of scales was measured by Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients.

The findings revealed that in general, all financial literacy dimensions have significant impact to determine the level of financial literacy. However, when it considers under separate dimensions, financial knowledge is the most significant determinant among the other determinants to determine the level of financial literacy. Therefore, researcher concluded that financial knowledge can be considered as a main determinant of financial literacy among potential customers of financial services in Sri Lanka. And the financial awareness is identified as the least significant determinant. Finally, the researcher provides some suggestions for marketing practitioners of financial service industry and government policy decision makers to develop financial literacy level by promoting financial knowledge for absorbing more consumers towards formal financial system and products of financial services.

Keywords: Financial Awareness, Financial Attitude, Financial Behavior, Financial Knowledge, Financial Literacy, Financial Skills

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The Impact of Destination Attractiveness on Tourists’ Motivation to Consume Local Foods

Chathuri Danthanarayana

Lecturer, University College of Matara, Sri Lanka

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Ruwan Ranasinghe

Senior Lecturer, Uva Wellassa University, Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT 

Although the food is an important aspect in tourism industry, there are limited studies on motivation to consume local foods in tourist destinations. Thus, this study concerns the destination food brand image towards the local foods and motivation to consume local foods based on different destination attractions. Basically, this has main three objectives; to identify the relationship between destination attractiveness, destination food brand image and motivation to consume local foods; impact of destination attractiveness to motivate the tourists’ local food consumption; and how destination food brand images mediate the destination attractiveness and motivation to local food consumption. Five underlying factors were analyzed under destination attractiveness of local food consumption were labeled: cultural experience; authentic experience; food health; sensory appeal; and physical excitement. Primary data has collected from three hundred tourists from Ella and Nuwara Eliya tourist zones and convenience sampling technique has used to select tourists to collect data. Structured questionnaire has fielded among respondents to collect data and SPSS software has used to analyze the collected data. Descriptive statistics, Karl Pearson’s coefficient of correlation, multiple linear regression analysis and Baron and Kenny model of mediator analysis used to analyze the data. Empirical results revealed that destination attractiveness as well as destination food brand image can significantly enhance tourists’ motivation to consume local foods. It implies that destination food brand image partially mediates the relationship between destination attractiveness and motivation to consume local foods. Based on the outcomes, study makes a theoretical contribution and applications of the model are discussed both in terms of practical and managerial implications.    

Keywords: Destination Attractiveness, Destination Food Brand Image, Local Food Consumption, Motivation, Tourism

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