Category Archives: academia

June 3, 2026 · 10:47 am

The winning formula for edutainment games: Storytelling, design and user engagement

By Mark Anthony Camilleri | 3rd June 2026

Educational technology has evolved far beyond digital textbooks and online quizzes. Today’s learners are increasingly engaging with edutainment mobile applications that combine learning with leisure activities through storytelling, game mechanics and immersive audiovisual experiences. These technologies are transforming how people learn both inside and outside of the classroom, from language-learning apps to quiz-based platforms and via interactive games.

A recent study published in Technology, Knowledge and Learning provides important new insights into what makes learners embrace and continue using educational and entertaining gaming applications. The research introduces a robust new framework, the Experiential Design-Engagement Model that explains how game design and psychological factors work together to influence user engagement with edutainment apps.

Moving beyond traditional technology adoption models

For many years, researchers have relied on models such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand why people adopt digital technologies. These frameworks typically focus on factors such as attitudes, social influences, perceived usefulness and ease of use.

While these theories have usually proven to be valuable in some contexts, they do not fully capture the unique characteristics of educational games. Unlike many traditional educational technologies, edutainment applications blend learning and entertainment. Their users are influenced by practical considerations and by the enjoyment and quality of the experience itself.

To address this knowledge gap in the extant academic literature, the researchers of this study have developed the Experiential Design-Engagement Model, a framework that combines established behavioural factors with two important dimensions of game design, namely, game narratives and game aesthetics.

Game narratives refer to the stories, characters, themes and progression that create meaningful and engaging experiences for players. Game aesthetics, on the other hand, encompass the visual design, graphics, animations, sound effects and other sensory elements that enhance the overall gaming experience. Together, these factors provide a more comprehensive understanding of what drives users to adopt and what triggers them to continue engaging with edutainment games.

The result is a more comprehensive explanation of why learners choose to engage with certain educational gaming applications.

What did the study investigate?

Drawing on responses from 186 university students with experience in edutainment applications, this research explored the factors that are influencing the players’ ongoing engagement with educational games. Specifically, it examined the roles of game narratives, aesthetics, attitudes, social influences and perceived behavioural control. The results highlight the importance of experiential designs. They show that well-crafted gaming experiences can significantly enhance the learners’ willingness to keep using edutainment applications.

They report that the learners’ attitudes towards edutainment apps are the strongest predictor of their intention to continue using them. In simple terms, students who find these games to be enjoyable, tend to develop an emotional connection with them. As a result, they are more likely to return to these games and to engage with them on a regular basis.

This finding suggests that sustained engagement is not solely driven by functionality and/or by convenience. Rather, positive feelings such as enjoyment, excitement, satisfaction and emotional connection play a decisive role in determining whether learners return to an educational app or not.

For educators and developers, this means that creating positive learning experiences should be a central objective. Interestingly, design matters more than they realise. One of the most significant contributions of the study is that it confirmed that game design features have a powerful influence on user attitudes.

This research found that game aesthetics exerted one of the strongest effects on learner attitudes. Participants clearly appreciated high-quality audiovisual experiences, immersive graphics, expressive characters and engaging soundscapes.

These design elements do much more than make a game look attractive. They create emotional engagement, increase immersion and enhance the overall learning experience.

Hence, educational technologies should not treat design as an afterthought. Well-crafted aesthetics can significantly influence the  learners’ willingness to engage with educational content.

Game narratives also played a significant role in shaping positive attitudes. Strong stories help learners connect emotionally with educational content. Notwithstanding, educational games can transform abstract concepts into engaging activities, by embedding learning objectives within meaningful adventures, challenges and character-driven experiences.

The study confirms that compelling narratives make educational experiences more enjoyable and memorable. Learners are more likely to remain engaged when they feel that they are part of a meaningful journey rather than by simply completing isolated tasks.

Moreover, this research also examined two established factors drawn from the Theory of Planned Behavior, including, perceived behavioural control (in plain words, this construct measures the ease of use of the app) and subjective norms (this is related to the influence of friends, family, peers, educators, et cetera, on the individuals’ perceptions, beliefs and interpretations of the world around them).

In this case, neither perceived behavioural control nor the subjective norms were having a direct impact on the learners’ intentions to continue using edutainment apps. However, both had important indirect effects, as the ease of use as well as social encouragement first shaped the learners’ attitudes. Afterwards, the latter factor (attitudes) had a significant effect on the students’ intentions to engage with edutainment games.

This finding emphasises that: making a game easy to use or receiving recommendations from other gamers are not enough on their own. The students must also develop positive emotional responses toward their gameplay experience. In other words, technical usability and social endorsement are valuable, but they only become effective when they can contribute to create favourable attitudes towards the game.

Why the Experiential Design-Engagement Model matters?

One of the strongest aspects of this research is the robustness of the proposed Experiential Design-Engagement Model. The model explained: 64.5% of the variance in learner attitudes as well as 43.2% of the variance in behavioural intentions. These results are substantial explanatory levels for behavioural research. They clearly demonstrate the model’s strong predictive power.

Arguably, Experiential Design-Engagement Model provides a practical bridge between educational technology research and game design theory. Rather than viewing educational games as learning tools, this model recognises them as experiential products. This research indicates that students are emotionally engaged with edutainment apps. They appreciate their gaming design elements, in terms of their aesthetics, narratives and storytelling, among other factors.

