Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Corporate governance Sri Lanka'

The intensity of negotiations, including war and Peace Talks, are driven by the threat of identity disintegration. Sri Lanka negotiates to preserve territorial integrity. Tamils argue for secession to preserve their identity. How is each to adapt their identity so that they can peacefully co-exist within the island? The current peace process began in 2002. The principles of Organizational Cybernetics show distinction is warranted between External Self-Determination (secession) and Internal Self-Determination (a single sovereignty recognised by the international community) as the negotiating systems occupy different recursive positions relative to each other. In each context, the systems gravitate differently towards cohesion and autonomy. Equally vital is to distinguish between systems, their embedments and their representatives. Diagnosis of the peace process seeking an internal self-determination solution does not display these distinctions. At the 2002 Peace Talks the only system permitted to negotiate with Sri Lanka (the encompassing system) was confined to one of the embedded systems (the Tamils as represented by the LTTE). Structurally this risked the encompassing system collapsing to represent its missing embedded systems. To rectify this Team Syntegrity is proposed, whose sequence of design in its multiple cascades enables representation issues to be resolved without it being confined to political parties. Content solutions are matters for Sri Lankans to design. However, they are considered in order to design and propose a ‘process’ solution. The journey this thesis takes is to arrive at designing the ‘how’ of negotiations so that it can accommodate the myriad of ‘what’ needs to be negotiated. A meta-level logic is required to resolve the undecidable proposition of preserving territorial integrity or secession. Working with the levels of recursion - the UN, the State and its embedded systems, this thesis proposes a way to absorb residual variety to gain agreement to negotiate internal self-determination based on interlocking negotiations involving those seeking cohesion and those seeking autonomy. This process also opens the way to address the solution design of the other interacting crises afflicting Sri Lanka. The uniqueness and contribution of this research is that it is the first time Organizational Cybernetics has been conceptually applied to diagnose and design a peace process involving a sovereign State.

This study examines trade union resistance to the post 1977 Export Oriented Industrialisation (EOI) strategies in Sri Lanka, and the possibilities of developing new strategic options. In contrast to perspectives that narrow unions to political economic dimensions, this study emphasises the cultural and the movement dimensions of unions. The purpose of the study is to understand the ways unions can regain their role as civil society actors on the basis of building worker solidarity. The study is divided into two main parts. The first part focuses on the features and tendencies of social movement unionism as advancing new possibilities towards revitalising unions. Under globalisation, unions are faced with an increasingly casualised labour force with more women absorbed as wage workers. The promotion of labour market deregulation and privatisation, endorsed by neo-liberal ideologies of competitive individualism, illustrates the narrowing of unions to the workplace while undermining worker solidarity. The first part of this research describes the impact of :neo-liberal globalisation on trade unions; conceptualisation of and resistance to globalisation; the essence of trade unions; social movement unionism and labour internationalism. According to social movement unionism perspectives, party independent union strategies, based on elements of internal democracy and structured alliances open the possibility of emphasising the movement dimension of unions. The second part explains the context of unions in Sri Lanka, focusing on three unions - the Nurses, Tea Plantation workers, and Free Trade Zone workers. In terms of the structural context, Sri Lankan unions faced a multi-faceted weakening under the post-1977 EOI policies. The assertion of an authoritarian state, promoting interests of capital, enhanced the fragmentation of unions along party differences that were further compounded by divisions along ethnic identity politics. Moreover, the increasing militarisation of the state, which maintains a protracted ethnic war, reinforced coercive state strategies restraining union resistance and shrinking the realm of civil society. In confronting state strategies of labour market deregulation and privatisation, the enduring party subordinated unions are increasingly inadequate. In contrast, the three unions in this study express forms of party-independent union strategies. By analysing their modes of resistance related to the articulation of worker interests, their organisational modes, and their engagement in representative and movement politics the study explores the possibility of developing a social movement unionism orientation in order to regain their role as civil society actors

