Browsing by Author "Jayawardane, AKW"

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Antecedents and performance outcomes of innovation capability in small-medium enterprises
(Business Research Unit (BRU), 2023-12-04) De Mel, VHM; Jayawardane, AKW
To achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the contemporary business environment organizations are continually demanded to develop the propensity to innovate. Accordingly, this has led to increased interest in understanding the factors driving innovation capability in organizations. Nevertheless, the Sri Lankan manufacturing sector has a laid-back approach pertaining to innovations. This study examines the antecedents of innovation capability and performance outcomes of innovation capability in SMEs by integrating the resource-based view and dynamic capability view. To achieve this objective this study adopted an explanatory research design and collected data from 190 manufacturing sector SMEs in Sri Lanka. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the relationship between antecedents of innovation capability and its impact on product innovations and process innovations. Accordingly, the empirical findings of the current study contributed to the innovation management literature by validating a new framework based on seminal arguments of RBV and dynamic capability view to determine the antecedents of innovation capability in the manufacturing SME sector. Moreover, the findings of the study theorized that the identified antecedents of innovation capability will positively influence product innovation capability and process innovation capability.
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Balance score card - a strategic project management tool for infrastructure development projects
(2014-05-10) Amarasuriya, TU; Jayawardane, AKW
In today’s global context in infrastructure development, projects require critical review at different viewpoints such as Investor, Consultants, Contractors and End-users. Since the beginning of the 1990s experts have introduced terms such as “modern project management”, “management-by-projects”, “projects (Project Management) culture” and “beyond the Gantt chart” to distinguish contemporary future forms of Project Management from traditional past forms. Such terms, in part, propose the existence of a discipline, referred to in the remainder of this dissertation as either “Strategic PM” or “Emergent PM” that is characterised by as being “broader in its application, concepts and methods than traditional PM”. Out of many approaches that can be adopted in strategic PM, the BSC model was selected in this research as an effective tool in PM to evaluate project outcomes through; Financial perspective; Customer perspective; Internal perspective and Innovation and learning perspective. In order to compare the effectiveness of the proposed model over the conventional PM practices, a questionnaire survey was conducted among the stakeholders of a sample selected infrastructure development projects. The responses collected were evaluated through statistical analysis and inferences. Results obtained indicated that most of present organizations which undertake infrastructure projects follow PM techniques above 65% in order to manage their projects, the staff engaged in such projects (especially engineers), have averagely 67% knowledge about such techniques. Using this proposed tool, an organization, project manager or a team of project leaders can evaluate the project deliverables in different perspectives supported from the tool.
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Business process re-engineering with IT as a tool
(2002) Madanayake, OC; Jayawardane, AKW; Wickramarachchi, N
This paper explains the application of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) combined with IT as a tool to re-engineer the process of issuing transcripts to the graduates of the University of Moratuwa. The deep-set investigation and the redesign of tasks in this process brought to light many interrelated processes in the university. The authors were able to arrive at a Student Adrninistration System, which facilitates student registration, transfers, examination information and other ad-hoc information requirements.
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Critical factors for the adoption of groupware technologies in organizations in Sri Lanka
(2003) Madanayake, OC; Jayawardane, AKW; Wickramarachchi, N
Since the age of the industrial revolution, many technologies have surfaced, yet none could compare to the reception that computers received. It is by far the most popular technology to knock on the doors of the modern world. Homo sapiens being the race they were, were 110tsatisfied with the power of a mere computer. Networks were invented which paved the path to the Internet. The Internet proved to be a record breaker. never before has such a mass of people adapted in such a short space to a new Technology. Internet harbors many technologies under its wings and the list includes Groupware.
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Defining entrepreneurship : operational considerations
(2015-06-04) Kusumsiri, SANS; Jayawardane, AKW
The phenomenon of entrepreneurship is intertwined with a complex set of overlapping constructs and perspectives. Consequently, entrepreneurship literature is cluttered with a large number of definitions that emphasise the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon. The various definitions to entrepreneurship emphasise a wide range of activities such as creation, founding, managing and adapting a venture. This paper evaluates previously constructed definitions to identify four main approaches of entrepreneurship conceptualization. The suggested four approaches have been “evolved” through the analysis of historic development of the entrepreneurship phenomenon. Each of these approaches provides valuable insight into policy-making and educational programmes by targeting at different entrepreneurial realities.
