Public Policy and Governance

The broader objective of this cluster is to conduct high-quality and independent research in the fields of Policy Analysis and Governance in Sri Lanka and other emerging economies. Therefore, we focus mainly on policy-related issues faced by Sri Lanka in particular and emerging market countries in general. Accordingly, our scope mainly includes studies in relation to country’s health policy and management, education policies and labour market trends, energy policy, food security, poverty and inequality, issue of aging population and social security policies, informal sector economic activities and their influence on economies, and so forth. Moreover, we also focus on countries’ governance-related issues, including corruption and its consequences.

For our studies, we largely depend on island-wide individual and household surveys conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics and research unit of relevant ministries and other authorities of the relevant countries. We also build close connections with country-branches of recognized international organizations including, the World Bank, IMF, UNICEF, ILO, and so forth and make necessary arrangements to share databases, survey instruments, and research experiences. In certain cases, we also undertake field surveys to collect primary data in several waves to build our own panel and cross-sectional-pooled datasets which will then be used for our policy analysis exercises.

Finally, our policy analysis and simulation exercises provide reliable insights on socio-economic issues, enabling policy professionals to shape countries’ policy agendas and to make evidence-based policies. This would minimize the likelihood of making ad-hoc policies, making everyone’s life prosper.

Marketing

The broader aim of ‘Marketing Track’ is to conduct high quality research related to marketing discipline. By undertaking rigorous research initiatives, marketing cluster would be able to not only help solve practical issues faced by organizations (industry) but also to contribute to theory development and enhancement in the discipline. The cluster would mainly focus on research in the areas of identifying and evaluating new opportunities in the market, assess marketing practices/ strategies adopted by organizations, critically evaluate the applicability of theories and models in comprehending contemporary marketing practices and developing more-context specific approaches. Further, the cluster would address ethical issues associated with marketing practices. In order to address the diverse areas of research above, the cluster employs a well-qualified and experienced panel of researchers who are competent in different methodologies. In addition, marketing cluster would work jointly with other clusters within the RCMSC, academic institutes and industry partners are required by projects undertaken to deliver the best outcomes for RCMSC’s clients. With the outcome of the research initiatives undertaken, the cluster, would generate scholarly discussion in the society on contemporary marketing practices in both local and global contexts, and bring about significant changes to the ways in which marketing is practiced by organizations.

Economics, Trade and Commerce

Economics, Trade and Commerce cluster deals with research relevant to conducting of trade among economic agents or the exchange of goods, services and all those activities which directly or indirectly facilitate that exchange. We attempt to bring together scholars, academia, multilateral organizations, industry partners and policy makers who are concerned about the developments and trends in the areas of Trade, Commerce and Economics. This cluster is inclusive of national and international inter-disciplinary collaborations from the SMEs to the giants of multilateral organizations. The cross-over between conceptual and practical dimensions of research is the distinctive feature of the cluster.

The overall objective of this cluster is to develop a research culture in trade, commerce and economics in order to generate, upgrade and disseminate the knowledge and explore solutions for the issues in this field. The scope of this cluster expands to the following broader sets of activities;

  • Building up a strong network of experts and different agents in this field.
  • Identifying important areas to conduct research.
  • Positioning in a manner that attracts the industry needs and requirements, which can be addressed by the cluster
  • Building up a strong position to receive important research issues from the field.
  • Develop a method to assist or sponsor researches
  • Create and spread awareness on current issues with the help of the experts in the field

There are many prospective agents and research areas that get connected to this research cluster and some broad categories are;

  • Local and foreign researchers, academia, governments, policy makers, institutions and businessmen in these fields
  • Multilateral Organizations (e.g.: United Nations, World Trade Organization, World Bank, IMF, G20, G7)
  • Regional Co-operations or custom unions (e.g.: SAFTA, NAFTA, EU)
  • Free Trade Zones
  • Regional Trade Agreements or Preferential Trade Agreements
  • Global power