This thesis is a culmination of a research of a particular branch of Corporate Law, which has grown in several major parts of civilized jurisdictions. The thrust of the study was to evaluate the past, present and the future of a particular type of action known in Corporate Law under the umbrella of shareholder remedies - the 'Derivative Action' with emphasis to develop the law in one jurisdiction profiting from another. The research thus reveals how, when and where the so called action originated, the initial effects these actions had on the corporate world including shareholders, companies and related persons natural or juristic. Though much has been written by way of books, treatises and articles and several researches have dealt with the common topic shareholder remedies in its broad perspect, there is no separate study carried out on this topic in its global context with a comparative focus. This study has therefore given me the drive, initiative and courage to look at the conceptual view or the macro view of the so called 'Derivative Action' with of course special emphasis on the Australian and Sri Lankan jurisdictions in its micro aspects. This, I believe is the first time anyone has undertaken such a task. The study thus travels through distant roads of common law action to the statutory form of the action in the relevant jurisdictions and finds it driving with much purpose in jurisdictions such as Australia and Sri Lanka which are both in the transitional era from the common law action to the statutory action. The research is based on the collection of material namely, case law - Australian, Sri Lankan and international on the matters in issue, Legal treatises on the subject matter local and international, Law reform material - Australian, Sri Lankan and international on the topic, Bills and Statutes available on the topic in Australia, Sri Lanka and other countries. I have met resource personnel with regard to Law Reform in several jurisdictions on the matters in issue and visited the Australian Stock Exchange and the Colombo Stock Exchange. The research findings depend mainly on the electronic data available in addition to resources available at the University of Canberra, the Australian National University, Colombo Law Library, The Colombo Law Society Library and the Sri Lanka Supreme Court Judges' Chambers Library and the Sri Lanka Attorney General's Department Library. Visits to the McGill University in Montreal, Canada and the corporate law sector in New Zealand, including Universities and Law Offices in Christchurch and Auckland too has helped me considerably in the process. Review of the literature of the proposed statutory Derivative Action in Australia and the proposed statutory Derivative Action in Sri Lanka, are based mainly on; Enforcement of the duties of directors and officers of a company by means of a statutory derivative action (Report No. 12) Companies and Securities Law Review Committee. (November 1990.), Corporate Practices and the Rights of Shareholders (Report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs) Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. (November 1991.), Report on A Statutory Derivative Action Companies and Securities Advisory Committee. (July 1993.), Corporate Law Economic Reform Program (CLERP) Proposal Paper No 3 (1997), the CLERP draft legislative provisions (1998), Australian case law on the application of the common law Derivative Action, both in the High Court and in individual States and Australian articles on Derivative Action as a common law remedy and on the introduction of the statutory action. In the Sri Lankan context, the proposals in Sri Lanka for the statutory Derivative Action and the case law in Sri Lanka on the application of the common law remedy has been referred to. Other literature include, material available on the Canadian formula of Derivative Action, including Statutes, Rules, case law, articles and other relevant data, material available on the Derivative Actions in the United States, material available in New Zealand on Derivative Actions, material available in England on Derivative Actions, namely on the common law approach, case law, articles, Bills, Rules and other connected material, Statutes on Derivative Actions in other jurisdictions at present and Hong Kong proposals for a statutory Derivative Action, to name some. The aforesaid material and the review of the same have assisted the study as follows: -To place the past, present and the future of the common law Derivative Action. -Examine the objectives of the Derivative Action. -The operation of the common law aspects of the action. -The benefits of the statutory form of the action. -Experiences of other countries in the recent past on the subject. -The Australian reform process presently underway. -The best experiences in Australia with regard to case law. -To evaluate whether the remedy should be limited to fraud on the minority or whether it should be extended further even to negligence. -How best Sri Lanka could benefit from the Australian formula of the statutory form of the action. -To evaluate whether the proposed model of the statutory action in Sri Lanka is adequate in view of the Australian and other accepted formulae on the subject. -Whether the common law action should be expressly abolished in Sri Lanka. -Consider the possible introduction of the best methods to Sri Lanka. Finally, the research speaks for itself the need for a statutory Derivative Action for Sri Lanka in the future, to be an improvement on the Canadian, New Zealand and Australian models. The research findings, especially in its conclusions and recommendation in Chapter 8, will no doubt help to improve the proposed statutory Derivative Action in Sri Lanka in a small way.

My research analyses issues in the relationships between the state and the market, including the roles of key institutions and organisations and their interactions in the policy and regulatory governance arenas. The findings, based on documentary analysis, focus group discussions, perceptions analysis and in-depth interviews with representative actors in the public policy system in Sri Lanka, focus specifically on the linkages between the country’s institutional endowments, the reform process and regulatory governance; and the role of mental models, path dependence and ideology – specifically that of the donor and local epistemic community – in influencing economic reforms and regulatory governance. The analysis set forth in this thesis draws on Douglass North’s conceptualisation of New Institutional Economics as well as on the conceptualisation of public policy by seminal scholars in the field such as Harold Lasswell, David Easton, Bill Jenkins, Michael Hill and Wayne Parsons. These theoretical constructs are particularly useful in exploring and obtaining a rich understanding of complex institutional and policy processes and relationships, as well as policy outcomes. Moreover, this framework sits well with the interpretivist research philosophy, inductive approach and qualitative research methods which I use to gather “thick” information on privatisation, competition and regulatory governance in Sri Lanka and in Sri Lanka’s telecommunications sector. An overview of the existing literature on privatisation, competition and regulatory governance in general and in the telecommunications sector in particular, points to a paucity of public policy analyses in developing countries. As such, whilst acknowledging the limitations of single case study research in relation to policy transfer, I posit that my research findings do shed light on a number of critical issues that are relevant to scholars and practitioners interested in understanding the policy process in developing countries. My research findings provide a real world illustration of the futility of dichotomising the state and markets; instead, constructs such as policy and regulatory space are more useful than those such as the regulatory state. Incorporating these constructs of policy and regulatory space also allows for a “thick” understanding of the dynamics between political and socio-economic institutions, organisations and individuals and their impact on policy outputs and outcomes. My findings also provide for a better understanding of regulatory governance in developing countries. Constructs such as responsive regulation, regulatory society and independent regulation that are typically conceived in the literature in a developed country context are critically explored in the Sri Lankan setting. Finally, my research findings extend the literature on privatisation, competition and regulatory governance by illustrating that forces of competition and contestability are more important than ownership change in terms of policy outputs and outcomes, and that – as reflected in the case of Sri Lanka’s telecommunications sector - competition and contestability can in fact transcend forces of weak regulatory governance.

This thesis examines the implementation of Community Corporate Responsibility (CCR) practices among ten subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in Sri Lanka and the different factors which influence such implementation. Within this context, it specifically focuses on examining the internal factors residing within the MNC as an organisation and those factors which exist outside in the institutional environment of the host country. The study combines three broad theoretical domains: Corporate Responsibility implementation literature, International Business Strategy literature and Neo-Institutional theory. It uses a qualitative research methodology based upon the interview method. Qualitative interview data collected through sixty-two in-depth interviews with managers of the ten subsidiaries and key institutional actors in the host country were analysed using descriptive coding, interpretive coding and conceptualisation to arrive at the findings. The findings showed that non-specialist functional departments were mainly responsible for implementing CCR practices, indicating a lack of strategic and structural integration of CCR practices. The findings reinforces the dominant role of the MNC headquarters in implementing CCR practices within subsidiaries operating in a developing country, indicating that ¿power¿ relationships between subsidiary and parent is an important denominator in internal organisational practices implementation. Furthermore, dynamic and complex relationships were found between the subsidiaries and the Sri Lankan government and other institutional actors indicating the existence of a strategic approach towards legitimisation by iii subsidiaries, using CCR practices. Based upon these findings, this research proposes the need to conduct future studies across different MNCs and their subsidiaries located in multiple developing countries to further examine the implementation of CCR practices as it would enable public policy makers and business managers to better influence the global CSR of MNCs.
Bradford University School of Management

