LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning outcomes for this course, upon successful completion, include the ability to: 1) understand the basic concepts and issues in consumer behavior, 2) recognize consumer issues as business problems and challenges in different markets, 3) learn how consumer behavior and marketing strategies influence each other, 4) understand how to make strategic recommendations based on consumer psychology and sociology, focusing on varying consumer segments, and 5) develop a deeper understanding of the role of culture in diverse parts of the world as it relates to consumer behavior.
Credits: 6
Schedule: 18.09.2023 - 06.10.2023
Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Paurav Shukla
Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):
Your tutor
Paurav Shukla (p.v.shukla@soton.ac.uk)
Professor Shukla is a management educator, researcher, consultant and an entrepreneur based in the UK. He is the Professor of Marketing at the University of Southampton, UK. He possesses wide range of industry and academic experience from middle to senior level in healthcare and media industries. He has been delivering corporate training, teaching and consulting assignments for various organizations in the Europe, Asia and Africa. He has also been involved with academic institutions and corporate organizations including not for profit organizations in the capacity of advisor and board of directors. He has directly taught students representing more than 60 nationalities subjects including marketing research, introduction to marketing, strategic marketing and international marketing. He has been one of the pioneers in e-teaching methods using his website www.pauravshukla.com. He has published in international journals including, Journal of Business Research, Journal of World Business, Marketing Letters, International Marketing Review, Information & Management, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behavior, Advances in Consumer Research among others. He has contributed chapters to edited books, case studies and popular accounts of his work have appeared in the Sunday Times, the Guardian, BBC, Woman’s Wear Daily (the fashion bible), Luxury Society, Business Week, National Post of Canada and LiveMint Wall Street Journal, among others. He has been involved as a guest editor for journals, conference chair, and track chair for prestigious conferences such as EMAC. He is also on the editorial and review boards of several renowned conferences and journals.|
Office Hours |
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Monday to Friday: 12noon to 1pm Finnish time |
CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):
Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):
Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English
CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD
Content
valid for whole curriculum period:
In order to create successful and sustainable marketing strategies managers first need to understand the complex way in which people behave as consumers. There is a significant body of knowledge that draws on research into understanding what human behavior underlies the processes involved in consumer decision making and behavior. This course provides an exploration of the complex dynamics of consumer behavior in diverse cultures around the globe. It is designed to develop an understanding of the psychological, social, and cultural influences on consumer behavior. Theoretical perspectives are employed to predict consumer response to different marketing stimuli in various parts of the world.
applies in this implementation
Session # and Date
Topic/s
Assignment/s
Session 1: Sep 18,2023
Introduction to CB & its role in decision making
Chapter 1
Session 2: Sep 19, 2023
Understanding value and CB models
Chapter 2
Experiment on framing effects and decision making
Session 3: Sep 20, 2023
Culture and consumer behavior
Chapter 9
Culture driven exercise
Session 4: Sep 21, 2023
Micro-cultures
Chapter 10
Stereotypes exercise
Session 5: Sep 22, 2023
Learning and perception
Chapter 3
Task: Group names and topics due & experiment discussion
Darren Brown video discussion
Session 6: Sep 25, 2023
Comprehension and memory
Chapter 4
BBC memory experiments discussion
Session 7: Sep 26, 2023
Motivation and emotion
Chapter 5
Selective attentions test
Session 8: Sep 27, 2023
Exam #1 (9am to 12noon)
The exam will be held online via Mycourses.
Session 9: Sep 28, 2023
Personality, lifestyles, self-concept & Attitude
Chapter 6 & 7
Personality test and Impression management experiment
Session 10: Sep 29, 2023
Group & interpersonal influences
Chapter 8
Social and personal consumption experiment (STTW)
Session 11: Oct 02, 2023
Situational influences
Chapter 11
Conjunction fallacy experiment
Videos on science of shopping
Session 12: Oct 03, 2023
Consumer decision making process
Chapter 12 and 13
Task: Group meetings for experiment analysis
Video: Berry Schwartz on the Paradox of Choice
Session 13: Oct 04, 2023
Task: Group meetings for experiment analysis
Session 14: Oct 05, 2023
Exam #2 (9am to 12noon)
The exam will be held online via Mycourses.
