Module BUSI2331: Consumer Behaviour

Department: Management and Marketing

BUSI2331: Consumer Behaviour

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The module aims to:
• To critically explore how consumers can be influenced to make purchasing decisions.
• To explore consumer interactions with the products and services of everyday life, and with the marketing of those products and services. 
• To understand consumers' responses to a range of marketing activities and ways in which those responses vary in different situational contexts. 
• To engage at a critical level with the latest consumer research into buyer behaviour, consumer psychology and marketing practice.

Content

• Indicative Content
• The module is structured around four main themes:-
• I. Consumers in Context
• Understanding and Influencing Consumer Behaviour
• The Marketplace, including Decisions, Behaviours and Interactions
• Creating Value by Analysing Consumer Journeys through Retail and Service-scapes
• II. Consumers as Spenders
• Rational Consumer Behaviour
• Irrational Consumer Behaviour
• III. Consumers as Individuals
• Consumer Cognition and Emotions
• Personality, Identity and the Self
• IV. Consumers and the Social World
• Social and Cultural Reference Groups
• Age, Gender and the Family Unit
• Ethical and Sustainable Consumption

Learning Outcomes

• An understanding of the psychological, situational, environmental and socio-cultural influences on behaviour;
• A critical awareness of the decision-making processes that individuals undertake and the models which seek to interpret this behaviour; 
• An appreciation of why and how this understanding of the ways in which consumer research informs marketing strategy.

• Ability to observe, interpret and demonstrate marketing psychology in action. 
• Ability to critically evaluate personal behaviour as a consumer.
• Ability to develop and evaluate marketing strategies through a critical awareness and understanding of consumer psychology theory and behavioural science research.

• Creativity and problem-solving (e.g. by thinking laterally and innovatively).
• Critical thinking.
• Active and reflective learning.
• Presenting in both the written and oral/visual form.
• Group work/teamwork and leadership skills.
• Practical market research skills

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• This module is delivered via a series of lectures and workshops. The lectures introduce key concepts and frameworks, while the workshops builds on these ideas and demonstrates the ways in which consumer research of this type inform marketing activities in the commercial and not-for-profit worlds.
• The module is assessed by means of an individual written assignment. Specifically, students identify a real-world marketing problem and, based on a comprehensive literature review and desktop research, offer an analysis of the problem and offer a proposed marketing solution.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Students identify a marketing problem they will analyse in the subsequent summative assignment and submit a proposal (1000 words) on how that problem will be investigated, for feedback and review.

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.