This thesis examines the implementation of Community Corporate Responsibility (CCR) practices among ten subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in Sri Lanka and the different factors which influence such implementation. Within this context, it specifically focuses on examining the internal factors residing within the MNC as an organisation and those factors which exist outside in the institutional environment of the host country. The study combines three broad theoretical domains: Corporate Responsibility implementation literature, International Business Strategy literature and Neo-Institutional theory. It uses a qualitative research methodology based upon the interview method. Qualitative interview data collected through sixty-two in-depth interviews with managers of the ten subsidiaries and key institutional actors in the host country were analysed using descriptive coding, interpretive coding and conceptualisation to arrive at the findings. The findings showed that non-specialist functional departments were mainly responsible for implementing CCR practices, indicating a lack of strategic and structural integration of CCR practices. The findings reinforces the dominant role of the MNC headquarters in implementing CCR practices within subsidiaries operating in a developing country, indicating that 'power' relationships between subsidiary and parent is an important denominator in internal organisational practices implementation. Furthermore, dynamic and complex relationships were found between the subsidiaries and the Sri Lankan government and other institutional actors indicating the existence of a strategic approach towards legitimisation by iii subsidiaries, using CCR practices. Based upon these findings, this research proposes the need to conduct future studies across different MNCs and their subsidiaries located in multiple developing countries to further examine the implementation of CCR practices as it would enable public policy makers and business managers to better influence the global CSR of MNCs.

The legal humanitarian regime, set out in the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, strives to alleviate human suffering through the provision of emergency goods and services, such as food supplies, water, temporary shelter, and medical treatment. This thesis examines how international non-government organizations (INGOs) contribute to the contestation of this regime in political emergencies, the effects of this contestation, and the factors driving INGO contestation. The thesis develops an analytical framework for understanding the nature and functioning of the legal humanitarian regime, and argues that INGO contestation occurs through the two processes of regime interpretation and regime implementation. It then goes on to identify the substantive content and effects of contestation, and the factors driving INGO contestation of the regime, through a detailed study of the policies and practices of CARE, Médecins Sans Frontiers, Oxfam, and World Vision, in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, from 1990-2010. The thesis argues that contestation has constitutive effects, as it re-defines the meaning of the formal humanitarian regime, and the underlying rules and norms that specify the regime’s function, scope, and operating principles. Contestation also has causal effects, as it can make INGOs participants in the conflict, eroding thereby the basis on which they negotiate access and their ability to respond to humanitarian needs, and the security of their staff. It has also facilitated the subordination of humanitarian assistance by donor states and combatants to their political and security objectives. INGO identity - expressed in terms of the constituent rules and norms that define INGO membership, their mandate and goals, and the manner in which they distinguish themselves from other actors - is argued to be a necessary factor for explaining INGO contestation. The focus on identity highlights the agency of INGOs in shaping the humanitarian regime and demonstrates that INGOs are not simply at the mercy of more powerful actors or external constraints.