This integrated perspective offers a richer understanding of learner engagement than traditional technology acceptance models alone.

Implications for media and education

The findings carry important implications for educational institutions, developers and policymakers.

For developers, the message is clear. They need to invest in immersive designs, compelling storytelling and high-quality audiovisual experiences, as this research reported that these features directly contribute to learner engagement and continued usage.

For educators, the study suggests that selecting educational apps should involve evaluating both pedagogical value and experiential quality. Even the most educationally sound platform may struggle to sustain engagement if it lacks emotional appeal.

For policymakers, the research proves that successful educational technologies require more than content delivery. Therefore, funding and evaluation frameworks ought to encourage the development of engaging, evidence-based learning experiences that combine educational effectiveness with strong user-centred designs.

A new direction for educational gaming research

The study’s most important contribution is its recognition that learner engagement emerges from the interaction between behavioural psychology and experiential design.

This contribution’s Experiential Design-Engagement Model offers a powerful new framework for understanding why individuals (including students) adopt and continue using educational games. This framework provides valuable guidance for the next generation of edutainment applications by raising awareness of gaming narratives, aesthetics, the players’ attitudes and their emotional engagement.

As educational technologies continue to evolve, this research delivers a clear message: The most effective learning games do more than simply impart knowledge. They captivate learners, spark their curiosity and foster meaningful emotional connections. They  transform learning into an insightful experience that is not only educational, but also engaging, enjoyable and memorable.

Ultimately, the true measure of success lies in creating learning experiences that learners willingly return to, not because they have to, but because they want to.

The full, open access paper is available here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10758-026-09991-6#

Suggested citation: Camilleri, M.A. & Camilleri, A.C. (2026). User Acceptance of Edutainment Mobile Applications: Advancing an Experiential Design-Engagement Model (EDEM). Technology, Knowledge and Learning, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-026-09991-6

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May 27, 2026 · 9:04 am

Explainable AI: What’s inside the black box?

by Mark Anthony Camilleri | May 27th 2026

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now part of everyday life. It recommends what we watch online, helps banks approve loans, assists doctors in hospitals and even acts as a digital gatekeeper for who gets hired. Many people enjoy the convenience of these systems, yet few truly understand how they work. That is where the “Explainable AI” notion comes in. Essentially, it is a growing movement that is aimed at increasing AI transparency, to earn user trust.

For years, AI systems were treated like mysterious “black boxes”. You feed information into them and they produce an answer. However, at times, it proves hard to clearly explain how they have reached their conclusions. Even the engineers who have built these systems sometimes struggle to fully understand the internal reasoning behind complex AI models.

This becomes worrying when AI is used in areas such as healthcare, education, banking, policing or public services. Imagine applying for a loan and being rejected by an AI system without any explanation. Alternatively, consider a hospital using AI to help doctors diagnose patients without anyone being able to explain why the system recommended a particular treatment. In such situations, people may naturally ask: Why did the machine decide this? Explainable AI (XAI) tries to answer that question.

The basic idea is simple. AI systems should not only give answers; they should also explain how they arrived at them. Users deserve understandable reasons behind decisions that affect their lives. Transparency builds trust. Without it, people may fear that AI is unfair, biased or unreliable.

These concerns are not imaginary. There have already been cases where AI systems produced erroneous results because they learned from flawed or incomplete data. Some systems have treated people unfairly because of gender, race, age or where they resided. If the data used to train an AI system contains bias, the machine will usually amplify it.

Notwithstanding, the world around us never stands still. Economies shift, behaviours evolve and social conditions change. As a result, the AI models that are trained on old data may become inaccurate over time. Hence, an AI system that worked well two years ago may suddenly start making poor or unfair decisions today. Experts call this “data drift” or “concept drift”.

This is why explainability matters so much. When AI systems can be examined and understood, it is much easier to detect and correct their errors and biases.

Researchers and technology companies are already developing tools to make AI more understandable. Some of these diagnostic tools have unusual names such as SHAP and LIME. Despite the technical labels, their purpose is quite straightforward: These interpretability frameworks can help identify which factors have influenced an AI decision the most.

For example, if an AI system denies someone a bank loan, these tools can show whether income, employment history or debt level has played the biggest role in the decision. This allows humans to review whether the outcome was fair and reasonable.

In this day and age, explainable AI has moved beyond the lab; it is now a concern for everyone, not just for tech experts. Regulators, governments and businesses are demanding for more transparency. In Europe, the new AI Act and existing privacy laws such as GDPR are pushing organisations to become more accountable for how AI systems operate.

There is also growing recognition that humans must remain involved in important decisions. Experts often refer to this as the “human-in-the-loop” approach. In simple terms, AI is meant to support human judgement. It should not replace it. A doctor, teacher, judge or manager should still be able to question and override an AI recommendation when necessary.

This balance is essential because AI systems are powerful, but they are not infallible. They can make mistakes, misunderstand situations, hallucinate or fail to recognise unique human circumstances.

We simply cannot afford to trust algorithms blindly. This is where explainable AI steps in. It helps ordinary users feel more confident about the technology they use every day. When people understand how a system works, they are far more likely to accept it. Thus, transparency will replace fear and confusion.

