
Course unit details:
Consumer Behaviour
Unit code | BMAN70102 |
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Credit rating | 15 |
Unit level | FHEQ level 7 – master's degree or fourth year of an integrated master's degree |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
Offered by | Alliance Manchester Business School |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
We will start with a “low level” psychological approach to understanding consumer behaviour such as motivation and perception, before graduating to fuzzier (but still important!) “higher level” psychological concepts like identity and symbolic consumption. We will end the course with the quantum leap in complexity that comes when all these fuzzy minded individuals we have talked about start interacting with each other, bonding and making friends and sharing. We will talk about the forces this gives rise to, that we can call culture, sub-cultures, tribal marketing, and brand communities.
Pre/co-requisites
Aims
The course unit aims to provide students with an understanding of consumer behaviour; to acquaint students with the factors which influence consumer’s thoughts, feelings, identity, and actions; and to outline links between consumer behaviour research and marketing theory and practice.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course unit students should be able to:
- Use a range of theories that are related to consumer marketing situations. They should demonstrate this verbally, during class discussions and in their written work.
- Understand that there are a variety of possible perspectives that can be used in consumer markets and that these offer distinct marketing opportunities.
- Have a stronger background in how and why marketing activities affect consumers
- Understand that people have richly interrelated thoughts, emotions, impulses and understandings, and that these offer distinct marketing opportunities.
- Practice group work and presentation skills, in the context of consumer analysis
- Learn to extract insight from academic CB literature.
Teaching and learning methods
Formal Contact Methods
Minimum Contact hours: 20
Delivery format: Lecture and Workshops
Assessment methods
15 minute group presentation and 750 word individual reflection (40%)
2 hour written examination (60%)
Feedback methods
Written, verbally during class and via Blackboard.
Recommended reading
Blythe, J. (2014), Consumer Behaviour, 2nd Edition, Sage.
Much use will be made of academic journal articles in international journals - particularly from Journal of Consumer Research. There are many other good texts on consumer psychology. Students might want to look at
Arnold, E., Price, L. and Zinkhan, G. (2004), Consumers, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill.
Solomon, M., Bamossy, G., Askegaard, S. and Hogg, M. (2010), Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective, 4th Edition, Pearson Education.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Assessment written exam | 2 |
Lectures | 30 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 118 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Alexander Gunz | Unit coordinator |
Additional notes
Informal Contact Methods
Office Hours
Online Learning Activities (blogs, discussions, self-assessment questions)