The aim of this thesis is to understand how fashion supply chain characteristics affect the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at factory level for garment manufacturers in lower labour-cost countries that supply Western high street fashion retailers. A dynamic, challenging global industry, the high street fashion industry is one of few sectors under simultaneous pressure for short lead times and low costs. Additionally, increasing global dispersion of garment manufacturing to lower labour-cost countries has led to concerns about worker exploitation and firms are now under pressure to deliver societal goals as well as shareholder profits. CSR represents the business response to minimising the negative societal impact of global business operations; however, the very nature of the fashion supply chain with the pressure on cost and lead time compromises CSR implementation at factory level. A qualitative case study approach was selected in order to gain greater depth of understanding of CSR in fashion supply chains; specifically, to explore from a managerial perspective the impact of negative and positive forces within the fashion supply chain on CSR implementation, with a view to understanding how CSR implementation can be reconciled with the competitive challenges of the fashion sector. Fieldwork was conducted in Sri Lanka, a key global garment manufacturing location, within 7 case study companies which were selected to represent the range of business sizes and models in the export garment manufacturing sector. Data collection methods included on-site face-to-face semi-structured interviews with key informants and non-participant observation within factory environments. Analysis of interview transcripts was conducted manually, using Eisenhardt’s (1989) method of within-case and cross-case analysis, and triangulated with observational data and documentary evidence. The theoretical contribution is the synthesis and categorisation of factors within the context of fashion supply chains that impact both negatively and positively on CSR implementation at factory level in a lower labour-cost country, followed by an understanding of the interplay of global fashion supply chain characteristics and their impact upon CSR implementation at factory level. It was concluded that the inherent conflict between CSR principles and the characteristics of fashion supply chains may be reconciled by moving away from traditional adversarial supply chain relationships and adopting the Supply Chain Management (SCM) philosophy of long-term orientation and shared goals between trading partners. Furthermore, CSR implementation was influenced by product nature, the level of service provided by the supplier and the long-term partnership approach to buyer-supplier relationship management in the Sri Lankan context. The core basic nature of the product meant that orders were more likely to be long-running, so manufacturers were sheltered from the unpredictability in orders and frequent style changes characteristic of fast fashion. This level of stability enabled suppliers to invest in CSR implementation. Full package suppliers fostered strong relationships with retailers over considerable periods of time (10-20 years) and collaborated on initiatives to increase efficiency and agility, such as cost reduction and vertical integration of pre-production activities. However, contract manufacturers without value-added services were unable to develop strong collaborative relationships with buyers which would enable greater investment in CSR implementation. Although Sri Lanka is classed as a global leader in ethical garment manufacture, much is therefore dependent on the size and provision of services offered by the supplier, which dictates the nature of the buyer-supplier relationship: vertically integrated full package suppliers had closer links with buyers than contract manufacturers and hence greater ability to drive CSR implementation through the business.

In this thesis I examine the relationship between corporate sustainability information networks (SIN) and financial distress. I propose that firms that are more central in the SIN have better access to key sustainability information which in turn results in lower financial distress. Using 5,521 in-network firms and their propensity scored matching (PSM) firms over the five-year period 2015-2019, I find strong support for my hypothesis. The findings suggest that SINs provide an important role in reducing financial distress.

Institutional Investors own a large share of publicly traded companies, controlling a significant amount of the economy‟s working capital. These investors currently use little or no sustainability-related information to make their decisions, reinforcing a loop of increasingly unsustainable growth. This paper puts forward a new investment strategy that recognizes true movement towards sustainability and its link with bottom line benefits for investors: Strategic Sustainable Investing (SSI). To achieve this desired future, Institutional Investors must be able to recognize corporations that are strategically leading the transition towards sustainability. An Analysis Tool was developed to help address this need by identifying sectoral Emerging Sustainability Issues (ESI) using a consensus-based scientific definition of sustainability. Once ESIs are identified, companies‟ strategies regarding each issue are assessed. This Tool was scrutinized by a panel of experts in the financial and sustainable development industries, and was tested on three companies within the Unconventional Oil & Gas Sector in Canada. Results confirmed the usefulness of a tool that can recognize which companies are leading the sustainable development agenda, and identified the need for future research on the financial materiality of sustainability-oriented actions.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between corporate governance practices and firm performance in Sri Lanka, as a result of the adoption of code of best practice on corporate governance in 2003 and the extent of changes to corporate governance practices four years after (2007). During this period, the firms that operated in Sri Lanka were affected by political and economic instability. However, the stock market performed well.

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) developed in the Western world since the 1950s, is novel to developing countries. Various CSR principles, standards, frameworks and indices have grown significantly as researchers to expand the concept in business and academic worlds. The practice of the concept and its behaviour is similar in both the developed and developing worlds. However, there are significant differences between the two worlds in implementing CSR activities. Researchers have identified these differences—of culture, management perspectives, and geographical and natural business systems—and concluded that existing CSR in the developed world cannot be employed in developing countries. Therefore, researchers are now turning their attention to investigating CSR from the point of view of developing countries.

