People

Dr Chaminda Wijethilake

Senior Lecturer
EBS - Accounting
Dr Chaminda Wijethilake
  • Email

  • Telephone

    +44 (0) 1206 872465

  • Location

    EBS.3.126A, Colchester Campus

  • Academic support hours

    Wednesday 10.00-12.00pm Thursday 10.00-11.00am

Profile

Biography

Chaminda Wijethilake serves as a Senior Lecturer in Accounting at Essex Business School, University of Essex. He earned his Ph.D. in Accounting and Corporate Governance from Macquarie University, Australia, and holds a Master of Business Administration from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. His academic journey began with a Bachelor of Commerce with First Class Honours from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Chaminda is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). His scholarly work has been featured in publications, including the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, The British Accounting Review, Financial Accountability and Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Environmental Management, Production Planning and Controls, Organization and Environment, and Advances in Management Accounting. Chaminda's contributions to the field have earned him multiple accolades, including the President’s Award for Scientific Research by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Best International Impact Research Award by the University of Essex. He has received several research grants from organizations including the PEFA-World Bank Group, Innovate UK, and the Global Challenges Research Fund. Before joining Essex Business School, Chaminda served as a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Management and Finance at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in Sri Lanka. Currently, he is supervising three Ph.D. students focusing on sustainability management accounting and controls, management accounting, and accounting and accountability in the public sector. Chaminda accepts new Ph.D. students in these specialized areas.

Qualifications

  • B Com University of Peradeniya, (2007)

  • MBA National Cheng Kung University, (2011)

  • PhD Macquarie University, (2016)

Research and professional activities

Research interests

Social and environmental accounting and its implications for the question of mundane governance in waste management

Open to supervise

The use of social and environmental accounting in lean manufacturing

Open to supervise

Performance implications of adopting sustainable logistics and supply chains in emerging markets

Open to supervise

Performance measurement and governance in production and operations

Open to supervise

Conferences and presentations

Sustainability core values and sustainability risk reduction: The moderating impact of top management commitment and stakeholder pressure

Sydney International Business and Research Conference, Sydney, Australia, 2017

Sustainability Capabilities and Competitive Advantage: Examining the Use of Sustainability Control Systems

Peradeniya University International Research Sessions, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2017

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Total Quality Management: Evidence from an Automobile Sensor Manufacturing Organization

3rd International Conference for Accounting Researchers and Educators, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2017

The relationship between sustainability strategy and sustainability performance: Examining the role of management control systems

2015 Global Conference of Environmental and Sustainability Management Accounting Network conference on advancing the sustainability management accounting in the Asia Pacific region, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2015

The relationship between sustainability strategy and corporate sustainability: Examining the role of management control systems

Monash Forum for Management Accounting Research, Melbourne, Australia, 2015

Sustainability capabilities and sustainable competitive advantages: The role of management control systems

Meditari Accountancy Research European Conference on Current Issues in Social, Environmental and Gender Accounting, Forli, Italy, 2015

What matters between sustainability capabilities and sustainable competitive advantages: The role of management control systems

Emerging Scholars’ Colloquium, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting, Stockholm, Sweden, 2015

The role of management control systems in sustainability capabilities: A levers of control perspective

8th Conference on Performance Measurement and Management Control, Nice, France, 2015

Strategic responses to institutional pressures for sustainability: The role of management control system

17th Environmental Management Accounting Network (EMAN-2014) Conference, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2014

Towards the sustainability embedded management control systems

Emerging Scholars’ Forum, Global Management Accounting Research Symposium, Sydney, Australia, 2014

The role of management control systems in sustainability: A case study from a developing economy

Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Toronto, Canada, 2014

Boardroom communication and firm performance: The roles of CEO leadership and board monitoring

2nd International Conference on Management and Economics, Matara, Sri Lanka, 2013

Board involvements and firm performance: Evidence from Sri Lanka

6th International Management Accounting Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2012

What determines the quality of a country’s financial authenticity: Examining the impact of foreign and domestic market size

International Symposium on Ensuring National Security Through Reconciliation and Sustainable Development, Ratmalana, Sri Lanka, 2012

Institutional and legitimate influence on shareholder protection and financial service quality: A cross-country analysis

International Conference on Public Policy and Governance, Bangalore, India, 2012

What matters between the CEO duality and firm performance: Moderating roles of CEO informal power and board involvements

Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San-Antonio, United States, 2011

CEO duality and firm performance

The Sixth International Academic Conference on Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management, Chia-Yi, Taiwan, Province of China, 2010

Publications

Journal articles (16)