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Diagnosing productivity proplems and identifying priorities
Mahendran, M; Jayawardane, AKW
This research project was done to diagnose productivity problems and identify priorities: and to determine the type of actions the Practitioners are willing to take to improve productivity. Methodology adopted to achieve the objectives were literature review and structured questionnaire survey. Questionnaire was developed to obtain from contractor and consultant the Company Characteristics. Areas for productivity improvement and the type of actions the organization would be willing to take. Contractors indicate that certain functions including procurement practices. cost control. scheduling and management integration need much improvement. Whereas the consultants indicate that they are concerned about design standards. design practices. drafting and specifications. From the research it was found that funding by the government appears to be necessary to support construction productivity programmes. It is recommended that designers awareness of materials and equipment issues could improve construction productivity. Also it is recommended surveys to be conducted every 3-4 years to observe and identify new trends in the industry and to direct research in the appropriate direction.
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Factors affecting delays in the building construction industry
Panditha, HGW; Jayawardane, AKW
History of the construction industry has witnessed that delays in construction projects are a common occurrence. These delays make the contractual parties involved in a particular project to vulnerable conditions and adversarial relationships complaining of other party's faults as the causes for delays. Those delays are an indication of lack of professionalism, which leads to bad reputation and less work for local contractors as client's tend to select more and more foreign contractors for their work. Therefore, it has become a timely need to study the factors affecting delays in the construction industry and suggest possible solutions in order to minimise these delays. The objectives of the research covered three main areas, namely identification of factors affecting delays in building construction industry during the construction stage, study the importance of the identified delay factors and delay groups, and make recommendations in order to minimise delays in the building construction industry during construction. Research methodology consists of (a) a detailed literature survey, (b) collection of data based on a structured survey, and (c) data analysis and development of recommendations so as to minimize delays. Similar research undertaken in Sri Lanka was found to be very limited. However, the limited research compiled in Sri Lanka and research conducted in the other part of the world, were quite helpful in developing the investigation programme and to get a broader knowledge in the research area. A well structured questionnaire was prepared using the information gathered from the literature survey. It was further refined based on the pilot survey, which was undertaken on 5 building sites and the views obtained from the experts involved in the building construction industry. Subsequently, data collection was carried out by an interview survey comprising 30 case studies in the Sri Lankan building construction industry. Totally, 60 completed questionnaires were collected from sites by interviewing the contractor and either the consultant or the client. Engineers, architects and quantity surveyors who were attached to sites were interviewed for collection of data. A commonly used statistical technique of Importance Index method was used for the analysis of data in this research. The delay factors were then ranked using these importance index values. In addition to ranking of delay factors, importance index values were further used to analyse the delay factors with respect to their relationship with delay causes such as client's status, contract sum etc. Based on these findings, recommendations were determined to minimise delays in the Sri Lankan building construction industry during the construction period. Both the consultant and the contractor have selected "Rainy weather" as the most important delay factor with the important index values of 78.86 and 68.9 respectively. Contractors have selected "changes by the owner and the consultant" as the second most important delay factor while consultants selected the "manpower shortage" as the second most important delay factor. Both the contractor and the consultant have collectively ranked "rainy weather", "manpower skills" and "material shortage" as the top ranking causes for construction delays. This indicates the need for proper planning of all types of resources and improve the skills of the different labour trades required for the construction industry. Among the several types of delay groups, manpower, financing and changes have been ranked as top order delay groups. Environment and resources especially materials and equipment were also identified as important delay groups. Application of proper planning methods from pre-construction stage onwards, allocation of adequate funds for the project, identification of the needs and introduction of vocational training facilities for specialised jobs, review and evaluation of project alternatives in the pre-construction stage, frequent site meetings and joint site inspections are among the recommendations suggested to minimise construction delays. 11
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Factors Influencing success in fashion designer entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka
(2015-06-04) Kusumsiri, SANS; Jayawardane, AKW
Factors influencing entrepreneurship success have long been established as an important research domain. Even though fashion designer entrepreneurship has been growing to be a significant industry sector in Sri Lanka, this sector has not attracted systematic academic research. This paper therefore attempts to identify factors influencing success in fashion designer entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. The paper is based on an initial qualitative exploratory stage of an ongoing study. Based on in-depth interview techniques, this paper investigates factors influencing entrepreneurial success as perceived by the interview participants. The study reveals key success factors in four main propositions: behavioural factors, social capital, human capital and strategic factors. The most highlighted behavioural factors are being proactive, opportunity recognition and creativity. Innovative orientation strategies, competitive strategies and human resources strategies are the most emphasized strategic factors. Even though the sample size is limited to differentiate between the strategies implemented by the start-up and the established entrepreneurs, the innovation process can be differentiated between the two categories. The findings of this research will help practitioners and policy makers in nurturing entrepreneurial initiatives in creative industries, particularly in the SME fashion designers sector in Sri Lanka. The outcome of this initial exploratory phase will be used along with the literature findings to develop the conceptual framework and to identify operational measures for the quantitative survey. The outcome of the quantitative phase will be helpful to validate these research findings to a larger population of fashion designer entrepreneurs.
