http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/1589 2026-04-19T23:51:58Z http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/1597 Editorial Note In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), it is a great pleasure to introduce the inaugural issue of the South Asian Journal of Marketing (SAJM). SAJM is a peer-reviewed open access bi-annual scholarly outlet for publishing new knowledge in Marketing in local, Asian and even in global contexts. The SAJM aims to provide a platform to publish contemporary, high-quality and original research papers in Marketing while providing room for insightful reviews, conceptual papers, empirical papers that employ qualitative, quantitative and/or mixed methods approach. As such, the Journal aspires to be vibrant, engaging, accessible, but challenging. The Journal will be published with the Emerald Publisher from its Vol. 2 Issue 1 onwards, and thus being the first Sri Lankan Journal to be published with Emerald. The Journal accommodates three types of papers. Firstly, Critical Reviews, which provide critical and concise yet comprehensive and contemporary review of a particular theme specific to Marketing Management. Secondly, Conceptual and Empirical Research Papers which are more common and demonstrate sound theoretical, empirical and/or methodological underpinning and make clear contribution to the knowledge in the field of Marketing. Finally, Book Reviews. The current inaugural issue of SAJM propagates new marketing knowledge through six research papers and a book review that critically explore current marketing and/or business issues in both local and South Asian contexts. 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/1596 Self-Congruence and Emotional Brand Attachment: Experience of Young Sri Lankan Smartphone Consumers Harsha Tissera, W.P.S; Amila Jayarathne, P.G. S Having considered the significance of self-Congruence and Emotional Brand Attachment, this study aims to examine the impact of self-congruence on emotional brand attachment in Sri Lankan context by taking the smartphones consumers on board. The paper also examined the relative importance of actual self-congruence versus ideal self-congruence, on creating emotional attachment to brands. This is an explanatory research. Data were collected from 400 smartphone consumers who belong to the age category of 19 - 45 through a structured questionnaire. The study disclosed that self-congruence positively impacted on emotional brand attachment while utilitarian benefits were moderating the relationship between self-congruence and emotional brand attachment. The investigation of the moderating impact is an original contribution to the knowledge. The findings of the paper led to some important theoretical and managerial implications in the South Asian Context. Keywords 2020-07-15T00:00:00Z http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/1595 Emotional Intelligence towards strengthening the linkage between Internal Business Processes and Customer Service Performance: Evidence from the Sri Lankan Banking Industry Nanayakkara, S.M; Wickramasinghe, V; Samarasinghe, G.D This study aimed to examine the influence of Emotional Intelligence (EI) on the possible link between Internal Business Process (IBP) and Customer Service Performance (CSP) in the Sri Lankan banking sector. Review of literature led the study to synthesize a conceptual model with hypotheses. The study adopted the survey strategy with a structured questionnaire, which was administered to a representative sample of 291 branches of commercial banks in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. The key informants / respondents from the bank branches included one thousand and ninety-four executive-level employees. The measurement model and structural model both were estimated by employing Partial Least Square (PLS) based structural equation modelling using SMARTPLS software. The findings revealed that IBP has a significant and positive influence on CSP of the banking industry of Sri Lanka. It was also found that EI has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between IBP and CSP in the banking sector. The findings have implications for decision makers in service organizations. 2020-06-25T00:00:00Z http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/1594 Impact of Process Enjoyment in Value Co-Creation on Customer Satisfaction in Wedding Planning in Sri Lanka Kamalasena, B.D.T.M; Galdolage, B. S This study aims at understanding the impact of value co-creation on customer satisfaction in wedding planning in Sri Lanka while examining the moderating effect of process enjoyment. Quantitative approach was employed by distributing selfadministered questionnaires among 150 customers who have experienced the service of an event planning organization in planning their weddings in Western Province, Sri Lanka, and they were selected based on convenience sampling method. The study found a positive effect of value co-creation on customer satisfaction in wedding planning as such that the effect becomes stronger when customers enjoy their involvement. This research fills the gap in the existing literature by investigating value co-creation, process enjoyment and customer satisfaction in event planning, particularly in the context of wedding planning. As the managerial implication, service organizations can obtain advantage by understanding to which extent and aspects they should collaborate with customers to make them happy. In short, service organizations should attempt to make value co-creation process enjoyable to the customers. 2020-07-28T00:00:00Z