MBA PROGRAM
BAMA 506
BUYER/CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Instructor: Dale Griffin
E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: TBA
Office Locatioon HA 578
Telephone:2-8364
Dates: Period 5
Times: T-Th 2:00-4:00 PM
Location: HA 132
Prerequisite(s):
MBA student or permission of MBA office
Required Reading Material:
Recommended Reading Material:
Package only
See recommended books below
*Kahneman, D.: Thinking Fast and Slow.
*Thaler and Sunstein: Nudge: Improving Decisions about
Health, Wealth, and
Happiness.
*Heath and Heath: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive
and Others Die.
Belsky and Gilovich: Why Smart People make Big Money
Mistakes.
Cialdini, R. Influence: Science and Practice (4th Edition).
Underhill, P. Why We Buy.
Zaltman, G. How Customers Think.
All books are recommended
Course Package:
Connect Site?
Yes
A course reader that contains cases, background notes, and
academic and popular press articles will be sold through UBC
Bookstore. The reader will contain several introductory
chapters from a textbook: Peter, J. Paul, and Jerry C. Olson
(2005), Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy (7th
edition). (P&O) You do not need to buy the textbook
separately.
Yes
Introduction (or Module Description):
Contemporary approaches to marketing management emphasize the importance of adopting a customerfocused orientation. This course examines the art and science of understanding the consumer (or
“customer” or “buyer”) and is aimed at an academically-oriented general managerial audience with
interest in consumer behavior. The course has both theoretical and practical aims in that it is designed
to provide insights into consumer psychology per se and also to explain how consumer behavior can be
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shaped or influenced. Students should develop an understanding of how models of consumer behavior
can be used to develop efficient and fair marketing techniques and tactics, an ability to view marketing
techniques from both a managerial and a consumer’s perspective, and a more general understanding of
the diversity of consumer behavior. Our consideration of consumer influence methods brings with it an
opportunity to grapple with important ethical issues.
The course includes a general overview of consumer psychology, including attention, motivation,
emotional reactions, and cognition. The course will also touch upon the research methods used to study
consumer
behavior. Overall, classes will be relatively equally balanced between lecture, case discussion, and
general discussion. Lectures will be liberally dosed with video examples and counter-examples, so as to
link the
verbal learning with experiential learning. As in all classes, it is important to keep up with the readings
to maintain a high level of comprehension of the lecture material and to maintain a high level of
(informed) class participation. Be warned: the class is not designed to deliver answers to a passive
audience, but to provide frameworks and perspectives for you to apply.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After taking this course, students are expected to effectively:
1) Apply psychological frameworks to understand and predict consumer behavior.
2) Use consumer behavior principles to understand the bases of effective and ineffective advertising and
marketing communication.
3) Critically analyze the use of principles of persuasion in marketing and advertising contexts.
4) Identify ethical concerns in marketing communications and understand their psychological
implications.
PROGRAM GOALS (MBA) relevant to this course
Critical and Analytical Thinking
Integration
Communication
Ethics and social responsibility
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Module & Readings Schedule (Subject to change):
COURSE OUTLINE AND ASSIGNMENT DATES
Week
Session
1
A
B
2
A
B
3
A
B
4
A
B
5
A
B
6
AB
Session and Assignment
Introduction to Consumer Behavior and Analysis
Consumer Perception, Cognition and Affect
Research in Consumer Behavior
Attention and the Unconscious
Case: Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative
--In-class case discussion only
Values and Involvement
Means-Ends Chains
Consumer Motivation
Case: A Case for Brand Loyalty (The Coffee Case)
--Case written assignment due at beginning of this class
Persuasion and Behavior
Infomercial Demonstration
Forces and Barriers vs The Value Proposition
Case: TIVO: Consumer Behavior
--Case written assignment due at beginning of next week’s class
Culture and Ethics
Case: Club Med Japan
--Case written assignment due at beginning of this class
Consumer Decision Making and Rationality
Pricing and Economic Psychology
--Infomercial Project due plus brief class presentations
Final Group Presentations on New Product Introduction
--Time TBA
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Evaluation:
Your grade will be based on the following weights:
1. Class Participation
2. Three individual case write-ups
3. Two Group Projects
-Infomercial persuasion analysis
-Final class presentation (week 6)
20%
30%
50%
(20%)
(30%)
Evaluation Guidelines:
1. Participation (20%).
Participating in discussion is essential to your learning in the course. Please be prepared and
ready to volunteer your ideas, as well as to respond to cold calls. There is plenty of room in these topics
for personal judgment and experience, but please focus on relevant analysis in your comments rather
than simply tell stories. Attendance will be recorded, please e-mail prior to class with any problems
in attendance or timeliness.
2. Case Write-Ups (30%).
Write a three-page (maximum) analysis prior to the class discussion of the Coffee Case and Club
Med case. Specific questions and guidelines will be presented for each case. A case analysis will be
required after
and building on the class discussion of the TIVO case. Note that consumer behavior cases focus on the
customer and his or her motivations, thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Strategic analyses of firm
behaviour
must be linked to the individual consumer.
3. Group Projects
(a) (20%) Analyze and assess the persuasion techniques used in an actual television infomercial.
(b) (30%) Students will work in groups to undertake a major integrative project analyzing the
consumer behavior principles underlying a current or recent new product launch and present their
findings in the final week (Week 6) of class. A written summary is also required. Groups of 4 or 5
should be formed by the end of the second week. Groups should check with the instructor during the 3rd
or 4th week to seek approval for their final presentation project.
Other Information: (such as case information, questions or helpful hints)
Note: Additional online readings may be assigned during the course. The following readings (except the
online readings) are contained in the course reading package.
Primary book excerpted in the package: P. & O. Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy, 7th Ed.
(2005). Peter, J. P., and Olson, J. C. McGraw-Hill Irwin (Toronto)
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Readings by Week
(1)
P & O chapter 3 (pp. 38-45; 53-60). Introduction to Affect and Cognition
Hoyer & Macinnis, Consumer Behavior (3rd Ed). Ch 4 Exposure, Attention and Perception (pp. 78-90)
The Return of the Hidden Persuaders (Salon Magazine Online)
http://www.salon.com/media/col/shal/1999/09/27/persuaders/
CASE: Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative (HBS case 9-502-040)
(2)
P & O chapter 4 (pp. 74-90)
Hawkins, Best, & Coney, Consumer Behavior (9th ed). Ch.9. Learning, Memory and Product
Positioning (pp. 316-346)
CASE: A case for brand loyalty (HBS case 9-598-023)
(3)
Harnessing the science of persuasion (HBS reading)
Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers: Understanding the Psychology of New-Product Adoption (HBR
OnPoint Enhanced Edition)
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping. Paco Underhill, Simon & Schuster (1999). Chapters 2 (pp.
34-39)
and 12 (pp. 161-182)
The Science of Shopping (New Yorker Online) http://www.gladwell.com/archive.html (read online, not
included in reading list)
CASE: TIVO in 2002: Consumer Behavior (HBS case 9-502-062)
(4)
National Culture and Management (HBS note 9-394-177)
Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition)
CASE: Club Med Japan (Insead-ECCH-Babson case 590-030-1)
(5)
Mowen, J.C., & Minor, M.S. Consumer Behavior: A Framework. Ch. 9. Consumer Decision
Processes (pp. 171-190)
Get Close to your customers. Itamar Simonson. California Management Review Reprint (1993. V. 35,
Number 4).
Note on Behavioral Pricing (HBS note 9-599-114)
Preparation for the first class:
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(a) Before class, read the week 1 readings from the course reading packet.
(b) Prepare the Mountain Dew case.
While every attempt will be made to keep to this schedule, the instructor reserves the right at all times to make changes in the
material to be covered including, but not limited to, the cases and the reading material. The MBA Office reserves the right to
change the location and time of the module. Advance notice of changes will be provided on Vista.