https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/5582 2026-11-01T12:38:57Z 2026-11-01T12:38:57Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150662 2026-10-30T13:29:52Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Influencer marketing effectiveness in Malta’s food & beverage industry : consumer engagement, trust and purchase behaviour Abstract: This study examines the effectiveness of influencer marketing in Malta’s food and beverage industry, focusing on how influencer credibility, consumer trust, engagement, exposure, and influencer type shape consumer behaviour. While influencer marketing has become a key part of modern digital marketing, much of the existing research focuses on larger international markets and often explores these factors individually rather than as a whole. This research addresses that gap by examining how these elements interact within Malta’s small and socially connected market, offering insight into an area that has received limited academic attention. A quantitative research approach was used, based on a positivist philosophy and a deductive research design. Data was collected through an online questionnaire distributed to social media users in Malta aged 18 to 35, producing 99 valid responses. The responses were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability testing, and Pearson correlation analysis to examine relationships between the main variables and test the study’s hypotheses. The findings show that influencer marketing has a clear impact on consumer behaviour in Malta’s food and beverage sector. Influencer credibility was strongly associated with consumer trust, while trust and engagement were found to be the strongest factors influencing purchasing decisions. Exposure to influencer content also had a positive effect, although its influence was weaker, suggesting that visibility alone is not enough to significantly drive consumer action. The study also found that consumers viewed micro-influencers more favourably than macro-influencers, often perceiving them as more authentic, relatable, and trustworthy. Overall, the findings suggest that trust and authentic connections with audiences play a major role in making influencer marketing effective within Malta’s food and beverage industry. For businesses, this means that working with influencers who are seen as genuine, credible, and able to connect with their followers may be more valuable than simply choosing those with large followings or posting promotional content frequently. This study also offers useful insight into influencer marketing in Malta, particularly within a smaller market where social connections can have a stronger influence on consumer behaviour. Description: B.Sc. (Hons) Bus.& IT(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150661 2026-10-30T13:27:29Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Opportunities and challenges of IoT-driven waste management in Malta’s hotel industry Abstract: Background Waste management has become an important issue within the hospitality industry due to growing environmental concerns, rising costs, and increasing pressure on hotels to adopt more sustainable practices. In Malta, this issue is further intensified by limited land availability for waste disposal and the country’s dependence on tourism. Although international literature highlights the potential of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in improving waste management, research on IoT-driven waste management systems in Maltese hotels remains limited. Aim To examine current waste management practices within Malta’s hotel industry and explore how IoT driven waste management systems could improve efficiency, waste monitoring, and sustainability, while identifying the main opportunities and challenges linked to their implementation. Methods A qualitative research approach was adopted. Primary data was collected through ten in-depth interviews with professionals working in 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star hotels in Malta and Gozo. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Secondary data from academic and industry sources was also reviewed. In addition, a limited prototype of an IoT-driven waste management dashboard was developed to demonstrate how such a system could function in practice. Results The findings revealed that waste management in Maltese hotels remains largely dependent on manual separation, contractor collection, and limited monitoring systems. Key challenges included staff compliance, continuous training, food waste, operational pressure, and limited space. The study also found that current waste-related data is often incomplete and insufficient for effective decision-making. Respondents associated IoT-driven systems with benefits such as real-time monitoring, improved decision-making, greater efficiency, and stronger sustainability performance. However, barriers such as high initial costs, resistance to change, and staff adaptation were also identified. Discussion The findings suggest that waste management in Maltese hotels is still underdeveloped in terms of digital transformation. IoT could help hotels move beyond basic monitoring methods by providing more accurate and timely waste-related data. However, successful adoption would depend on financial support, organisational readiness, staff engagement, and ease of integration. Conclusion This study shows that IoT-driven waste management systems have strong potential to improve the efficiency and sustainability of waste management practices within Malta’s hotel industry. It also contributes to the limited literature on this topic in the Maltese context and is supported by the development of a limited prototype illustrating its practical application. Description: B.Sc. (Hons) Bus.& IT(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150660 2026-10-30T13:25:16Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Gamification as a business strategy : how game mechanics drive user engagement and sales Abstract: This dissertation examines how gamification can be used as a business strategy to improve user engagement and sales performance within a small-market context. The study focuses on this area because businesses increasingly rely on digital platforms to attract and retain cus tomers, yet there is limited research on how gamification influences user behaviour in smaller markets such as Malta. A quantitative research approach was adopted through an online survey of 111 participants who had interacted with gamified systems. The survey explored user experiences with features such as points, rewards, challenges, progress tracking and discounts. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and correlation techniques to identify patterns between gamifica tion features, engagement, loyalty and purchasing behaviour. The general findings show that gamification has a positive effect on user engagement. Re spondents indicated that gamified features encouraged them to interact more frequently with platforms, return to apps and spend more time using them. More specifically, rewards, pro gress tracking and challenges were found to be the most influential features, especially when users felt close to achieving a reward or benefit. The findings also suggest that gamification can support customer loyalty and purchase inten tion when users perceive the system as valuable and enjoyable. However, concerns were iden tified around pressure to spend, limited-time rewards and manipulative design. This indicates that gamification is most effective when it is transparent, fair and designed around user needs. The study concludes that gamification can be an effective business strategy for improving en gagement and sales-related behaviour, but its success depends on careful and ethical imple mentation. Businesses should therefore use gamification as part of a wider user-centred strat egy rather than as a simple promotional tool. Description: B.Sc. (Hons) Bus.& IT(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150659 2026-10-30T13:21:42Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Designing a digital management implementation framework for formula student teams Abstract: Formula Student is a global university-level engineering competition in which student teams design, build, and race a single-seater formula-style car. Beyond the technical challenge, teams must secure significant sponsorship funding each season, yet the business-side processes that support this: acquisition, contracting, payment tracking, deliverable fulfilment, and relationship continuity are rarely formalised. At the University of Malta Racing team (UM Racing), these processes were found to be heavily person-dependent, untracked, and experience driven rather than data driven, creating structural fragility that recurs with each annual intake of new members. This dissertation applies a Design Science Research (DSR) (Doyle et al., 2016) methodology to design, implement, and evaluate a digital sponsorship management framework tailored to the constraints of a volunteer, student-led Formula Student team. The study begins with an empirical as-is analysis of UM Racing’s five sponsorship related sub-processes, identifying seventeen pain points consolidated across three analytical criteria: person-dependency (C1), absence of automated tracking and reminders (C2), and experience-based rather than data-driven decision-making (C3). These findings are benchmarked against nine anonymised peer Formula Student teams from the EV and combustion classes worldwide, confirming that the identified inefficiencies are sector wide rather than organisation specific. From this analysis, twenty five system requirements are derived and used to select and configure Notion as the implementation platform. The resulting framework comprises eight relational databases covering the full sponsorship lifecycle, with automated reminders, role-filtered views, and a standardised request approval workflow. The framework is demonstrated through a walkthrough of each sub-process and evaluated against the three analytical criteria and the full requirement set. The study finds that the framework fully or partially addresses all twenty-five requirements and eliminates all three criteria-level failure modes within the constraints of a no-cost, no-code platform. Limitations include Notion’s automation ceiling and the volunteer nature of Formula Student teams. Description: B.Sc. (Hons) Bus.& IT(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z