THE IMPACT OF OPEN INNOVATION PRACTICES AND MODERATING EFFECT OF INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL NETWORKS ON INNOVATION PERFORMANCE OF LARGE FIRMS IN SRI LANKA

Innovation plays a prominent role in the contemporary world. It brings novel products and services to the market while exploring new ways of production, distribution, marketing and impacts all other aspects of organizations including human behaviour through hard as well as soft methods. Open innovation has been introduced as a new paradigm in innovation management. This study examines the impact of open innovation on innovation performance of the listed companies in Sri Lanka with the moderating effect of inter-organizational networks. Open innovation practices have been recognized in this study in two folds - as outside-in open innovation and inside-out open innovation Data were collected through a survey among 165 top-level managers of listed companies in Sri Lanka. The sample was selected using purposive and snowballing sampling methods. After testing the validity and the reliability of the instrument and collected data, simple regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses. The study findings indicate that both outside-in open innovation and inside-out open innovation positively and significantly impact innovation performance.

ENTRY AND SURVIVAL STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY CHINESE SMALL SCALE ENTREPRENEURS IN SRI LANKA: A CASE STUDY

The main aim of this research is to identify the factors that are affecting the success of Chinese small businesses which are currently operating in Sri Lanka. This study followed the ‘Investigation research model’ with the two main research aspects, ‘success of the Chinese small businesses in Sri Lanka’ and ‘affecting factors for the success’ as the conceptual model of the research, and authors used the qualitative research approach by collecting data through in-depth interviews conducted with the Chinese entrepreneurs who are currently operating their businesses in Sri Lanka and the BOI officers who supporting to promote FDIs in Sri Lanka. For the data collection purpose, researchers used the snowball sampling technique and the unstructured, open-ended questionnaire. Thus, this research followed ‘case study method’ and ‘conversation-based content analysis’ to analyze the collected data. Finally, the affecting factors were identified under these four main dimensions viz: statutory and legal requirements, market related factors, financial related factors and strategy of investments. Moreover, this study concluded that the success of the businesses can be assessed by using the seven success factors under four key dimensions such as operational performance, market performance, wealth of the business and growth of the business. The findings of the study will be useful for the investors mainly from China and also other foreign investors who are planning to invest in Sri Lanka. Further, policy makers need to consider study findings for future initiatives in crafting policies in business development, trade and investment.

UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS FOR INNOVATION: SRI LANKAN EXPERIENCES

The University sector in the national innovation system (NIS) is considered as one of the key players which links new knowledge with the industry for the purpose of diffusing new knowledge for economic and social benefits through commercialization of products, services, processes and other artifacts. This paper inquires the role of Sri Lankan universities in the innovation process by paying special attention on the strength of university-industry linkages. Responses from the industrial sector obtained through a surveys and interviews with respondents. Data presented and analyzed through descriptive statistics using summery statistics and figures.  Social Network Analysis (SNA) was employed to determine the strength of the networking relationship among the Universities and the Firms Qualitative data were analyzed employing the method of content analysis. The study revealed a positive trend in the higher education sector towards performing effective role in the future towards innovation. However, it was evident that these relationships are still remained very weak. The industrial sector remains inward oriented with little intention to innovation while universities still prioritize their traditional teaching role in higher education.