The primary aim of this thesis is to examine the influence of managers' attitudes and other psychological factors on their intention to engage in sustainability reporting (SR) and the relationship between these intentions and the SR behaviour of Sri Lankan companies. This thesis is motivated by the need to contribute to the limited research on SR from a developing country's perspective, the need to extend research focusing on factors that motivate managers to support corporate SR, and the lack of research empirically testing behavioural models that contribute to explain SR practices and ultimately provide directions for change in this area. This thesis also investigates the suitability of Ajzen's (1985) Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in an organizational context. In doing so, the conceptual framework of the study is based on the TPB, which is well-established in the Psychology literature. This study follows a mixed method research approach to obtain an in-depth understanding of the influence of managers' psychological factors on corporate SR behaviour. Data was collected, using both a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews, with top and middle level managers of listed and non-listed companies in Sri Lanka. This enabled a triangulation of approaches regarding data collection. The hypotheses are tested using Partial Least Squares analysis and the interview data is analysed using NVivo 8 software. The findings of this study indicate that psychological variables influence managers' intention to engage in SR and ultimately corporate SR behaviour. Whilst managers have intention to engage in SR, the majority of companies have not taken the next step towards SR. It was found that due to an insufficient degree of actual control by managers over the SR process and lack of stakeholder pressure, managers' intention to engage in SR were not translating into SR behaviour. For example, it was found that lack of support and commitment from the top management and staff, lack of resources, knowledge, skills and awareness of the potential benefits of SR, inhibited SR behaviour. Further, a multitude of difficulties encountered in accessing reliable data, quantification, data collation, understanding and application of certain indicators of SR guidelines inhibited SR behaviour. Finally, the results suggest the suitability of the TPB in corporate settings and show that managers' psychological factors are important in determining SR behaviour in Sri Lankan compantes. This thesis indicates the need for Sri Lankan companies to devise more effective strategies and to design programs to promote SR by considering the role of psychological variables in the SR process. The strategies and programs could be aimed towards providing managers with a sufficient degree of actual control over the SR process. For example, strategies and programs designed to raise awareness of SR and its benefits would assist the development of greater sensitivity to SR issues and could enhance managers' support and commitment towards SR. This could precipitate the creation of organizational cultures which contribute towards the improvement of sustainable development and foster a new reporting culture, exhibiting greater transparency and accountability amongst companies.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore a feasible approach for upgrading the largest slum community, known as Mahaiyawa, in the inner city area of the Kandy, Sri Lanka. The community has been living in this location for over three generations, but the existing government institutional structure has not responded to ensure the economic, social and environmental well-being of the people. The existing practices of the urban governmental system to solve the problems of the community have not been successful. Instead, the further fragmentation of urban institutional network is the norm in Kandy. Considering the empirical evidence of institutional constraints and conflicts, the thesis mainly focuses on the lack of local government capacity as a crucial factor to be addressed in taking measures for upgrading the slum community. Although Sri Lanka implemented a decentralization policy at the beginning of 1980s, the functional autonomy of the local governments is still limited due to a number of factors. The lack of local governments' capacity is identified in four major areas, i.e. fiscal powers, access to financial resources, legal authority and professionally qualified personnel. This impairs accountability, transparency, management efficiency and the active role of civil society groups in governance. The thesis argues that capacity-building of the local government through decentralization of powers is a necessary policy reform, but this is not a sufficient condition for creating a new form of good governance. It requires both the ability and the collective responsibility of local authorities, actors in civil society, including representatives of the slum communities, if a new form of governance is to be created for addressing the problems of slum communities. The thesis concludes that the inability to solve the problems of Mahaiyawa slum community is mainly due to the lack of local government capacity, and therefore, certain aspects of the local governments' capacity should be strengthened. Capacity-building of local government necessarily involves promotion of collective planning and implementation to solve the problems for upgrading the Mahaiyawa slum community. This study suggests that any effort to upgrade the slum community or relocate it to another area should be made in consultation and negotiation with the community and its leaders, to sufficiently address their concerns, particularly regarding ethnicity, culture and social aspects, and their locational dependency on the city for economic reasons.