Rethinking Management Education in Sri Lanka: History, Market Dynamics and Decolonial Futures
Management arguably exerts one of the most influential ‘disciplinary effects’—both in organising everyday life and in shaping the future of organisations across the globe. Yet this far-reaching influence neither renders Management a fixed phenomenon nor conceals its clichéd nature (Fournier and Grey, 2000), thereby prompting a provocative question: Is Management (education) a cliché?
Despite this clichéd identity—and its apparent banality—, being largely associated with Western doctrines and practices, the processes of ‘standardisation’ in Management Education remain intact. Consequently, this has cast a long shadow over the field, particularly within the higher education landscapes of the Global South, producing a ghostly effect.
On the contrary, the development of Management Education in Sri Lanka, which dates back to the 1960s, has been profoundly shaped by two interrelated histories of the Global South: European colonisation and the rise of neoliberal global capitalism in the region (Jayawardena, 2017; Nanayakkara, 2000).
It welcomes papers that critically reflect on the discipline in an era marked by neoliberal reforms, technological disruptions, and shifting social realities, situating these dynamics within the broader context of the Global South. In doing so, the issue aims to rethink Management Education—not only to challenge the expanding Western dominance of the field but also to envision its decolonial futures.
List of topic areas
- Decolonising management education in the Global South.
- Ethics, management education and corporate social responsibility.
- Gender dynamics in Sri Lanka’s higher education landscape and management education.
- Generative AIs and the evolving role of management education in the Global South.
- Management education and (im)possibilities of entrepreneurial innovation in Sri Lanka.
- Management education and sustainable economic development.
- Neoliberalism, marketisation of education and public universities in Sri Lanka.
- Pedagogical dynamics in management education in post-pandemic Sri Lanka.
- Quality regimes, accreditation and the future of management education in Sri Lanka.
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here.
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Key deadlines
Opening date for abstract submissions: 15/08/2025
Email for abstract submissions: dhammika@sjp.ac.lk
Opening date for manuscript submissions: 28/10/2025
Closing date for manuscript submissions: 31/03/2026
Guest editor
Dhammika Jayawardena, Department of Business Administration, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, dhammika@sjp.ac.lk
For more details refer here