Entrepreneurship and Business Creation

The aim of the cluster for Entrepreneurship and Business Creation is to help entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial institutions, private, government and non-governmental organizations to address the concurrent issues in the field through research and consultancy services. The cluster is represented by experienced and reputed researchers who have a strong network with entrepreneurs in the industry. Being the pioneers in this field, academics of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce undertakes research and consultancy work together with external experienced experts. Both local and foreign institutions are already connected with the Faculty as well as with the Centre and are eagerly waiting to join hands to undertake research and consultancy work. We have understood the importance of research based findings for the development of entrepreneurship which will lead to the sustainable economic development. For the development of entrepreneurial culture, knowledge flow is essential from the academics to the practitioners in the industrial sector. Hence, this cluster will work as a knowledge intermediary between the university system/academics (where  new knowledge is created) and the industry (where the knowledge is applied). We are receptive and obliging to join hands with all the interested parties for the benefits of all.

Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour

The Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour cluster’s aim is to undertake research consultancy in the field and also to facilitate the researchers in conducting cutting-edge research on topics that explore how human interactions can contribute in developing and sustaining effective and satisfying working environment.

Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour cluster will provide you a platform to have successful research outcomes by exposing you to classic and cutting-edge research. We will help you to conduct exciting and impactful research and also to share discovered knowledge with fellow scholars, managers, and students in Sri Lanka and abroad. To that end, we will work one-on-one with you on research, related to topics such as:

  • Leadership and teamwork
  • Work, family, diversity, and personal life
  • Workplace fairness and justice
  • Strategic HRM
  • International Human Resource Management
  • Stress and burnout
  • Employer branding and recruitment
  • Counterproductive work behaviors
  • Workplace interventions, training, and employee engagement

Of course, these are samples of related topics.  You can suggest the additional topics to us as per your requirements and as you can see, we are passionate about creating and disseminating knowledge that informs organizational efforts to achieve exceptional results for all the stakeholders.

Innovation, Operations and Quality Management

This track covers management of three key areas in business, namely, operations, technology, and innovations. Operations management pillar covers the design and development of products, processes, assurance of quality, management of procurement, inventory, and logistics of manufacturing and service sector organizations. Technology management pillar covers the selection, acquisition, adoption, and management of technology capabilities (product, process, and information) of an organization while the innovation management pillar considers the management of an organization towards successful research and development (R&D) agenda to achieve innovations performance for a sustainable competitive advantage.

Through this track, we expect collaborative research links and partnerships with public and private sector (manufacturing or service) organizations who seek productivity and quality improvements on their operations through a better management of technology and innovations. Resource persons of this track include academics from the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce and professionals from leading private sector organizations who are experts not only in operations, technology, and innovations management, but also in data analytics.

Specific objectives of this track are;

  • To network academics and professionals in the areas of operations, technology, and innovations management.
  • To engage with collaborative research work in order to benefit both manufacturing and service sector organizations.
  • To support private and public sector organizations with consultancy services on productivity and quality improvements through effective use of problem solving tools and techniques.
  • To support organizations for an effective management of their technology transfer and innovation processes.

Specific areas of research and consultancy related to this track are;

  • Productivity improvement with world class operations management tools including lean and six sigma.
  • Quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement.
  • Modelling and optimizing processes, inventory, and distribution networks.
  • R&D management for better innovation performance.
  • Strategic technology transfer for effective acquisition and adoption into world class (product, process, and information) technologies.

Real Estate and Property Development

Real Estate industry has become an attentive area of the current Sri Lankan economy as there is a major growth in the genuine real estate development with the rapid infrastructural and commercial development during past years. The Real Estate and Property Development cluster focuses addressing the issues in the field of real estate management and valuation in Sri Lanka together with both public institutions such as Government Valuation Department, Urban Development Authority (UDA), National Physical Planning Department (NPPD), National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) etc. and private institutions. Moreover, this cluster acts as a collaborative medium to facilitate the needed parties with the knowledge generated through consultancy and research activities at their request.

The main objective of the Real Estate and Property Development cluster is to conduct project based researches engaged with credible empirical real estate management, development, planning and valuation on request of real estate companies, investors, government organizations or real estate consumers aiming to support organizations to regulate and plan their functions. It aims at encouraging economic growth and development of Sri Lanka through contributing to real estate management policy decision and disseminates findings and results of real estate researches using a variety of dissemination media.