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Innovation and absorptive capacity : an empirical study of manufacturing SMEs in the Western province of Sri Lanka
(2015-05-29) Weerasinghe, RN; Jayawardane, AKW
This research paper investigates the absorptive capacity of the manufacturing SMEs in the Western province of Sri Lanka. The ability to absorb knowledge created by external organizations, which is affected by several factors, is considered as absorptive capacity. Past research indicates that the structures of communication between the external environment and the organization as well as accumulated knowledge of the firm are two of the most important factors. This study attempts to understand application of these external linkages and information sources in the process of innovation by selected organizations. A sample of 280 firms selected using stratified random sampling from the data base of Enterprise Survey 2003, maintained by the Department of Census and Statistics was used. Survey based data collection method was used with the semi structured questionnaire developed following standard innovation survey instruments. The survey was followed with a focus group discussion for the purpose of in depth understanding of the reality. Data was analyzed qualitatively employing descriptive and interpretive tools to draw the conclusion that the Manufacturing SMEs in the Western province of Sri Lanka do not use external information sources and do not have sufficient links with other firms for bringing new knowledge into their innovation activities. As a result, they show weak innovative outcomes in the production, improvement or introduction of new products and processes, penetration of new markets, introduction of new strategies and management/operational practices. Further, they have achieved very poor intermediate innovation outcomes as intellectual property rights in the form of patents, copy rights, and industrial designs. Some policy and strategic initiatives needed to promote this absorptive capacity of firms and promoting them for innovation are provided. The paper also recommends a more systematic and formalized national innovation system connecting three main actors; government, representative institutions, universities, other tertiary education institutes and the firms.
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Innovation versus imitation : the applicability of reproducing established categories ethically
(2015-06-04) Weerasinghe, RN; Jayawardane, AKW
This conceptual paper aims to further clarify the idea of innovation paying attention to the innovation in developing countries where the results of innovation are still needed to be accelerated. Different approaches to describe the process of innovation have been employed herewith to justify that the ‘new to the world’ scientific or technological exploration led innovations is not the only source of innovation, but that there are many others. Organizations with their own interest and capacity can access different sources of innovations to be competitive globally. Further, the paper emphasizes that learning from others is also considered a successful competitive strategy towards excellence in performance. Finally, the paper emphasizes that it is not unethical learning from others and applying the knowledge created elsewhere for the purpose of development and better performance. .
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Learnings that surpass theory
Jayawardane, AKW
Professor Ananda Jayawardane, Vice Chancellor and a Professor in Civil Engineering at the Moratuwa University, has a unique approach to his responsibilities at the most sought after technological university in Sri Lanka. The ability to analyse a situation and act accordingly demands precision as well as flexibility; qualities he believes his time in the UK instilled in him.
