24710 Buyer Behaviour

Subject level: Postgraduate

Handbook description

Effective marketing builds on an in-depth understanding of how customers behave and what they experience. This subject develops advanced knowledge and practical competencies to link theories of customer behaviour to marketing decision making. It provides hands-on approaches that allow marketers to make informed decisions about the design and implementation of marketing strategies that are influenced by and, in turn, affect customer behaviour and experiences.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. Understand theoretical foundations of customer behaviour and customer experiences.
2. Apply customer behaviour theories, frameworks and concepts to managerial marketing decision contexts.
3. Work more effectively in teams to develop interpersonal, leadership and communication skills.
4. Present more effectively in an informal and formal manner the findings of the group work components.

Contribution to graduate profile

Effective marketing builds on an in-depth understanding of how customers behave and what they experience. This subject develops advanced knowledge and practical competencies to link theories of customer behaviour to marketing decision making. It provides hands-on approaches that allow marketers make informed decisions about the design and implementation of marketing strategies that are influenced by and, in turn, affect customer behaviour and experiences.

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject is based on dynamic and interactive lecture and workshop sessions. It is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops. The lectures involve critical debate and in-depth case discussions; and the workshops are built around in-class exercises and presentations. These classes will be supplemented with both printed and electronic learning materials and resources. The UTS web-based communication tool (UTSOnline Course Information) will be used to share information and encourage interaction between staff and students. Students will also use appropriate computer software such as spreadsheets and word processors to complete assigned tasks.

Content

• Consumer attention and comprehension, memory, judgment and choice
• Approaches to persuasion: message-learning, cognitive, self-persuasion and social influence
• Marketing practice and customer behaviour
• Managerial decision making in marking

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Formal mid semester exam (individual)

Assessment item 2: Project report (group)

Assessment item 3: Final Exam (Individual)

Required text(s)

Schiffman, L, Bednall, D, O'Cass, A, Paladino, A, Ward, S, and Kanuk, L Consumer Behaviour 4th edn, Pearson 2008

Recommended text(s)

Guide to Writing Assignments, Faculty of Business. (This is available from the Co-op Bookshop.)

Indicative references

Craig-Lees, Margaret, Sally Joy and Beverly Browne, Consumer Behaviour, John Wiley & Sons, Brisbane, 1995.

Chisnall, P. M., Marketing: A Behavioural Analysis, McGraw Hill Marketing Series, London, 1985. A British text. Certain sections show how Australia is much closer to the United Kingdom and Europe than it is to the USA

De Mooij, (2004) Consumer Behaviour and culture: consequences for global marketing and advertising, Sage

Engel, J. F., R. D. Blackwell, P. W. Minard, Consumer Behaviour, The Dryden Press, 9th edition, 2006

Lawson, Robert, Paula Tidwell, Paul Rainbird, David Loudon and Albert Della Bitta (1996), Consumer Behaviour in Australia and New Zealand, Australia: McGraw-Hill

Mackay, Hugh, Reinventing Australia, Angus and Robertson (Harper) 1993

Mackay, Hugh, Generations: Baby boomers, their parents and their children, Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1997

Mackay, Hugh Media Madness 2002 UNSW

Mackay, Hugh. Advance Australia … where? 2007

Neal, Cathy, Pettigrew, Simone, and Quester, Pascale. Consumer Behaviour: Implications for Marketing Strategy, 5th Australasian Edition, McGraw-Hill, Sydney, 2007

Peter, J. and Olson, J. (2006) Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Strategy 7th edn, McGraw-Hill

Poulos, M. (2007) Buyer Behaviour: Implications for Marketing — 2nd edn, Sydney: Pearson Education Australia Pty Ltd

Pringle, H (2004) Celebrity sells, Wiley

Marshall, J (2006) Understanding motivation and Emotion, 4th edn, Wiley

Solomon, Michael R., 2005 Consumer Behaviour, 4th edn, Allyn & Bacon

Sutherland, Max. Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer. (A book everyone should read, it shows the relevance and relationship between consumer behaviour and advertising management.)

Whitwell, Greg, Making the Market, McPhee Gribble Publishers, Melbourne, 1989. (This is a short book on the development of a consumer society in Australia. It is intended to provide a historical context for understanding buyer behaviour in Australia.)

Websites

Association for Consumer Research: www.acrwebsite.org

American Psychology Association (APA): www.psychologymatters.org

Academic journals

It is highly recommended that these journals, or equivalent others, are used in preparation of your group case analyses; failure to use academic literature implies failing this assessment criterion

American Psychologist

American Sociologist

Harvard Business Review

Journal of Advertising

Journal of Advertising Research

Journal of Applied Psychology

Journal of Behavioral Decision Making

Journal of Consumer Psychology

Journal of Consumer Research

Journal of Experimental Psychology

Journal of Marketing

Journal of Marketing Research

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Journal of Retailing

International Journal of Research in Marketing

Management Science

Marketing Letters

Marketing Science

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Psychology and Marketing

Psychological Review

Psychological Science

It is highly recommended the use of the PsycInfo, Proquest, and/or Business Source Premier databases from the library. Many of the journals mentioned above, and others, have online versions that can be downloaded from the library website.

Please inquire at the library if you have any questions on how to access these sources.