Course Description

The field of consumer behavior attempts to explain and predict the ways in which consumers think and behave in given situations. How do consumers interpret advertising information? Why do people buy? Why not? Who and what are consumers relying upon for information? How can marketers predict behaviors from attitudes? How do consumers make decisions? How do we consume and dispose of products? To answer these questions, consumer behavior draws heavily on the disciplines of psychology, economics, sociology, and anthropology. In this course, you will survey the relevant theory and learn how to apply these concepts to real-world marketing situations. Class-time discussion of theory always will be supported with examples drawn from past and current business practices as well as consumers’ everyday lives; we will be considering the social, ethical, regulatory, environmental, and technological contexts in which consumers think and act.

This course stresses understanding, application, and generalization rather than memorization. In every field that you are studying, the body of accepted knowledge is growing and changing at an increasingly rapid rate. Because your success as a marketer will depend in part on your ability to find out about new knowledge and apply it to your own marketing problems, your performance in this course will be evaluated in terms of how well you are able to integrate textbook theory with business facts to arrive at explanations and recommendations.

Objectives of the Course

This course is designed to introduce you to key theoretical concepts in consumer behavior and build your ability to apply these concepts to real-world marketing problems. You will go through a detailed study of personal and group consumer behavior, its determinants, and its implications for marketing strategy. With this in mind, the specific objectives of the course are:

1. To gain a better understanding of yourself as a consumer
2. To learn the concepts and theories that underlie consumer behavior.
3. To develop an understanding of the consumer and the internal and external factors that make each consumption situation unique.
4. To gain a deeper understanding of how the consumer contributes to the success of a brand or firm.
5. To learn how to implement these theories and concepts into effective marketing strategies.

Learning Outcomes of the Course

By the end of this course students should:

1. Be able to undertake the development of appropriate marketing strategies in relation to consumer behavior.
2. Appreciate the aims of the consumerism movement and marketing's responsibility to the consumer and society
3. Demonstrate pertinent knowledge of applications of consumer behavior principles and practices to the marketing situations of various organizations and industries.
4. Develop analytical skills through the interpretation of data and information to solve marketing challenges.

Course Plan

This course holds 3 credit hours. Accordingly, there would be two lectures per week. Each lecture would be of 90 minutes duration. The class will be held on every Monday at 12:30 pm and every Tuesday at 2:00 pm in MS Room of Ghazali block. This course will be taught in a lecture/discussion format. Lectures are used to present and clarify issues from the set text and to discuss case studies. They will also include short interactive exercises. The mode of instructions would be English. Lectures may be facilitated through the use of transparencies on high definition projector and multimedia presentations for essential concepts. As appropriate, various activities and supplemental readings will be used to enhance student’s understanding of the material. Classroom lectures/discussions/activities will focus on the topics listed in the course break down. Furthermore, lectures will not be limited to the material from the texts; rather they would be a source of additional information from the instructor.

Course Break Down

Course Evaluation

The assessment of learning in this course would be undertaken through various assessment activities. There would be two formal examinations namely midterm and final term examinations. Besides these formal examinations, there would be one classroom quiz, two written individual assignments, and one group project that must be submitted in written reports and formally presented in the classroom. The relative distribution of marks across these assessment exercises is as follows:

Learning Resources

The instructor shall provide important web links for each chapter of the course for enhancing students’ learning. Relevant research articles for critical review shall also be provided by the instructor. The recommended text for this course is as follows:

Mothersbaugh, D. L., & Hawkins, D. I. (2016). Consumer behavior: Building marketing strategy (13th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.

The suggested readings for this course include but are not limited to:

Jansson-Boyd, C. V. (2010). Consumer psychology. UK: Open University Press.

Quester, P. G., Pettigrew, S., Hill, S. R., Kopanidis, F., & Hawkins, D. I. (2013). Consumer behavior: Implications for marketing strategy. Australia: McGraw-Hill.

Solomon, M. R. (2004). Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (6th ed.). NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.