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Optimising earthmoving by linear programming and computer simulation
(5/24/2011) Jayawardane, AKW
The accuracy of planning and estimating of earthmoving operations in any highway construction is important for both successful tendering and high profit margins. Mass-haul diagrams and experienced engineering judgment together with deterministic methods have been the key factors in planning and estimating earthmoving operations. Despite this, the limited use of Mass-haul diagrams and inaccuracy of deterministic estimates are well known. Although Stochastic and Linear Programming methods were developed to overcome some of these limitations, those available hitherto are relatively fundamental and are not bold enough to incorporate most real life problems. After identifying the need for a relatively quick and accurate planning and estimating procedure, a new approach was developed by combining Computer Simulation and Linear/Integer Programming. The developed model was named RESOM; an acronym for Roadwork Earthmoving System Optimisation Model and was developed in three basic stages: simulation model; LPIIP model; and network model. RESOM can be applied to any road project to obtain an optimum earthmoving plan including material distribution, plant utilisation incorporating real life problems and constraints. The main aims of the simulation model were to obtain realistic unit costs and production rates using balanced plant teams. Various cycle element times of earthmoving equipment were obtained from standard distributions fitted onto field data collected from four sites in Sri Lanka. Comprehensive LPIIP formulations were developed incorporating constraints like project duration, plant availability, sequence of operations etc. to obtain an optimum earthmoving plan using the simulated results. The third stage of RESOM involved the presentation of the selected earthmoving plan in the form of network diagrams and barcharts. RESOM was successfully validated using two actual case studies (Anamaduwa Gam Udawa, Sri Lanka, and the A42 - Measham and Ashby By-pass, UK). Application and experimentation with RESOM were explained using two other case studies (the M40 - Banbury By-pass and a hypothetical example) and proved that about 20% cost savings can be obtained. The experimentation process revealed that RESOM could be of considerable help in planning, estimating and obtaining optimum earthmoving plans.
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Problems faced by small scale contractors
De Silva, APR; Jayawardane, AKW
As in other developing countries construction industry in Sri-Lanka is weak. Although there are large number of small contractors throughout the country, their plight is not satisfactory compared to other grades. Though there are criticisms against them such as poor quality, failure to meet completion dates etc. there are several difficulties faced by the small scale contractors. Under this environment Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa felt the need of carrying out this type of survey to identify the real problems and make recommendations to solve their problems by relevant parties. Very recently even the ICTAD and ACCSL have identified the necessity of such a survey inorder to improve the plight of small scale contractors. They have organised some interviews with Road Maintenance Contractors and workshops for small scale contractors in few provinces up to now. Based on these work, author has done a comprehensive survey on small scale contractors involved in building industry. Contractors' views on problems they face were investigated under major areas such as Technical and Managerial; Financial; Construction plant, equipment and vehicles; Basic materials; Contract Administration; and finally the Social Aspect. This was done mainly through a detailed questionnaire survey supplemented by interviews and discussions. Con tractors' views on reasons for such problems, their suggestions for improvements and support they need from outside parties such as ICTAD, ACCSL, CHPB, Government policy making bodies etc. were also considered. In order to get the real picture, other parties such as clients, consultants, experts dealing with the small scale contractors were also interviewed and their ideas were incorporated. It was found that the most critical problem that the small scale contractors have is the payment delays by the client due to various reasons. Other important problems are inadequate work throughout the year, difficulties in obtaining bonds, guarantees and loans, and non-availability of building materials and increasing prices. Finally the recommendations were developed based on the questionnaire survey, interviews with selected contractors, clients, consultants and experts in this field. It must be pointed out that the development assistance to small scale contractors, and the resulting benefits entirely depends on the success of implementation of results of this type of surveys.
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Sustaining technopolis in Sri Lanka : a technological innovation systems approach
(2017) Ramanayaka, AI; Jayawardane, AKW
the technopolis based on nanotechnology in Sri Lanka, has been initiated successfully and entered the development phase of its activities. Central to the frameworks of evaluating sustainability of technopolis, interactions in the eco system are often evaluated. This study employs a comprehensive interaction analysis using the model of seven system functions of technological innovation systems, to identify virtuous cycles, which are propitious to the propagation and sustenance of the technopolis. The study identifies advocacy coalitions in the form of political lobbying is a dominant dynamic in the pre development phase and the system undergo virtuous cycles and enters the next phase. The sustenance of the system in the development stage is fueled by dominant functions such as resource mobilization, market formation, and knowledge diffusion.
