The Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce (FMSC), University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJ), Sri Lanka organized the 19th International Conference on Business Management (ICBM) on the theme of “Equitable Recovery Amidst Economic Crisis: Post-Pandemic Challenges and the Way Forward”. The event was held on 8th and 9th of December 2022 at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura with the presence of scholars and practitioners around the world who exchanged and shared their experiences and research findings on all aspects of recovery from the present economic crisis.
The inauguration ceremony was graced by the presence of Snr. Prof. Sampath Amaratunge, Chairman – University Grants Commission as the Chief Guest, Snr. Prof. Sudantha Liyanage, Vice Chancellor – University of Sri Jayewardenepura and Prof. P.D. Nimal – Dean of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce (FMSC) as the guests of honor as well as other senior professors, professors, senior lecturers, lecturers and temporary lecturers attached to the FMSC. The academic rigour of the event was upgraded by the two Keynote Speeches delivered by Prof. Brett Inder – Professor in Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash Business School, Monash University, Australia and Prof. Pi-Shen Seet Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation of School of Business and Law of Edith Cowan University, Australia.
The organizing team of ICBM 2022 consisted of academic staff members representing all the departments and units of FMSC.
The Main Conference were organized under the main theme where research publications from both domestic and international community based on research findings of global arena was published at ICBM 2022. The ICBM conference made history by launching an electronic proceedings book, which was available online for participants and the general public. Of the many paper submissions received, 60 research papers were published for ICBM 2022. The papers underwent a rigorous blind review process, with each paper being evaluated by two experts, and the accepted papers were published in the digital conference proceedings.
The main theme was sub-divided into Accounting for Sustainability in Disruption, Business Law and Regulatory System, Business Strategies in Crises, Disaster and Crisis Management, Economics, Public Policy and Development, Education Management, Hybrid Learning and E- Learning, Entrepreneurship, Small Business Management and Innovation, Finance Innovation and Sustainable Strategies, Global Business Management, Human Resources Management and Labour Relations, Information Systems and Digital Transformation, Knowledge Management and Learning Organizations, Leading and Managing People in Organizations, Marketing, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Operations and Technology Management, Real Estate Management and Valuation, Sustainability, Governance, Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, Each track was headed by Session Chairs who were experts of each of the field of study in management, while each track was commenced with a value-adding plenary speech.
The ICBM 2022 conference had accompanying sub-events, including a Business Forum. The team discussed strategies used by local businesses to cope with the economic crisis, and evaluated post-pandemic challenges and solutions. Six successful businesses were chosen based on their post-pandemic performance and diversity across industries. These businesses, which include Sampath Bank, Dilmah Tea Company, Reflect Interior, hSenid, International Construction Consortium (ICC), and Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, had their success stories published by NOVA Publishers.
The PhD Colloquium, a main sub-event of ICBM 2022, provided a platform for PhD students, particularly those from FMSC, to present their current research and receive feedback from a wider audience. Nine PhD candidates presented their progress and received valuable comments. A separate e-book was published for the colloquium containing the presentations, after undergoing a rigorous review by a team of experts in each field. An expert discussant led a discussion during the presentations, and they were open for comments and suggestions from the colloquium participants.
ICBM 2022 was sponsored by both public and private institutions. The Post-Graduate Institute of Management (PIM), MBA/MSC Program at FMSC, USJ PhD Program, USJ Business Administration department at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura were internal sponsors while Sampath Bank, SLT-Mobitel, hSenid Business Solutions, ICC, and Atlas Axillia were external sponsors. Japura Media and Japura Flames were the official photographers and the Information Technology Resource Center (ITRC) of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce was the official IT partner.