However, the challenge is that there is often a trade-off between power and simplicity. The most advanced AI systems, including modern generative AI tools, are often the hardest to explain. Simpler systems are easier to understand but may not perform as well. Therefore, researchers are striving in their endeavours to find the right balance between accuracy and transparency.

Arguably, the future of AI hinges on trust. Society is unlikely to fully embrace technologies that appear secretive or uncontrollable. Businesses and governments must therefore ensure that AI systems are fair, explainable and aligned with human values.

If these systems remain opaque, as  their modus operandi are hidden, blurry or impossible to see through, their users may lose confidence in them. On the other hand, if we make AI understandable, we can finally harness its full power to build a fairer, more beneficial future for all.

Debatably, explainable AI is more than a technical upgrade. It is a moral safeguard. It ensures that humans don’t get sidelined as machines become smarter.

In this new information era, explainable AI isn’t just a technological upgrade; it’s a moral boundary. It ensures that as machines get smarter, humans don’t get left in the dark. In a world shaped by intelligent machines, we must hold on to one simple rule: if an algorithm makes a choice that changes your life, you have every right to know how it reached its conclusion, why that decision was made, where the data came from and when the logic was applied.

Learn about Explainable AI. You may refer to my open access article that was published through Elsevier’s Technological Forecasting and Social Change (ABS 3; ABDC A). It advances a systematic review of leading explanable artificial intelligence (XAI) tools, frameworks and best practices.

Key takeaways:

📍It explains key concepts related to XAI research.

📍It provides clear insights into widely used techniques like SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME), among others.

📍It presents a comparison matrix of XAI tools. It specifies their key metrics, strengths, weaknesses/limitations and domain fit.

📍It puts forward a conceptual framework to support responsible AI implementation.

📍It provides practical, actionable guidance for developers of AI solutions, as well as for professionals, who are responsible for managing data-driven strategies and governance policies.

📍It serves as a valuable resource for those aiming to move beyond black-box reliance toward more informed, responsible and accountable AI oversight.

📍It outlines future research directions related to XAI and discusses on their potential impact.

Suggested Citation: Camilleri, M.A. (2026). Opening the black box: Operational principles, tools and frameworks that advance explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) models, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2026.124710

Mark Anthony Camilleri is an Associate Editor of Bus. Strat. & the Environ. of the Int. J. of Hosp. Mgt.| Fulbrighter| Listed among top 2% of scientists (Elsevier)| Expert Reviewer for research councils| Principal Investigator| Statistician| PhD Mentor

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October 29, 2025 · 11:35 am

Call for papers on education technologies for a Scopus-indexed conference

I am so pleased to share that the University of Malta is supporting the International Conference on Education and Training Technologies (ICETT2026). I am also delighted to let you know that I am serving as its PublicityChair.

📌 This conference is indexed in Scopus and ElCompendex.

📌 ICETT2025’s conference proceedings were published through the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This underlines the international standing and scholarly credibility of this conference.

📌 All accepted papers will be peer-reviewed, presented during the conference and published via ICETT’s 2026 Conference Proceedings. They will be indexed by EI Compendex and Scopus, among other recognised academic databases.

 Conference topics include (but are not limited to):

  • E-learning and online learning
  • Game-based learning
  • Learning analytics and education big data
  • MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)
  • Mobile & ubiquitous learning
  • Online platforms and environments
  • Open educational resources
  • Podcasting and broadcasting
  • Social media for teaching and learning
  • Virtual reality for teaching and learning

 The papers’ submission deadline is the 20th of December, 2025.


🔗 Learn more about this fruitful event. https://www.icett.org/

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October 5, 2025 · 9:55 am

Akkademiċi mill-Università ta’ Malta rikonoxxuti fost l-aqwa riċerkaturi fid-dinja

Erbatax (14) mill-membri akkademiċi ta’ l-Universita’ ta’ Malta, li jinkludu lil Daphne
Attard, Fakultà tax-Xjenza; Everaldo Attard, Istitut tax-Xjenzi Rurali; Godfrey
Baldacchino, Fakultà ta’ l-Arti; Jean Calleja-Agius, Fakultà tal-Mediċina u s-Servizzi
Kirurġiċi; Mark Anthony Camilleri, Fakultà tal-Media u x-Xjenza ta’ l-Għarfien; Albert R.
Caruana, Fakultà tal-Media u x-Xjenza ta’ l-Għarfien; Sarah Cuschieri, Fakultà tal-
Mediċina u s-Servizzi Kirurġiċi; Michael Galea, Fakultà tal-Inġinerija; Ruben Gatt,
Fakultà tax-Xjenza; Joseph N. Grima, Fakultà tax-Xjenza; Jackson Levi-Said, Istitut tax-
Xjenzi tal-Ispazju u l-Astronomija; Peter Mayo, Fakultà tal-Edukazzjoni; Eleanor M.L.
Scerri, Fakultà ta’ l-Arti; u Brendon P. Scicluna, Fakultà tax-Xjenzi tas-Saħħa (dawn l-
ismijiet huma mqassmin skont l-ordni alfabetiku), ġew inklużi f’lista magħrufa bħala l-
klassifika tal-aqwa 2% riċerkaturi fid-dinja, li hi ikkompilata mill-Universita’ ta’ Stanford,
b’kollaborazzjoni ma’ publikatur internazzjonali ta’ kotba u rivisti akkademiċi, Elsevier.
Dawn l-akkademiċi ġew rikonoxxuti għall-għadd ta’ ċitazzjonijiet li rċevew il-
pubblikazzjonijiet tagħhom, matul is-sena 2024.


