Editorial Note
Abstract
The Editorial Board of the Asian Journal of Marketing Management (AJMM), affiliated with the Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, is pleased to present Volume 5, Issue 1. This issue brings together seven peer-reviewed contributions that collectively reflect the evolving contours of marketing and management scholarship in an era characterised by rapid technological advancement, shifting consumer behaviour, and institutional transformation. The articles included in this issue advance scholarly discourse across several intersecting domains, including digital transformation in supply chains, theoretical development in marketing, experiential consumer behaviour, sustainable consumption, family-based consumption dynamics, and pedagogical transformation in higher education.
The issue opens with two studies that map emerging research frontiers within digitally enabled operations and supply chain ecosystems. In “Big Data Analytics and Supply Chain Operations: Trends, Gaps and Future Research Directions,” Wanigasekara and Herath (2026) provide a comprehensive systematic review of the intersection between Big Data Analytics and Supply Chain Operations. Employing PRISMA-guided article selection and integrating descriptive, bibliometric, and content analysis, the authors critically examine the evolution of this knowledge domain and identify thematic gaps that warrant further scholarly attention. Complementing this macro-level review, Malkanthie, Navodi, and Kelum (2026), in “A Bibliometric Analysis of Industry 4.0 in Procurement Decision Making Using VOS Viewer and R Studio,” analyse the intellectual structure and emerging research patterns of Industry 4.0 in procurement research. Through bibliometric mapping of Scopus-indexed publications, the study reveals key collaboration networks, dominant research themes, and underexplored areas within Procurement 4.0 scholarship. Together, these two contributions establish an analytical foundation for understanding how digitalisation and advanced analytics are reshaping contemporary supply chain decision environments.
Moving from domain mapping to theoretical advancement, Hewawasam, Jayawardana, and Durairatnam (2026) contribute a conceptual paper titled “Customer Retention in Life Insurance: A Conceptual Integration of Service-Dominant Logic and Subjective Expected Utility.” The study advances customer retention scholarship by synthesising two influential theoretical perspectives: Service-Dominant Logic and Subjective Expected Utility theory. By integrating relational value co-creation with decision-making under uncertainty, the authors propose a novel framework explaining how co-production, trust, and loyalty jointly influence policyholder retention decisions. The conceptual integration presented in this study offers a meaningful bridge between behavioural decision theory and relational marketing perspectives within financial services contexts.
The next two articles examine consumer behaviour through the lenses of experiential consumption and sustainable purchasing. In “Hedonic Factors and Purchase Intention: The Mediating Role of Hedonic Emotion in Experiential Retail Settings,” Karunagoda, Weerasekera, and Silva (2026) explore how sensory experiences, entertainment, and social interactions within shopping mall environments influence purchase intention among Generation Z consumers. Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework, the study empirically demonstrates the mediating role of hedonic emotion in shaping experiential consumption outcomes. Similarly, Dulanja, Weerasekera, and Prabha (2026), in “Green Cosmetic Purchase Intention of Gen Z: The Mediating Role of Attitude,” investigate the determinants of environmentally responsible consumption among young consumers in Sri Lanka. Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the study highlights how consumer attitudes translate environmental awareness, product knowledge, and electronic word-of-mouth into green purchase intentions.
Extending the analysis of consumer decision-making into family consumption contexts, Ekanayake (2026) presents “Factors Influencing Parents’ Fast-Food Purchasing Intention and the Children’s Intention to Consume: A Study on Sri Lankan Fast Food Chains.” Drawing on Social Learning Theory and Consumer Socialisation Theory, the study demonstrates how parental purchase intentions mediate the influence of brand loyalty, lifestyle, technological exposure, and family setting on children’s fast-food consumption intentions. By situating fast-food consumption within the broader dynamics of family-based socialisation processes, the study offers valuable insights into the intergenerational formation of consumption patterns.
The issue then turns to institutional transformation within higher education. In “Effectiveness of Online Teaching-Learning Practices in Higher Education in a South Asian Country: Students’ and Educators’ Perspectives,” Wijewardene, Rajapakse, Jayarathne, Ketawalage, and Dewasiri (2026) investigate the factors influencing the effectiveness of online teaching and learning practices in tertiary education. Drawing on perspectives from both students and educators, the study identifies institutional adaptability, technological readiness, and pedagogical capability as key determinants of effective digital learning environments. The findings contribute to the growing discourse on digital pedagogy and institutional resilience in developing country higher education systems.
The issue concludes with a study that revisits one of the most enduring strategies in marketing communications, celebrity endorsement. In “The Impact of Congruence on Brand Attitude in Celebrity Endorsements: The Role of Self-Congruity Theory in Sri Lanka,” Mahagamage, Bandara, Molligoda, and Perera (2025) examine how different forms of personality congruence influence consumer brand attitudes in the context of celebrity endorsements. Grounded in Self-Congruity Theory, the study empirically investigates the relationships among user–brand personality congruence, brand–celebrity personality congruence, and celebrity–user personality congruence using data from Sri Lankan consumers. The findings highlight the particularly strong influence of brand–celebrity personality congruence in shaping favourable brand attitudes, offering valuable insights for marketers seeking to design more effective endorsement strategies.
Collectively, the articles featured in this issue illustrate the multidimensional transformation of marketing and management scholarship. From digitally enabled supply chain intelligence to experiential retail environments, sustainable consumption behaviour, family-influenced purchasing decisions, and the digitalisation of educational delivery, these contributions highlight the expanding interdisciplinary boundaries of contemporary marketing research. Future scholarship may build upon these insights by further exploring the intersection of technological capabilities, consumer cognition, institutional adaptation, and societal outcomes, particularly within emerging market contexts.
The Editorial Board extends its sincere appreciation to the authors for their valuable scholarly contributions and to the reviewers for their thoughtful and constructive feedback throughout the peer-review process. We also acknowledge the support of the language editors and production team for their continued commitment to maintaining the academic standards of the Asian Journal of Marketing Management. We hope that the articles presented in this issue will stimulate further scholarly inquiry and contribute meaningfully to both academic debate and managerial practice in the fields of marketing and management.
