Aims

At the end of the class, students should be able to analyse complex consumer behaviour by taking into account the different types of factors that influence it: individual factors, environmental influences, and psychological processes. This students' ability to analyse consumer behaviour will help students develop marketing strategies and programmes adapted to the targeted public.

Main themes

This seminar has three principal objectives: (1) providing students with useful theoretical basis to understand consumer buying behaviour; (2) detailing the different factors that could have an influence on consumer behaviour; (3) developing students' ability to apply concepts and theories in real marketing situations.

Content and teaching methods

CONTENT
­ Analysis of the big principles of consumer behavior and of the different stages in the consumer decision and consumption process (pre-purchase, purchase, post-purchase processes),
­ Analysis of the different types of decision processes,
­ Analysis of the determinants of and influences on consumer behavior : individual factors (personality, values, motivation, attitudes…), environmental influences (culture, social classes, family, situation…) and psychological processes (information processing, learning processes, attitude and behavior change).

METHODS
- Class discussions
- Analysis of advertising campaigns
- Preparation and correction of cases.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisite : Knowledge of basic concepts of strategic and operational marketing

Evaluation
Preparation of case studies
Group assignment : secondary and/or primary data collection in order to analyse in depth consumer behaviour (topic chosen by students).

Support
Case studies, PowerPoint slides for each class, reference book.

References
Blackwell Roger D., Miniard Paul W. and Engel James F. (2001), Consumer Behavior, 9th edition, Harcourt College Publishers.

Pedagogic team:
Weekly meeting with the teacher.

Other credits in programs