Barra minn hekk, disgha (9) kollegi Maltin iddistingwew ruħhom ghal publikazzjonijiet
akkademiċi tul il-karriera tagħhom. Dawn ta’ l-aħħar jinkludu lil:

Professur Mark A. Camilleri (c-score 3.7352);
Professur Albert R. Caruana (c-score 3.6561);
Professur Godfrey Baldacchino (c-score 3.6299);
Professur Sarah Cuschieri (c-score 3.5770);
Professur Joseph N. Grima (c-score 3.3261);
Professur Donia R. Baldacchino (c-score 3.0595);
Professur Norman Poh (c-score 2.9874);
Professur Michael Galea (c-score 2.7935); u
Professur Antonios Liapis (c-score 2.7905).


Din l-aħbar tenfasizza l-impenn ta’ l-Università ta’ Malta sabiex tikseb eċċellenza fil-
qasam tar-riċerka u l-innovazzjoni, f’dixxiplini varji, li jinkludu n-negozju u l-immaniġġjar,
l-inġinerija, il-mediċina u x-xjenzi tas-saħħa, kif ukoll fix xjenzi umanistici u dawk soċjali.
Il-kontributur ta’ dan l-istudju globali huwa l-Professur John P.A. Ioannidis mill-Università
ta’ Stanford. L-għażla tiegħu hija “ibbażata fuq l-aqwa 100,000 xjenzati skont il-punteġġ
hekk imsejjah ‘c-score’ jew fuq rank percentwali ta’ 2% jew aktar fl-oqsma rispettivi
tagħhom”. L-indikaturi taċ-ċitazzjonijiet u l-metodoloġija tal-klassifiki tiegħu jinsabu f’ dan
il-portal: https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/8


Ċitazzjoni suġġerita: Ioannidis, John P.A. (2025), “Updated science-wide author
databases of standardized citation indicators”, Elsevier Data Repository, V8, doi:
10.17632/btchxktzyw.8

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September 28, 2025 · 9:17 am

Prof. Mark Anthony Camilleri has been recognized for his high impact academic contributions

University of Malta has recently appraised its academic members of staff, who were listed among the world’s top 2% scientists, in Elsevier-Stanford University’s 2025 ranking: https://lnkd.in/dQmrPqz5

In this media release, the University of Malta has identified those who were recognized for their “career-long” (lifetime) high-impact publications, including:

Professor Camilleri, Mark A. (c-score 3.7352);
Professor Caruana, Albert R. (c-score 3.6561);
Professor Baldacchino, Godfrey (c-score 3.6299);
Professor Cuschieri, Sarah (c-score 3.5770);
Professor Grima, Joseph N. (c-score 3.3261);
Professor Baldacchino, Donia R. (c-score 3.0595);
Professor Poh, Norman (c-score 2.9874);
Professor Galea, Michael (c-score 2.7935); and
Professor Liapis, Antonios (c-score 2.7905).

The contributor of this global study is Stanford University Professor, John P.A. Ioannidis. His selection is “based on the top 100,000 scientists by c-score or a percentile rank of 2% or above in the sub-field”.

The citation indicators and the methodology of his rankings are available here:
https://lnkd.in/dpxrCJtx


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September 18, 2025 · 12:54 pm

Cocreating Value Through Open Circular Innovation Strategies

This is an excerpt from one of my papers published through Wiley’s Business Strategy and the Environment.

Suggested citation: Camilleri, M.A. (2025). Cocreating Value Through Open Circular Innovation Strategies: A Results-Driven Work Plan and Future Research Avenues, Business Strategy and the Environment, https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4216

This research raises awareness of practitioners’ crowdsourcing initiatives and collaborative approaches, such as sharing ideas and resources with external partners, expert consultants, marketplace stakeholders (like suppliers and customers), university institutions, research centers, and even competitors, as the latter can help them develop innovation labs and to foster industrial symbiosis (Calabrese et al. 2024; Sundar et al. 2023; Triguero et al. 2022). It reported that open innovation networks would enable them to work in tandem with other entities to extend the life of products and their components. It also indicated how and where circular open innovations would facilitate the sharing of unwanted materials and resources that can be reused, repaired, restored, refurbished, or recycled through resource recovery systems and reverse logistics approaches. In addition, it postulates that circular economy practitioners could differentiate their business models by offering product-service systems, sharing economies, and/or leasing models to increase resource efficiencies and to minimize waste.

Arguably, the cocreation of open innovations can contribute to improve the financial performance of practitioners as well as of their partners who are supporting them in fostering closed-loop systems and sharing economy practices. They enable businesses and their stakeholders to minimize externalities like waste and pollution that can ultimately impact the long-term viability of our planet. Figure 1 presents a conceptual framework that clarifies how open innovation cocreation approaches can be utilized to advance circular, closed-loop models while adding value to the businesses’ financial performance.

