Dr Heather Kappes NAB5.04

This course is available on the MSc in International Management, MSc in Management, MSc in Management (CEMS MIM), MSc in Management and Strategy, MSc in Management, Organisations and Governance, MSc in Media and Communications and MSc in Media and Communications (Media and Communications Governance). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

For many companies, non-profit organisations, and political figures, success relies on understanding the "consumers." What is it that they really want, and why? What information will they attend to, and what will they ignore? How do they make decisions, why do they sometimes make bad ones, and how can we help them make better ones? It can be tempting to answer these questions intuitively, based on your own experiences as a consumer. However, intuitions about human psychology are often wrong. The aim of this course is to enable students to identify the major theories of consumer behaviour, and to apply these theories to understand behaviour at all stages of the consumer experience.Topics include Chronic and temporary sources of customer needs, desires, and motivations How customers search for information, acquire, and process information How customers allocate attention and how to attract it Customer decision-making processes, and the heuristics and biases that play a role The formation of attitudes and intentions, and processes for persuasively changing them Social influences on intentions and behaviour, including unconscious determinants Why intentions are or are not translated into behaviour, and what strategies can be used to narrow the intention-behaviour gap.

30 hours of lectures in the LT. 3 hours of lectures in the ST.

Formative feedback will be provided on two selected short (500 words max) writing assignments that address components of the Insight Brief and oral presentation assignments. At least one of these assignments will be submitted via the Moodle Forum, and feedback provided there, so that all students can benefit from the feedback each one receives. Students will individually complete a mock exam and will mark each other's exams in class with the help of the instructor to help them prepare for the final exam.

Consumer Behavior, 6th edition. Hoyer, MacInnis, & Pieters. South-Western Cengage Learning, 2010;
Consumer Behavior: How Humans Think, Feel and Act in the Marketplace. Mittal et al. Open Mentis Publishing, 2008;
Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being, 9th edition. Solomon. Prentice-Hall, 2010;
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Cialdini, Robert. Collins Business, 2006.

Exam (50%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (40%, 2000 words) and presentation (10%) in the LT.