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Total factor productivity in the Sri Lanka building construction industry
Navaratna, WMDSB; Jayawardane, AKW
This research study uses the Tornqvist Index method to estimate the Total Factor Productivity Growth (TFPG) of the Sri Lanka building construction industry from 1995 - 2001. At the beginning of the study the aim was to estimate the total factor productivity growth and its trends for the entire Sri Lanka construction industry. However this was changed and the study was confined to building sector due to limited availability of data and incompleteness of the available data. Sri Lanka construction industry has received mixed blessings from the government and policy makers towards its development. Most stake holders in the construction industry feel that the government has given insufficient attention to protect and develop Sri Lankan contractors making the construction industry suffer from quality, capacity and productivity Issues. Several attempts have been made to measure site level and enterprise level productivity in the construction industry but there had been no significant attempt to measure TFPG in the construction industry, mainly due to complexities of such studies and lack of recorded information. Despite the absence of such TFPG studies in Sri Lanka, such assessments in different sectors and for the overall economy are very popular in other countries in Asia such as Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand. The results of the study indicate that TFPG has a positive trend from 1995 to 1997 and recorded the maximum TFPG in 1997. However, there is a drastic drop in TFPG (from +0.803 to - 0.682) in the building construction in 1998 and 1999 due to very high labour and capital input compared to 1997. Since year 2000 TFPG in the building construction industry had been revolving around zero. Study also concludes that there has to be significant improvement in national data collection in order to have more reliable indications of TFPG trends in the building industry and to have any indication of TFPG trends in the overall ec.ostruction industry.
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Understanding and mitigating project delays in donor funded road projects in Sri Lanka
Jeyakanthan, J; Jayawardane, AKW
Delays in donor funded road projects have become inevitable, and an endemic problem in Sri Lanka hindering effective use of foreign aid granted for such projects. The aim of this research is to identify the factors causing project delays that are significant and to present the strategies identified and recommendations developed to mitigate the project delays in donor funded projects in Sri Lanka. The research was approached by setting a frame work on the project management processes. A road map was then developed to identify the major value adding activities in this context. A comprehensive literature survey and semi-structured interviews were carried out with professionals involved in the donor funded projects to identify the causes of delay. Further, 24 projects have been examined for quantitative data on time delays. The study identified general factors causing delays in donor funded road projects in Sri Lanka contributing to various stages of the projects namely initiation, planning, execution, and monitoring and control. The study revealed an alarming result that, during the execution process, increase in quantities had significant effect on the project time and accounted for about 56% of the delays on the projects examined. The results also indicated that errors and omissions in detail design, changes in specifications and scope, were the most prevalent sources of quantity increase. Further, during the planning process, the procurement of works activities was delayed by 23% mainly due to shortcomings in contract documents and approvals from relevant agencies. In this context, the developed process model for action to direct the implementation of donor funded road projects recommends, to incorporate design constructability review as the major value adding activity in order to minimize the project delays. A rigorous approach by the executing agency is essential to make the aid more effective, accountable and transparent. Finally, areas for further research were identified.
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Up-thrust in turbulence waters : innovative practices in fashion designer entrepreneurship
(2015-06-04) Kusumsiri, SANS; Jayawardane, AKW
Fashion designer entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka has developed at a significant rate within the last decade. As in any other business, designer entrepreneurs have faced many challenges in today’s turbulent business environment. This paper focuses on critical challenges induced by turbulent business environment and fashion designer entrepreneurs’ innovative management practices to overcome those challenges. Through qualitative method of in-depth interviews, six participants shared their experiences and perspectives on critical turbulence factors and strategies they have implemented to overcome those challenges that have contributed to their business success. Analysis consisted of a coding system to generate similar themes and categories supported by SQR Nvivo 07 software. Findings revealed seven critical factors related to the environment turbulence as perceived by the participants and seven distinctive strategies implemented by the participants in response to those turbulence factors. The seven strategies can be broadly categorised under ‘Product/Market Innovation Strategies’ and ‘Relationship and People Strategies’. This paper contributes to the creative industries sector in Sri Lanka, and particularly to the fashion designer entrepreneurship in terms of identifying strategies that can be implemented by the entrepreneurs and policy makers in response to unfavourable and turbulent environments. Data collected in this study were restricted to the fashion designer entrepreneurship. However, the same combination of management practices and strategies would be contributing to other entrepreneurship sectors, and therefore further exploration of this study is encouraged.