http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/7453 2026-04-03T18:08:50Z 2026-04-03T18:08:50Z Basnayake, B.M.R.L. De Silva, D.A.M. http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/7615 2022-08-17T04:18:28Z 2019-02-28T00:00:00Z

Impact of Alternative Food Trends on Under Utilized Crop Value Chains: A Case of Sri Lanka Basnayake, B.M.R.L.; De Silva, D.A.M. The world’s food energy depends on only about 30 crop species whereas over 7000 species have been known to be used for food and are either partly or fully domesticated. This large portion of crop species known as underutilized crops. With health concerns, urbanization, income levels; the demand for underutilized crops was rapidly changed in both locally as well as globally. Present approach was to investigate the emergence of alternative food trends (Organic food, Chemical free, wild collected etc.) in local market and export market (ethnic market), to identify the impact on underutilized crop value chain actors; small scale farmers, middlemen, exporters and consumers and to find out the impact of alternative food trends on farming environment. Mixed method approach was employed and the sample size was 450. Farm households were selected from Uva and Eastern provinces. Key informant interviews, focus group discussions, interviewer administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Consumption of wild collected fruits and vegetables, chemical free, village food, organic food (certified and non certified) and healthy food/functional food were identified as important alternative food trends in local market. In export market; demand was for authentic Sri Lankan food types. Nearly 50 different types of crops were identified in farmer level (was 60% vegetables, 30% cereals and pulses and 10% fruits) and best crops were recommended to each district based on the crop suitability index and developed a map of crop suitability. Informal collecting canters were common and 70% went as raw products to the market. These village level collectors link farmers and wild collectors with the upstream of the value chain. Middlemen were mainly responsible for collecting, marketing, transportation, storage as well as for huge post- harvest losses. Out of 50 exporters only 35 exporters were dealing with value added underutilized food products and they more concerned on safety and quality requirements. The main environmental issues identified were wild life threat, pest and diseases problems, changes in rainfall pattern, access rights and water scarcity.

2019-02-28T00:00:00Z Weddagala, W.M.T.B. De Silva, D.A.M. http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/7612 2024-10-16T04:59:01Z 2019-02-28T00:00:00Z

Ceylon Cinnamon in US Market: An Investigation of Label Attributes of Ready to Eat Cinnamon Products Weddagala, W.M.T.B.; De Silva, D.A.M. Mass level of recent food related issues and scandals generated a destructive energy towards the fast food and ready to eat industry by alarming the world about the food safety and security. Descriptive and informative food labels play a major role in nowadays consumer choice regardless of the regional barriers. Our approach is to identify the cinnamon based ready to eat products and sources in the US market and analyse the label attributes by concerning the positioning strategies of Ceylon cinnamon. The study was based on survey strategy concerning the US food and beverage market and online retails. 30 brick-and-mortar stores and 55 online platforms were used to capture the relevant data. Study identified six products categories available in the US market as well as three positioning strategies. Prominent strategy was mentioning the Cinnamon in front label where 3 common methods were identified; display only the name but not highlighted (26%), highlighted name placed in prominent place (centre of front package) (43%) and both name and the picture (31%). Breakfast cereal for kids, breakfast cereal for adults, cereal bars, bakery and confectionary, spice mixes and tea were the identified categories. Flavoured tea and spice mix recorded the highest nutritional values for the both Nutrition Profile Model (NPM) score and Nutrition Profile Index (NPI). Seven major Cinnamon based ready to eat product sources were identified and supermarkets frequently offer the cinnamon based products compared to the sources. Study identified that larger fraction of less NPI scored products were consumer friendly and the front label capable of manipulate the purchase decision rather than the high NPI scored products. Significant amount (98%) of product labels found in US retail market consist of Cassia image in the front positioning while none of the labels were used the image of Ceylon cinnamon as product strategy. None of the labels were not mentioned the Coumarin content and Ceylon cinnamon with its unique feature of ultra-low levels of Coumarin was not considered. Ethnic food stores, restaurants and supermarkets were the main retail market places and about 30 Ceylon cinnamon exporters were supplying Ceylon cinnamon to the USA market.

2019-02-28T00:00:00Z Swarnamali, R.M.I. http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/7592 2024-11-05T11:06:03Z 2022-08-04T00:00:00Z

Impact of E Banking on Profitability of Commercial Banks in Sri Lanka Swarnamali, R.M.I. Sri Lanka also implies e banking to provide their banking services to its customers. There are a lot of studies have been conducted on a variety of determinants’ impact on the profitability of banks. However, there are few studies that have been conducted in Sri Lanka to identify the impact of e banking on the profitability of banks in Sri Lanka. Therefore, policymakers have seemingly failed to develop appropriate strategies and policies to boost the performance of the Sri Lankan banking system through the eff ective adoption of e banking. Therefore, this study critically investigated the impact of e banking on the profitability of commercial banks in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the return on assets, net interest margin, and efficiency ratio is used to measure the p rofitability of Commercial Banks. E banking is measured by a number of ATMs and fee and commission income. Bank size, GDP growth rate, and annual inflation rate are considered as the control variables in this study. The control variable is measured by tota l assets, annual inflation rate, and GDP growth rate. The data was analyzed by using regression analysis. For this study selected 24 commercial banks in Sri Lanka as a sample to investigate the impact of e banking on profitability. The data was gathered by using published annual reports of selected banks from 2008 to 2020 in relation to the number of ATMs, fee and commission income, net interest income, total assets, profit after tax, and operating expenses by using the published annual reports of each bank . This study found that e banking had a negative impact on the profitability of commercial banks, bank size also had a negative impact on NIM, bank size and GDP growth rate had a positive impact on ER and ROA respectively. The reliability of this study lar gely depends on the secondary data. Mainly through previous research and annual reports. This study investigates only the effect of E banking, bank size, annual inflation, and GDP growth rate. But there can be many other variables that affect the profitabi lity of commercial banks. This research helps to recognize the impact of E banking on the profitability of Sri Lankan commercial banks.

2022-08-04T00:00:00Z Wickramasinghe, H.K.S.D. http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/7589 2024-11-08T07:36:48Z 2022-08-04T00:00:00Z

Impact of Brand Equity towards Purchase Intention of the Mobile Telecommunication Sector in Sri Lanka Wickramasinghe, H.K.S.D. The Sri Lankan mobile telecommunication market has experienced a strong growth over the last few years. The increasing competition and number of identical products in the market pressure businesses to compete and stand out. Mor eover, the number portability facility eventually allows users to switch among services with a minimal switching cost, and it hugely impacts consumer purchase intention and retention. Thus, companies must focus on their brand equity more than ever to retai n customers and differentiate themselves from competitors to obtain a competitive edge. However, they attempt to capture the market with massive advertising, but this, according to the study, is not the best strategy to establish a positive reputation amon g the target population. Therefore, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by investigating the impact of brand equity on consumer purchase intention in the mobile telecommunication industry by analysing data from 199 respondents gathered through a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the hypothesis between brand equity and consumer purchase intention. Results showed that brand association, brand loyalty, and perceived quality significantly impact consumer purchase intention of mobile connections, whereas brand awareness is non significant in consumer purchase intention. The study findings support the hypotheses, and some managerial implications for corporates were also discussed.

2022-08-04T00:00:00Z