The collaborative efforts between organizations, individuals, and various stakeholders can lead to sustainable innovations, including to the advancement of circular economy models (Jesus and Jugend 2023; Tumuyu et al. 2024). Such practices are not without their own inherent challenges and pitfalls. For example, resource sharing, the recovery of waste and by-products from other organizations, and industrial symbiosis involve close partnership agreements among firms and their collaborators, as they strive in their endeavors to optimize resource use and to minimize waste (Battistella and Pessot 2024; Eisenreich et al. 2021). While the open innovation strategies that are mentioned in this article can lead to significant efficiency gains and to waste reductions, practitioners may encounter several difficulties and hurdles, to implement the required changes (Phonthanukitithaworn et al. 2024). Different entities will have their own organizational culture, strategic goals, and modus operandi that may result in coordination challenges among stakeholders.

Organizations may become overly reliant on sharing resources or on their symbiotic relationships, leading to vulnerabilities related to stakeholder dependencies (Battistella and Pessot 2024). For instance, if one partner experiences disruptions, such as operational issues or financial difficulties, it can adversely affect the feasibility of the entire network. Notwithstanding, organizations are usually expected to share information and resources when they are involved in corporate innovation hubs and clusters. Their openness can lead to concerns about knowledge leakages and intellectual property theft, which may deter companies from fully engaging in resource-sharing initiatives, as they pursue outbound innovation approaches.

Other challenges may arise from resource recovery, reverse logistics, and product-life extension strategies (Johnstone 2024). The implementation of reverse logistics systems can be costly, especially for small and micro enterprises. The costs associated with the collection, sorting, and processing of returned products and components may outweigh the benefits, particularly if the market for recovered materials is not well established (Panza et al. 2022; Sgambaro et al. 2024). Moreover, the effectiveness of resource recovery methodologies and of product-life extension strategies would be highly dependent on the stakeholders’ willingness to return products or to participate in recycling programs. Circular economy practitioners may have to invest in promotional campaigns to educate their stakeholders about sustainable behaviors. There may be instances where existing recovery and recycling technologies are not sufficiently advanced or widely available, in certain contexts, thereby posing significant barriers to the effective implementation of open circular innovations. Notwithstanding, there may be responsible practitioners and sustainability champions that may struggle to find reliable partners with appropriate technological solutions that could help them close the loop of their circular economy.

In some scenarios, emerging circular economy enthusiasts may be eager to shift from traditional product sales models to innovative product-service systems. Yet, such budding practitioners can face operational challenges in their transitions to such circular business models. They may have to change certain business processes, reformulate supply chains, and also redefine their customer relationships, to foster compliance with their modus operandi. These dynamic aspects can be time-consuming, costly, and resource intensive (Eisenreich et al. 2021). For instance, the customers who are accustomed to owning tangible assets may resist shifting to a product-service system model. Their reluctance to accept the service providers’ revised terms and conditions can hinder the adoption of circular economy practices. The former may struggle to convince their consumers to change their status quo, by accessing products as a service, rather than owning them (Sgambaro et al. 2024). In addition, the practitioners adopting products-as-a-service systems may find it difficult to quantify their performance outcomes related to resource savings and customer satisfaction levels and to evaluate the success of their product-service models, accurately, due to a lack of established metrics.

In a similar vein, the customers of sharing economies and leasing systems ought to trust the quality standards and safety features of the products and services they use (Sergianni et al. 2024). Any negative incidents reported through previous consumers’ testimonials and reviews can undermine the prospective customers’ confidence in the service provider or in the manufacturer who produced the product in the first place. Notwithstanding, several sharing economy models rely on community participation and localized networks, which can pose possible challenges for scalability. As businesses seek to expand their operations, it may prove hard for them to consistently maintain the same level of trust and quality in their service delivery. Moreover, many commentators argue that the rapid growth of sharing economies often outpaces existing regulatory frameworks. The lack of regulations, in certain jurisdictions, in this regard, can create uncertainties and gray areas for businesses as well as for their consumers.

This open access paper can also be accessed via ResearchGate: https://researchgate.net/publication/389267075_Cocreating_Value_Through_Open_Circular_Innovation_Strategies_A_Results-Driven_Work_Plan_and_Future_Research_Avenues#CSR#CircularEconomy#OpenInnovation

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September 17, 2025 · 11:15 pm

My contribution as foreign expert reviewer

I have just returned back to base after a productive two-day foreign expert meeting.

Once again, it was a positive experience to connect with European academic colleagues, to review and discuss research proposals worth thousands of Euros.

My big congratulations go to the successful scholars who passed the shortlisting phase, based on our evaluation scores.

The best proposals will eventually receive national government funds for transformative projects that will add value to society and the natural environment.

#Academia #AcademiaService #ForeignExpert #ForeignExpertReviewer #Review #AcademicReviewer #ResearchProposal #ResearchProjects

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September 8, 2025 · 2:50 pm

Exaggerated statements in online consumer reviews: Causes and implications

Featuring snippets from an article that was accepted for publication through Springer’s “Service Business”.