Session 15: Oct 06, 2023
Group presentations
You will also be submitting your presentation datasets and PowerPoint slides (if you have used them for the presentation).
Assessment Methods and Criteria
applies in this implementation
Exams
Exam 1 and 2 will consist of objective and essay questions over the readings assigned by the instructor. Exam 1 will consist of 30 objective questions and 2 essay questions. Exam 2 will consist of 40 multiple choice questions and 2 essay questions. Because of the discussion emphasis, we will not have time to cover all concepts presented in the reading materials. These concepts, however, may be the focus of questions on the exams. The intent is simply to encourage active reading and processing of information. Attendance is MANDATORY, and make-up exams will only be held if there are exceptional health/medical circumstances agreeable according to the University administrators.
Consumer behavior presentation
The presentation is intended to be fun and at the same time provide an opportunity to apply the theories learnt in the class. You will have to form groups of four or five students each. No two exchange students from the same school should be in the same group. There should be at least one non-Finnish student in each group. Each group presentation will be 15 minutes. Time limitations will be strictly enforced. You will need to divide this time among yourselves, and each member must present. You will be assessed as a group. Work cohesively as a significant proportion of your total marks is based on group work.
1. Each group can select one topic out of the below four or one they can find by reading experiments from Journal of Consumer Research or Journal of Consumer Psychology.
Topics:
a. Effects of democratization on luxury purchase
b. Brand activism management
c. Envy in consumption
d. Status threat and consumption
2. The group will be given a ready-made experiment with a coded data-table.
3. The group shall run the experiment where they are located or online and collect minimum 100 completed responses.
4. The group shall analyze the data and present the results of the experiment in their presentation.
5. The presentation and the dataset used for the presentation findings will have to be submitted to the instructor after the class.
The assessment criteria for the presentation include:
a. Presentation structure and clarity
b. Evidence of thinking and debate of the argument at an appropriate level especially relating to the topic and theory behind it
c. Integration of specific theories learnt in the class with your findings
d. Ability to analyze and interpret data and convert it into valid and reliable information
PARTICIPATION
Evaluation of your professionalism is based on my best judgment of your regular involvement. Participation is very important in this course as there are so many interesting experiments and exercises involved. Meaningful and frequent participation is rewarded: non-participants (just showing up for sessions) and "air time" (simply talking to monopolize time) are not. Good participation involves regular quality contributions. The types of behavior I think are important and look for include:
• Are the points you make relevant to the discussion? Are they linked to the comments of others?
• Do your comments show evidence of relevant issues and concepts?
• Do your comments add to our understanding of the concepts?
• Are you willing to interact with other class members and me?
PEER EVALUATION
At the end of the module, you may be evaluating the performance of each team member (including yourself) if there are discrepancies observed. If a team member does not participate in all activities equally, then his/her overall score will be reduced by at least 10%, if not more. Hence, it is of paramount importance to work together as a team.
Workload
applies in this implementation
Contact hours (on- and off-campus):
45
Out-of-class hours:
115 (Sum of fields below)
Work with course materials, eg required reading
45
Exam preparation
20
Individual research & writing
15
Team projects (meetings, research, preparation, etc.)
35
Other
Total of all student workload (contact and out-of-class) hours:
160
DETAILS
Study Material
applies in this implementation
Will be uploaded in due course.
Substitutes for Courses
valid for whole curriculum period:
Prerequisites
valid for whole curriculum period:
SDG: Sustainable Development Goals
8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
12 Responsible Production and Consumption
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further Information
valid for whole curriculum period:
Teaching Language : English
Teaching Period : 2022-2023 Module 1
2023-2024 Module 1Enrollment :
The course is targeted only for the Mikkeli Campus students.