The launch of the Asian Journal of Marketing Management along with its publication of the inaugural issue in January, 2022
Asian Journal of Marketing Management (AJMM), Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, is delighted to launch the inaugural issue of the Journal - Volume 1, Issue 1. This is a milestone of the Department, which marks the 25th years of excellence in marketing education in Sri Lanka as a pioneering marketing department in the national university system. This issue of AJMM disseminates new knowledge through selected six scholarly papers that comprehensively investigate contemporary and critical real-world scenarios in marketing.
First paper addresses a timely important area of change of buying behaviour during COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka in relation to Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG); with the use of a qualitative methodological approach. Seven fundamental changes were recognized related to purchasing quantity, mode of purchasing, price sensitivity, shopper, purchasing time, purchasing location, and choice of brands. It also discloses that fear, protective behaviors, social influence, and social trust are the main reasons behind such changes.
The second paper offers insights on relationships between Strategic Management of Technology (SMT) Customer Service Performance (CSP), and Financial Performance (FP) of the banking industry of Sri Lanka with the use of survey of 1200 professionals from commercial banks. The study revealed the positive impact between SMT practices and FP; positive impact between SMT practices and CSP; positive impact of CSP and FP; the mediation effect of CSP between SMT practices and FT.
The focus of the third paper is to explore the influence of children’s involvement in family purchasing decisions using a qualitative approach with the participation of twenty parents who have children aged between 5 to 11 years. It discloses that children are well aware of products and services and use multiple negotiation strategies, namely, exchange tactics, coalition tactics, inspirational appeal, and consultation tactics to persuade their parents.
Fourthly, factors that influence the choice of word-of-mouth recommendation sources in online purchase decisions examined with special reference to Sri Lankan tourism and hospitality industry. With the use of a survey, it revealed that consumers tend to reach out to both strong ties and weak ties irrespective of the perceived task difficulty. Further, it shows that as consumer subjective knowledge and internet experience increases perceived task difficulty reduces.
The fifth paper investigates whether environmental advertisements, perception of eco-labels, and perception of eco brands influence on green purchasing behavior in electronic home appliances industry in Sri Lanka while highlighting the moderating effect of consumer demographics. It shows that green marketing tools positively influence green purchasing behavior and gender and education level moderate such relationship.
Measuring consumer experience at the retail context in Sri Lanka is the focus of the sixth paper and it has developed a scale to measure such experience. With the use of a survey, it discloses that consumer experience is a multidimensional construct, comprising the dimensions of virtue, equanimous, amusement, rapture, and strange.
Finally, let me extend my sincere gratitude to all the co-editors and the assistants for their valuable scholarly contribution and commitment; to all authors for their contribution through research articles and for patience in reviewing process; to reviewers for their constructive comments that bring the papers into a publishable level; and to language editors for their service rendered for the Journal.