Suggested citation: Camilleri, M.A., Bhatnagar, S.B. & Chakraborty, D. (2025). Exaggerated statements in online consumer reviews: Causes and implications. Service Business, 19, Art. 19, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-025-00590-6

Abstract

This study investigates the factors that contribute to the creation of inflated consumer testimonials. Quantitative data were gathered from four hundred forty (440) respondents who shared their service experiences through popular social media platforms. A covariance-based structural equations model approach has been used to analyze the data. The results suggest that psychological and emotional factors including the consumers’ self-image, self-enhancement as well as their motivations for retribution against service providers, are having a significant effect on the development of amplified review content.

Keywords: Consumer reviews, Constructive reviews, Altruistic reviews, Overblown reviews; tourism and hospitality.

1 Introduction

Researchers have frequently reported that certain individuals tend to misrepresent facts and may willingly decide to deceive other persons, in their daily conversations, including in virtual ones (Moqbel and Jain 2025; Sahut et al. 2024). It is very likely that such persons would fabricate content when they engage in online conversations (Plotkina et al. 2020) and may even create inflated claims in their user generated content, while sharing personal experiences with online users (Belarmino et al. 2022; Bozkurt et al. 2023). Electronic word of mouth communications, like online reviews, are not always truthful (Camilleri, 2022; Kapoor et al. 2021; Lee et al. 2022; Tomazelli et al. 2024), as they may frequently feature inflated claims (Román et al. 2023). A few researchers have even suggested that exaggerated reviews can have an adverse effect on their credibility (Chatterjee et al. 2023).

A lack of credibility and trustworthiness in online reviews could negatively affect the consumers’ perceptions and attitudes toward the business (Camilleri and Filieri 2023; Tan and Chen 2023). For instance, Fong et al. (2024) distinguished between trustworthy and untrustworthy content presented in online consumer testimonials. Yet, for the time being, there is still scarce research focused on the propagation of inflated claims in online reviews (Arif and Chandwani 2024). Various researchers have often attempted to find ways to detect misinformation and prefabricated online content including in social media and review platforms (Chen et al. 2022).

However, in many cases, it proves difficult to recognize the identities of those reviewers who are sharing overblown and deceitful statements about their experiences in online platforms (Bylok 2022). Notwithstanding, there may be different reasons why individuals engage in deceptive behaviors. People may decide to deceive others for personal gain, and/or to protect their own image or reputation. Their intention could be to manipulate others to achieve desired outcomes (Min and Wakslak 2022). Alternatively, they may rationalize their deceitful behaviors due to psychological factors. Such individuals would probably convince themselves that their actions are justified or harmless (Costa Filho et al. 2023; Petrescu et al. 2022).

Undoubtedly, the topic about deceitful, unreliable and inflated online reviews warrants further investigation, as these electronic word-of-mouth communications may constitute false advertising or fraud. Prospective consumers can be manipulated and misled into buying substandard or misrepresented products/services. For example, the use of generative AI could exacerbate the pervasiveness of fake inflated review content with high linguistic sophistication. Hence, it may prove hard for online users to detect the legitimacy and veracity of consumer reviews. Certainly, further investigation is warranted on this topic, to better understand the incidence and the scale of the exaggerated claims featured in user-generated content, their underlying motivations and drivers, as well as the identification of technological and regulatory responses.

In this light, this research identifies the factors and the extent to which online users share overstatements and amplified assertions in consumer review platforms. Specifically, the underlying research questions are: [RQ1] How and to what extent are the consumers’ altruistic intentions to provide customer-focused reviews contributing to the development of exaggerated claims in their testimonials? [RQ2] How and to what extent are the consumers’ constructive reviews aimed at service providers having an effect on the development of exaggerated claims in their testimonials? [RQ3] How and to what extent are the consumers’ psychological factors including their self-esteem and self-image having an effect on the development of exaggerated claims in their testimonials? [RQ4] How and to what extent are the consumers’ dissatisfaction levels with the services they receive and their retribution motivations having an effect on the development of exaggerated claims in their testimonials?

This empirical study builds on extant theoretical underpinnings related to the interpersonal deception theory (Buller and Burgoon 1996; Buller et al. 1996; Burgoon 2015; Gaspar et al. 2022) to delve into the factors that can lead consumers to create inflated claims in online reviews (Hill Cummings et al. 2024; Valdez et al. 2018). The researchers validate constructs that were tried and tested in academia including altruistic motivations to support prospects and/or businesses (Hennig-Thurau et al. 2004; Yoo and Gretzel 2008), perceived self-enhancement, perceived self-image and retribution behaviors (Yoo and Gretzel 2008).

Unlike previous studies, that focus on how reviews could influence purchase decisions, or those that investigate the rationale for sharing reviews, this contribution examines the processes and motivations that lead to the articulation of exaggerated claims in testimonials (that can be either positive or negative). From the outset, this original research rejects the dominant assumption that inflated reviews are simply driven by the consumers’ egos, or from their malicious intentions. On the contrary, it suggests that altruistic appraisals that are meant to support prospective customers, constructive criticism to service providers or feedback motivated by retributive intentions, after experiencing service failures, and/or the integration of psychological self-concepts could amplify or trigger exaggerated claims in consumer reviews. As far as the authors are aware, for the time being, there are no other studies that have integrated the above factors in the same conceptual model by referring to the interpersonal deception theory as an exploratory lens. Therefore, this contribution aims to address this knowledge gap, in the tourism and hospitality industry context. The study advances a novel theoretical model that is empirically tested, in terms of the constructs’ reliabilities and validities. Moreover, it also sheds light on the significance of the causal paths that predict the consumers’ likelihood of creating exaggerated content in review platforms.

