Prof. Arvid Hoffman

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand and explain the nature and scope of consumer behaviour and present about this in a professional and engaging manner;
2. Identify and explain factors which influence consumer behaviour and demonstrate how knowledge of consumer behaviour can be applied to in practice to marketing;
3. Provide a theoretical and practical basis for assessing consumer behaviour using real-world examples and report on this in a professional, logical and coherent way;
4. Identify and discuss characteristics and challenges in dealing with consumer behaviour for firms in the modern world including cultural and ethical implications;
5. Gather, evaluate and synthesise information and existing knowledge from a number of sources and experiences while displaying critical thinking and problem solving skills;
6. Work effectively and efficiently in a team addressing consumer behaviour topics.

Text

Pascale Quester, Simone Pettigrew, Sally Rao Hill, Foula Kopanidis, Del Hawkins (2014), Consumer Behaviour: Implications for
Marketing Strategy, (7th Ed.), Australia: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

eBooks of this text is available. The textbook has a related website which provides additional and updated material including relevant websites and self-testing tools. To access, visit the student site at: www.mhhe.com/au/questercb7e

Solomon,
M.R., Russell-Bennett, R. and Previte, J. (2013), Consumer Behaviour: Buying,
Having, and Being, 3rd ed., Pearson, Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.

 

Schiffman
LG. (2014), Consumer Behaviour, Pearson, Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.

 

In addition, students are also encouraged to read on the topics covered by this course in the following journals. Students will find these journals particularly useful for the assignment:

•           Journal of Consumer Research

•           Journal of Consumer Behaviour

•           Journal of Consumer Marketing

•           Journal of Marketing

•           Psychology and Marketing

•           Journal of Consumer Psychology

•           Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

 
NB:
This list of references is a guide only; it is up to the student to determine what additional material is needed to satisfactorily complete their
presentation, assignment, and the course.

Most of the learning material will be available on the MyUni course website.

This course entails 30 hour face-to-face lectures and tutorials for a Trimester.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies.

Students in this course are expected to attend all seminars throughout the Trimester.

Week 1
Introduction to consumer behaviour
 
Week 2
Situational influences and problem recognition
 
Week 3
Information search and choices 
 
Week 4
Purchases and post-purchase processes 
 
Week 5 
Perception, Learning, and memory
  
Week 6
Online mid-semester quiz during lecture time, no lecture, no tutorial

Week 7
Motivation, personality, and emotion

Week 8
Attitudes and attitude change, and the changing Australian society and lifestyle

Week 9
Group influence and group communication

Week 10
Household structure and consumption behaviour and social stratification

Week 11
Culture and cross-cultural variations in consumer behaviour 

Week 12
Course revision

Week 13
No lecture, no tutorial

Assessment Task	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Class Participation, During tutorials	10%
Presentation, Assigned in the first session	20%
Online mid-semester quiz	20%
Final Exam	50%
Total	100%

Class Participation 10%

A mark is awarded for tutorial participation and attendance. Students are required to not only attend tutorials, but to read and be prepared for active discussion of activities. You will be marked for each class separately on 1) engagement in class, 2) preparation, 3) listening skills, and 4) attendance / promptness. Your lecturer will call the roll at the beginning of the tutorial and will allocate individual marks at the end of the tutorial – late arrival or leaving early will impact on marks. Marks cannot be awarded after the class therefore it is important to ensure you are marked on the roll and awarded a mark on completion of the class. Failure to attend class due to illness will result in a mark being awarded only by supplying a medical certificate.

Presentation 10%

Working in a group, you will be required to present on a particular consumer behaviour topic and to a lead discussion and/or facilitate
a class exercise. Be prepared to defend and support your analysis, and to discuss it with your classmates. Working in your group, you are required to make a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation. Following your presentation, you will be required to lead a discussion and/or facilitate a class activity of approximately 10 minutes, on the key aspects of the topic. Each presentation and discussion or activity will be graded out of 10 marks for a total of 10% of the course grade.

Online Quiz 10%

There will be a 1 hour timed Mid Semester Quiz over MyUni. The aim of this assessment is to give you feedback on your level of understanding of consumer behaviour principles. There will in the form of an on-line multiple-choice question test and will be 60 minutes long. It is worth 10% and is done individually will examine material covered up to and including the date of the test. You do not have to come to uni to complete this online test, but it is your responsibility that you have a reliable connection to the internet. Furthermore, the online quiz will only be available at this time, as this ensures that everyone has the same opportunity. If we had it during tutorial times, people with tutorials later in the week would have more time to prepare than those with tutorials earlier in the week. Please take this as advanced warning to save this date for those who may anticipate a conflict with work commitments. To allow students some additional preparation and review time, there will be no tutorial in the week of the online quiz.

Assignment: Sustainable Consumption Project 20%

Sustainable consumption is a pressing and complex issue. It involves the society at large which is also made up of individual consumers. Even though many consumers are aware of the issues and know what the right thing to do is, there often exists an intention/action gap.

In a team of 3-4, you are to 1) identify an emerging green consumer behaviour trend. This could be environmentally friendly consumer behaviour (such as recycling, taking public transport, safe disposal of e-waste) or purchases of green products over the standard alternatives (examples include the compact fluorescent light bulb, solar panels/solar power, cloth nappies, appliances with better energy efficiency). These green behaviours may be an idea found in a magazine, newspaper article, or other secondary source, or you may be
creative about sustainability issues and present an original idea for increasing sustainability; 2) research on this behaviour and report the trends amongst Australian consumer in relation to this behaviour; 3) apply what you have learned in this course to analyse issues/challenges surrounding the adoption of this behaviour; 4) suggest marketing tactics for improving this consumer sustainable behaviour based on consumer behaviour theories.

Final Exam 50%

There will be a 3 hour exam (minimum of 45% in the exam required). The final exam is a 3 hour exam to be held during the formal examination period. The final exam will cover materials from the entire course. The final examination is to be advised. Students must
demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the course and interpretive and analytical ability in this written exam. 

·   Please retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

·   All team members are expected to contribute approximately equally to a group assignment.

·   Teaching staff can refuse to accept assignments, which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism.