Editors’ Note

Abstract

As the editors of Vidyodaya Journal of Management (VJM), it is our pleasure and privilege to
present the inaugural issue of the journal to the academic community and the wider readership
across the globe. VJM, a double blind peer-reviewed journal, is the official journal of the
Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura,
Sri Lanka. It aims at disseminating innovative and high-quality research articles that enhance
conceptual and empirical knowledge in the broad areas of Management and Organization
Studies. The journal welcomes articles of interdisciplinary nature. And it encourages different
methodologies and theoretico-philosophical traditions which give new insights into the issues
in Management and Organization. As the editors, it is our understanding that the inaugural
issue, though contains only four articles by the members of our own faculty, exemplifies these
egalitarian aspirations of the journal.

We are leading the inaugural issue with the article, entitled “Place of Women in Sri
Lankan Society: Measures for Their Empowerment for Development and Good Governance”,
by H.M.A. Herath. In this article, Herath explores socio-economic, cultural and political
processes that affect the status and progress of women in Sri Lanka. With a view of
empowering Sri Lankan women, he emphasises the importance of attitudinal change of policy
makers. The second article, “Waiting Times and Defining Customer Satisfaction” by T.M.B.
Palawatta, revisits the notion of satisfaction in the marketing literature. Palawatta argues that
defining satisfaction/dissatisfaction as disconfirmation between expectation and perception is
probably the most appropriate definition of satisfaction in the context of service marketing.

The third article of the inaugural issue, entitled “The Employment Status of the Elderly
in Sri Lanka: Emerging Patterns and Determinants”, co-authored by W.G.T.S. Senanayaka
and M.H.A. Sisira Kumara, addresses some issues related to the employment status of the
Sri Lankan elderly. Senanayaka and Sisira Kumara use the Sri Lanka Household Income and
Expenditure Surveys to examine the patterns and the determinants of employment status of
the elderly. Based on a rigorous statistical analysis they explain what causes the employability
of the Sri Lankan elderly. Our last article, “Marketing Culture and Corporate Social
Responsibility: A Case in Service Firms in Sri Lanka” by B.N.F. Warnakulasooriya, raises
an important empirical question: whether the marketing culture has a measurable impact on
corporate social responsibility in service organizations. By aptly analysing survey data from service firms in Sri Lanka, Warnakulasooriya shows the strong association that exists between marketing culture and corporate social responsibility.

The inaugural issue of VJM, as we believe, marks another milestone of the long history
of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce. We put all our efforts to establish
the culture of a true peer-reviewed journal, although it was a difficult and time-consuming
journey. Once we reflect on this journey and the globally competitive knowledge-production
industry, it is our understating that, other than necessary infrastructure, courage, patience and
commitment of all interested parties are critical to establish a culture of a true peer-reviewed
journal. In this context, while inviting researchers and scholars across the globe to send their
original research articles to the journal, we sincerely hope that VJM is a little step towards
that direction.

Finally, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all authors for their patience and
keeping their faith on us, reviewers and language editorial team for their unpaid academic
labour, Sandun Madhawa Kalugampitiya for helping us to develop the cover page of the
journal and Vasana Kaushalya for her (voluntary) role as the editorial assistant.

Saman Yapa, P.D. Nimal and Dhammika Jayawardena
University of Sri Jayewardenepura