This cluster incorporates three complementary areas;

  • Real Estate Management
  • Property Development
  • Real Estate Valuation

With the intension of supporting the development and continuing education of real estate of Sri Lanka, the future activities of this cluster focus on the sub-disciplines which are considered as emerging and contemporary fields of the track. For instance, Real Estate Valuation, Analysis of Real Estate Market Trends, Studies on Affordable Housing Strategies, Execution of Land Tenure and Policy Matters, Application of Geographic Information System on Real Estate Management, Corporate Real Estate Strategies, Property Management in Local Government Administration, Disaster Management and Valuation, Heritage Property, Environmental Valuation and Environmental Impact Assessment, Real Estate Marketing and Branding, Title registration (‘Bim Saviya’), Condominium Properties, Influence of technology innovation and sustainability on real estate value, Land identification and valuation, Agriculture Valuation, Construction Industry etc.

Information Technology and Information Systems

This research track is focused on conducting research in Information Systems, Information Technology and allied fields. Information Systems are playing an increasingly important and strategic role for many organizations today. The Information Technology services sector is an important contributor to the national economy with Sri Lanka being considered as a global destination for business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing ventures.

The track will enable collaborative, unbiased research by academics from the cluster and other academics in the faculty who share the common research themes. They will be supported by industry partners, government and non-governmental institutions, entrepreneurs, students in the fields of Information Systems and Information Technology. Two research clusters have been established in the theme of Information Technology as the cornerstones of research activities of the Faculty; namely – IT/IS, Strategy and Organization and ICT for Education.

Accounting and Managerial Finance

The broader objective of this cluster is to conduct high-quality and independent research in the field of Accounting. Accounting is the systematic and comprehensive recording of financial transactions pertaining to a business. Accounting also refers to the process of summarizing, analyzing and reporting these transactions to oversight agencies, regulators and tax collection entities.

Finance, Financial Markets and Institutions

Financial markets and institutions have a key economic role, allocating savings to productive activities and managing risks. Smooth function of them enables economic growth and development of inclusive and sustainable societies. To this end, the cluster for Finance, Financial Markets and Institutions is committed to lead and conduct finance research which has a wide scope, focusing on issues that are local at the one end, and international and global at the other. They often include research in the areas of finance for sustainable development, investments, markets, networks in finance, alternative corporate governance, safety and soundness of banking systems, and environmental finance. It has implications for organizational stakeholders such as financial institutions, corporations and government and gives voice to all segments of the society who involve in financial decisions. The cluster aims at not only promoting high quality research and education but also enforcing a strong alliance between the academia and the industry.

Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Development

Sustainable development has become one of the greatly discussed topics during the last few decades and indigenous knowledge is the prominent latest discussions about sustainable development as such knowledge has enabled the humans to live an environmental friendly prosperous life. Hence, this cluster aims to carryout research studies for acquiring knowledge on ways of retrieving indigenous knowledge with the purpose of bringing its benefits for the sustainable development of the society.

This cluster comprises of top-notched academics in the faculty and also external organizations and individuals who are enthusiastic and interested in carrying out researches on this field. With all the resources and research expertise we have, we invite everyone who are interested in conducting researches to join with us to conduct your research projects, it maybe for your business purposes, individual interests or for any other reason but we will guarantee that you will be amazed with the results you get from us.

Cluster objectives are to;

  • Bring collaborations with private and public sector organizations for knowledge gathering.
  • Facilitate quality researches in indigenous knowledge and sustainable development.
  • Improve knowledge and understanding among public and organizations on this field.
  • Identify and provide latest development trends on this area.
  • Identify opportunities for integrating relevant aspects of indigenous knowledge and approaches to teaching and learning.

Research areas under Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Development

  • Learning Systems under Indigenous knowledge.
  • Use of Indigenous Knowledge by entrepreneurs and their impact to Sustainable Development.
  • Impact of local traditions to organizations and sustainable development.
  • Green Revolution Technology.
  • Designing and Implementation of culturally appropriate programs avoiding costly mistakes.
  • Merging environmental considerations and Economics in decision making.