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October 31, 2024 · 11:14 am

Why are people using generative AI like ChatGPT?

The following text is an excerpt from one of my latest articles. I am sharing the managerial implications of my contribution published through Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

This empirical study provides a snapshot of the online users’ perceptions about Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT)’s responses to verbal queries, and sheds light on their dispositions to avail themselves from ChatGPT’s natural language processing.

It explores their performance expectations about their usefulness and their effort expectations related to the ease of use of these information technologies and investigates whether they are affected by colleagues or by other social influences to use such dialogue systems. Moreover, it examines their insights about the content quality, source trustworthiness as well as on the interactivity features of these text-generative AI models.

Generally, the results suggest that the research participants felt that these algorithms are easy to use. The findings indicate that they consider them to be useful too, specifically when the information they generate is trustworthy and dependable.

The respondents suggest that they are concerned about the quality and accuracy of the content that is featured in the AI chatbots’ answers. This contingent issue can have a negative effect on the use of the information that is created by online dialogue systems.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a case in point. Its app is freely available in many countries, via desktop and mobile technologies including iOS and Android. The company admits that its GPT-3.5 outputs may be inaccurate, untruthful, and misleading at times. It clarifies that its algorithm is not connected to the internet, and that it can occasionally produce incorrect answers (OpenAI, 2023a). It posits that GPT-3.5 has limited knowledge of the world and events after 2021 and may also occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content.

OpenAI recommends checking whether its chatbot’s responses are accurate or not, and to let them know when and if it answers in an incorrect manner, by using their “Thumbs Down” button. They even declare that their ChatGPT’s Help Center can occasionally make up facts or “hallucinate” outputs (OpenAI, 2023a, OpenAI, 2023b).

OpenAI reports that its top notch ChatGPT Plus subscribers can access safer and more useful responses. In this case, users can avail themselves from a number of beta plugins and resources that can offer a wide range of capabilities including text-to-speech applications as well as web browsing features through Bing.

Yet again, OpenAI (2023b) indicates that its GPT-4 still has many known limitations that the company is working to address, such as “social biases and adversarial prompts” (at the time of writing this article). Evidently, works are still in progress at OpenAI.

The company needs to resolve these serious issues, considering that its Content Policy and Terms clearly stipulate that OpenAI’s consumers are the owners of the output that is created by ChatGPT. Hence, ChatGPT’s users have the right to reprint, sell, and merchandise the content that is generated for them through OpenAI’s platforms, regardless of whether the output (its response) was provided via a free or a paid plan.

Various commentators are increasingly raising awareness about the corporate digital responsibilities of those involved in the research, development and maintenance of such dialogue systems. A number of stakeholders, particularly the regulatory ones, are concerned on possible risks and perils arising from AI algorithms including interactive chatbots.

In many cases, they are warning that disruptive chatbots could disseminate misinformation, foster prejudice, bias and discrimination, raise privacy concerns, and could lead to the loss of jobs. Arguably, one has to bear in mind that, in many cases, many governments are outpaced by the proliferation of technological innovations (as their development happens before the enactment of legislation).

As a result, they tend to be reactive in the implementation of substantive regulatory interventions. This research reported that the development of ChatGPT has resulted in mixed reactions among different stakeholders in society, especially during the first months after its official launch.

At the moment, there are just a few jurisdictions that have formalized policies and governance frameworks that are meant to protect and safeguard individuals and entities from possible risks and dangers of AI technologies (Camilleri, 2023). Of course, voluntary principles and guidelines are a step in the right direction. However, policy makers are expected by various stakeholders to step-up their commitment by introducing quasi-regulations and legislation.

Currently, a number of technology conglomerates including Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Apple and IBM, among others, anticipated the governments’ regulations by joining forces in a non-profit organization entitled, “Partnership for AI” that aims to advance safe, responsible AI, that is rooted in open innovation.

In addition, IBM has also teamed up with Meta and other companies, startups, universities, research and government organizations, as well as non-profit foundations to form an “AI Alliance”, that is intended to foster innovations across all aspects of AI technology, applications and governance.

The full list of references is available here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004016252400043X?via%3Dihub

Suggested citation: Camilleri, M. A. (2024). Factors affecting performance expectancy and intentions to use ChatGPT: Using SmartPLS to advance an information technology acceptance framework. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 201, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123247

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April 27, 2023 · 9:54 am

CALL FOR PAPERS: The circular economy of surplus food (in the hospitality industry)

A SPECIAL ISSUE entitled,’Responsible consumption and production of food: Opportunities and challenges for hospitality practitioners‘ will be published through the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

Special Issue Editor(s)

Mark Anthony Camilleri, University of Malta, Malta, and Northwestern University, United States of America.

mark.a.camilleri@um.edu.mt

Antonino Galati, Universita’ degli studi di Palermo, Italy.

antonino.galati@unipa.it

Demetris Vrontis, University of Nicosia, Cyprus.

vrontis.d@unic.ac.cy

Previous research explored the circular economy practices of different businesses in various contexts; however, limited contributions have focused on the responsible production and consumption of food (Huang et al., 2022; Van Riel et al., 2021). Even fewer articles sought to explore environmental, social and governance (ESG) dimensions relating to the sustainable supply chain management of food and beverages in the tourism context.