Adhikari, P., Upadhaya, B., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, S. and WIJETHILAKE, C., The Spectacularisation of NGOs Accountability in Disaster Situations: Evidence from the 2015 Nepal’s Earthquakes. Financial Accountability and Management

Wijethilake, C., Adhikari, P. and Upadhaya, B., (2024). Regulatory capture in transboundary waste dumping: (Lack of) accountability in the Global North – South context. Organization and Environment. 37 (1), 84-116

Wijethilake, C., Upadhaya, B. and Lama, T., (2023). The role of organisational culture in organisational change towards sustainability: Evidence from the garment manufacturing industry. Production Planning and Control. 34 (3), 275-294

Sumiyana, S., Hendrian, H., Jayasinghe, K. and Wijethilake, C., (2023). (2021). Public-sector performance auditing in a political hegemony: A case study of Indonesia. Financial Accountability and Management. 39 (4), 691-714

Adhikari, P., Upadhaya, B., Wijethilake, C. and Dhakal Adhikari, S., (2023). The Sociomateriality of Digitalisation in Nepalese NGOs. British Accounting Review. 55 (5), 101206-101206

Jayasinghe, K., Wijesinghe, C., Wijethilake, C. and Prasanna, R., (2022). Collaborative Public Service Provision Archetypes in Healthcare Emergencies: A Case of COVID-19 Administration in Sri Lanka. Journal of Public Budgeting Accounting and Financial Management. 34 (3), 391-410

Rupasinghe, D. and Wijethilake, C., (2021). The impact of leanness on supply chain sustainability: Examining the role of sustainability control systems. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society. 21 (3), 410-432

Jayasinghe, K., Jayasinghe, T., Wijethilake, UCB. and Adhikari, P., (2021). Bio-Politics and Calculative Technologies in COVID Governance: Reflections From England. International Journal of Health Policy and Management. 11 (10), 2189-2197

Wijethilake, C. and Upadhaya, B., (2020). Market drivers of sustainability and sustainability learning capabilities: The moderating role of sustainability control systems. Business Strategy and the Environment. 29 (6), 2297-2309

Upadhaya, B., Wijethilake, C., Adhikari, P., Jayasinghe, K. and Arun, T., (2020). COVID-19 Policy Responses: Reflections on Governmental Financial Resilience in South Asia. Journal of Public Budgeting Accounting and Financial Management. 32 (5), 825-836

Wijethilake, C. and Lama, T., (2019). Sustainability core values and sustainability risk management: Moderating effects of top management commitment and stakeholder pressure. Business Strategy and the Environment. 28 (1), 143-154

Wijethilake, C. and Ekanayake, A., (2019). CEO Duality and Firm Performance: The Moderating Roles of CEO Informal Power and Board Involvements. Social Responsibility Journal. 16 (8), 1453-1474

Wijethilake, C., Munir, R. and Appuhami, R., (2018). Environmental Innovation Strategy and Organizational Performance: Enabling and Controlling Uses of Management Control Systems. Journal of Business Ethics. 151 (4), 1139-1160

Wijethilake, C., (2017). Proactive sustainability strategy and corporate sustainability performance: The mediating effect of sustainability control systems. Journal of Environmental Management. 196, 569-582

Wijethilake, C., Munir, R. and Appuhami, R., (2017). Strategic responses to institutional pressures for sustainability: The role of management control systems. Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal. 30 (8), 1677-1710

Wijethilake, C., Ekanayake, A. and Perera, S., (2015). Board involvement in corporate performance: evidence from a developing country. Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies. 5 (3), 250-268

Book chapters (2)

Machokoto, M., Kimani, D., WIJETHILAKE, C. and Ngoasong, MZ., Too few females in the cockpit: Does ownership structure matter?. In: Developments in Corporate Governance: Emerging Market Perspective

Wijethilake, C. and Ekanayake, A., (2018). Proactive Strategic Responses to Corporate Sustainability Pressures: A Sustainability Control System Framework. In: Advances in Management Accounting. Editors: Malina, M., . Emerald Publishing Limited. 129- 173. 1787564401. 9781787564404

Reports and Papers (1)

Upadhaya, B., Wijethilake, C., Adhikari, P., Jayasinghe, K. and Arun, T., (2021). Integrating climate change and livelihood within public investment policies: A cross-country assessment in south Asia (India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka)

Grants and funding

2021

Development of an employability toolkit/checklist to increase employment opportunities for young people in Essex

University of Essex (ESRC IAA)

2020

Integrating Climate Change within Public Finance Policies: Evidence from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka

University of Essex (GCRF)

Contact

c.wijethilake@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1206 872465

Location:

EBS.3.126A, Colchester Campus

Academic support hours:

Wednesday 10.00-12.00pm Thursday 10.00-11.00am

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