Values and Diversity of Organisational Work Ethicality: Lessons Learnt from Sri Lankan Entrepreneurs

The aim of this paper is to examine values as a component of organisational work ethicality, uncovering the contextual realities of values and explore the diversity of work ethicality in the entrepreneurial context in Sri Lanka. Organisational work ethicality is explained through egoistic work ethicality, utilitarian work ethicality and deontological work ethicality. With a view to get a deeper understanding of the diversity of organisational work ethicality, a qualitative approach is adopted. Twelve entrepreneurs were selected for in-depth interviews. A thematic analysis was carried out for field notes with the support of NVivo 6 version. Findings of this study reveal that the entrepreneurial thinking and their interpretations derived different social meanings of organisational work ethicality. The final outcome shows that rather than single dominant work ethicality, a combination of work ethicalities was preferred by most of the entrepreneurs. Within this mix of ethicalities, deontological ethicality and egoistic work ethicality seem to be equally practised by the entrepreneurs. The utilitarian ethicality seems to be practised at a minimum level. As a result, the implicational value of this study lies on at the organisational level and policy making level to rethink and reestablish a mechanism to improve ethical aspects of the businesses in order to maximise social well-being while doing the right things for the society and strengthening shareholders’ protection. KeywordsBusiness Ethics, Business Practices, Deontological Work Ethicality,Egoistic Work Ethicality, Entrepreneur, Utilitarian Work Ethicality, Value

Entrepreneurial success of Sri Lankan immigrants in Japan

The aim of this paper is to evaluate entrepreneurial success of Sri Lankan immigrants in Japan. A questionnaire was distributed to 500 Sri Lankan immigrant entrepreneurs in Japan (SLIEJ), of whom 316 responded. Quantitative analysis was used to understand the relationship between entrepreneurial issues, entrepreneurial success and entrepreneurial prospects. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses and Structural Equation Model (SEM) were used to evaluate data and verify hypothesized relationships. Three main hypotheses were tested. Findings indicate that the relationship between immigrant entrepreneurial issues and entrepreneurial success was significantly positive. The relationship between entrepreneurial success and entrepreneurial prospect was also significant. Among the main issues faced by SLIEJ were inconsistency and sudden changes of policies by the Sri Lankan government, low quality but low price new products imported from China, quality maintenance of Sri Lankan suppliers, technology issues among Sri Lankan suppliers, regulations for agricultural goods importation into Japan, and skilled labour shortages in Japan. Use of innovation, export orientation and high assimilation into Japanese society and economy were identified as special characteristics of successful SLIEJ. Our findings suggest that improving the practical literacy level of immigrants by enhancing language proficiency, ICT skills, financial literacy, networking among ethnic groups, and innovativeness of immigrants will contribute to a significant increase in immigrant entrepreneurs in host countries.Keywords: International migration, immigrant entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial success, Sri Lankan immigrants, immigrant entrepreneurs in Japa

International Network and Growth Orientation of Born Global Firms – Do they really matter?

Born global firms – a small-scaled firm that operates internationally since their inception or nearinception and generally, entrepreneurial in nature – is the most rapidly emerging breed of companies in today’s global business world (Covin & Miller, 2013). Thus, both researchers andpractitioners are of high interest in understanding how born global firms achieve such a successin most dynamic and competitive international markets (Lampe, et al., 2019). Firms with higherinternational growth orientation and network orientation are more internationalized than others,have a larger share of sales, a larger foreign customer base compare to less growth-orientedfirms with weak network ties and thus, it eventually leads to higher international performance of born global firms (Chun, et al., 2014; Dimitratos, et al., 2012; Jantunen, et al., 2005; Mort &Weerawardena, 2006; Nummela, et al., 2005; Stam & Elfring, 2008). Thus, the main purposeof this study is to investigating the impact of international network orientation and internationalgrowth orientation on international performance of born global firms in a developing countrycontext, Sri Lanka.Keywords: Born global firms, International network orientation, international growth orientation, international performanc

Reflection of ethicality in business practices: perspectives of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs

It is evident that value is a central component that guides human activity systems and ethical decision making. Our study suggests that entrepreneurs are governed through the set of values that they internalize over the years. Hence over the years entrepreneurial values shape the nature of business practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existence of ethical practices that shape entrepreneurialism in Sri Lanka. Ethical practices of business are analyzed based on three moral approaches: egoist ethicality; utilitarian ethicality; and deontological ethicality. Mixed methodology was employed to capture the holistic nature of interaction between values and entrepreneurial performance. Out of 500 entrepreneurs summoned for the survey, only 333 responded, of which 20 entrepreneurs were interviewed. Data confirmed that entrepreneurs who possess entrepreneurial values at a low level and the least mean scores were reported against the egoistic work climate. This shows that the pattern of the majority of entrepreneurs is based on a deontological type of ethicality rather than other types of ethicalities

Value driven Asiatic entrepreneurship: South Asian way of ethical entrepreneurship and sustainability

The implication of ethics to business is becoming crucial to the shaping and reshaping of social and human systems including business, social and ecological sustainability in the South Asian context. This paper is to explore this phenomenon and its present practices within the Asian business context, with special focus on Sri Lanka. Using mixed methodology, 500 entrepreneurs were approached, out of which only 333 responded. In-depth interviews were carried out with five organisations: their entrepreneurs, workers and an external party. The outcome indicates that entrepreneurs prefer practicing business rules. On the contrary to quantitative data, the qualitative facts suggested that entrepreneurs prefer engaging in behavioural pattern, which maximises their self-interests. The study also revealed that the entrepreneurial focus is moving towards a new era of business processing, i.e., re-manufacturing, recycling and re-using. These trends are highly influential and business ethics play a key role in driving them in the future