This special issue will shed light on the responsible practices in all stages of food preparation and consumption in the tourism and hospitality industry. It raises awareness on sustainable behaviors that are aimed to reduce the businesses’ externalities including the generation of food waste on the natural environment. It shall put forward relevant knowledge and understanding on good industry practices that curb food loss. It will identify the strengths and weaknesses of extant food supply chains as well as of waste management systems adopted in the sector. It is hoped that prospective contributors identify laudable and strategic initiatives in terms of preventative and mitigating measures in terms of procurement and inventory practices, recycling procedures and waste reduction systems involving circular economy approaches.

Academic researchers are invited to track the progress of the tourism businesses on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal SDG12 – Responsible Consumption and Production. They are expected to investigate in depth and breadth, how tourism businesses are planning, organizing, implementing and measuring the effectiveness of their responsible value chain activities. They may utilize different methodologies to do so. They can feature theoretical and empirical contributions as well as case studies of organizations that are: (i) reusing and recycling of surplus food, (ii) utilizing sharing economy platforms and mobile apps (that are intended to support business practitioners and prospective consumers to reduce the food loss and waste), (iii) contributing to charitable institutions and food banks, through donations of surplus food, and/or (iv) recycling inedible foods to compost, among other options.

The contributing authors could clarify how, where, when and why tourism businesses are measuring their ESG performance on issues relating to the supply chain of food and beverage. They may refer to international regulatory instruments and guidelines (Camilleri, 2022),  including the International Standards Organization (ISO) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, among others, to evaluate the practitioners’ ESG performance through: a) Environmental Metrics: The businesses’ circularity; Recycling and waste management; and/or Water security; b) Social Metrics: Corporate social responsibility; Product safety; Responsible sourcing; and/or Sustainable supply chain, and; c) Governance: Accounting transparency; Environmental sustainability reporting and disclosures.

They could rely on GRI’s Standards 2020, as well as on GRI 204: Procurement Practices 2016; GRI 303: Water and Effluents 201; GRI 306: Effluents and Waste 2016; GRI 306: Waste 2020; GRI 308: Supplier Environmental Assessment 2016 and GRI 403: and to Occupational Health and Safety 2018, to assess the businesses’ ESG credentials.

Prospective submissions ought to clearly communicate about the positive multiplier effects of their research (Ahn, 2019). They can identify responsible production and consumption behaviors that may result in operational efficiencies and cost savings in their operations (Camilleri, 2019). At the same time, they enable them to improve their corporate image among stakeholders (hence they can increase their financial performance). They can examine specific supply chain management initiatives involving open innovation, stakeholder engagement and circular economy approaches that may ultimately enhance the businesses’ legitimacy in society. More importantly, they are urged to elaborate on the potential pitfalls and to discuss about possible challenges for an effective implementation of a sustainable value chain of food-related products and their packaging, in the tourism and hospitality industry (Galati et al., 2022).

It is anticipated that the published articles shall put forward practical implications for a wide array of tourism stakeholders, including for food manufacturers and distributors, airlines, cruise companies, international hotel chains, hospitality enterprises, and for consumers themselves. At the same time, they will draw their attention to the business case for responsible consumption and production of food through strategic behaviors.

Potential topics may include but are not limited to:

 –          Responsible food production for tourism businesses

–           Responsible food consumption practices in the hospitality industry

–           Circular economy and closed loop systems adopted in restaurants, pubs and cafes

–           Open innovation and circular economy approaches for a sustainable tourism industry

–           Recycling of inedible food waste to compost

–           Measuring performance of responsible food production/sustainable consumption

–           Digitalisation and the use of sharing economy platforms to reduce food waste

–           Artificial intelligence for sustainable food systems

–           Sustainable food supply chain management

–           Food waste and social acceptance of circular approaches

–           Stakeholders’ roles to minimize food waste in the hospitality industry

–           Food donation initiatives to decrease food loss and waste

References

Ahn, J. (2019). Corporate social responsibility signaling, evaluation, identification, and revisit intention among cruise customers. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(11), 1634-1647.

Camilleri, M. A. (2019). The circular economy’s closed loop and product service systems for sustainable development: A review and appraisal. Sustainable Development, 27(3), 530-536.

Camilleri, M. A. (2022). The rationale for ISO 14001 certification: A systematic review and a cost–benefit analysis. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 29(4), 1067-1083.

Galati, A., Alaimo, L. S., Ciaccio, T., Vrontis, D., & Fiore, M. (2022). Plastic or not plastic? That’s the problem: Analysing the Italian students purchasing behavior of mineral water bottles made with eco-friendly packaging. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 179, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.106060

Huang, Y., Ma, E., & Yen, T. H. (2022). Generation Z diners’ moral judgements of restaurant food waste in the United States: a qualitative inquiry. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2150861

Van Riel, A. C., Andreassen, T. W., Lervik-Olsen, L., Zhang, L., Mithas, S., & Heinonen, K. (2021). A customer-centric five actor model for sustainability and service innovation. Journal of Business Research, 136, 389-401.

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