Consumer Behavior

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Cécile Delcourt

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

(Update: September 2024)

Very important note: The course starts on 23rd September 2024 at 9.00 AM. Groups and topics will be decided on that day. It is important to be present. 
 

Consumer behavior is "the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires" (Solomon, 2015, p. 29).

After taking this course, you will be able to:

• Gain a strong knowledge of the psychological processes consumers (of products, services, ideas, experiences, behaviors,...) are influenced by.
• Use this knowledge to develop strategically relevant consumer insights by identifying key psychological reasons for why consumers in some situations behave the way they do.
• Translate this knowledge into effective marketing decisions

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

This course specifically contributes to the following Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO):

• ILO-2: Gaining the knowledge and understanding of one of the proposed fields of concentration or to gain deep knowledge in the field of the management being already specialized through a first University Master Degree.
• ILO-4: To acquire the capacity to research autonomously and methodically the information needed to solve a complex, transversal management problem.
• ILO-5: Integrate autonomously researched information, tools, knowledge and context to build and propose, either individually or as part of a team, original, creative and viable solutions to concrete complex management problems, whether real or simulated, taking into account, when necessary, the human, social and legal context.
• ILO-7: Being capable of professional team work.
• ILO-9: Developing a critical sense.
• ILO-10: Developing a transversal, global vision. 
• ILO-11: Creative conception of solutions.
• ILO-12: Professional capacity for oral communication.
• ILO-13: Professional capacity for written communication.  

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

You are responsible for checking whether you meet the following prerequisites. In case you do not meet them, you are NOT allowed to take this course.

!!! IMPORTANT You should have followed at least one course of "Marketing Research" https://www.programmes.uliege.be/cocoon/en/cours/MARK0793-1.html). Accordingly, you should master the concepts covered in this course prior to taking the course of "Cpnsumer Behavior". For instance, you will be asked to collect, analyze, summarize, and report primary as well as secondary data as part of the "Nudge Challenge" (Group project); such knowledge and skills should have been obtained previously.

The "Marketing Research" course relies on the following textbook (COMPULSORY reading):
Malhotra N., Nunan D., Birks D. (2017), Marketing Research: An Applied Approach, 5th Edition, Pearson Education. Complementary resources available on Lol@ (check MARK0783).

Hereafter follows an overview of the chapters that are examined:
(1) with a theoretical and practical perspective during the lectures (in bold),
(2) with a practical perspective only during the SPSS sessions (in italic),
(3) briefly discussed during the class the give an overview of the technique (in bold and italic)

• Introduction to marketing research
• Defining the marketing research problem and developing a research approach
• Research design
• Secondary data collection and analysis
• (Internal secondary data and analytics)
• Qualitative research: its nature and approaches
• Qualitative research: focus group discussions
• Qualitative research: in-depth interviewing and projective techniques
• Qualitative research: data analysis
• Survey and quantitative observation techniques
• Causal research design: experimentation
• Measurement and scaling: fundamentals, comparative and non-comparative scaling
• Questionnaire design
• Sampling: design and procedures
• Sampling: determining sample size
• Survey fieldwork
• (Social media research)
• (Mobile research)
• Data integrity
• Frequency distribution, cross-tabulation and hypothesis testing
• Analysis of variance and covariance
• Correlation and regression
• Discriminant and logit analysis
• Factor analysis
• Cluster analysis
• Multidimensional scaling and conjoint analysis
• (Structural equation modelling and path analysis)
• Communicating research findings
• (Business-to-business (b2b) marketing research)
• (Research ethics)

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Class will consist of a combination of theoretical lectures, case studies, group projects, guest lectures, and participative discussions/activities.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

30 hours in face-to-face.

Course materials and recommended or required readings

Platform(s) used for course materials:
- LOL@


Further information:

Textbook: Solomon Michael R. (2019 or 2023), Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being, Harlow: Pearson, 12th or 13th edition.[1]

The textbook will provide the general framework for material to be covered in class. However, additional material will be presented in class that the student will be required to master as well. This additional material[2] includes and is not limited to:

• Gleim, M. R., Smith, J. S., Andrews, D., & Cronin Jr, J. J. (2013). Against the green: A multi-method examination of the barriers to green consumption. Journal of retailing, 89(1), 44-61.
• Goldstein, N. J., Cialdini, R. B., & Griskevicius, V. (2008). A room with a viewpoint: Using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(3), 472-482.
• Goldstein, D. G., Johnson, E. J., Herrmann, A., & Heitmann, M. (2008). Nudge your customers toward better choices. Harvard Business Review, 86(12), 99-105.
• Johnson, E. J., Shu, S. B., Dellaert, B. G., Fox, C., Goldstein, D. G., Häubl, G., ... & Wansink, B. (2012). Beyond nudges: Tools of a choice architecture. Marketing Letters, 23(2), 487-504.
• Johnstone, M. L., & Tan, L. P. (2015). Exploring the gap between consumers' green rhetoric and purchasing behaviour. Journal of Business Ethics, 132(2), 311-328.
• Kotler, P. (2011). Reinventing marketing to manage the environmental imperative. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 132-135.
• Lehner, M., Mont, O., & Heiskanen, E. (2016). Nudging-A promising tool for sustainable consumption behaviour?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 134, 166-177.
• White, K., Hardisty, D. J., & Habib, R. (2019). The Elusive Green Consumer People say they want sustainable products, but they don't tend to buy them. Here's how to change that. Harvard Business Review, 97(4), 124-133.
  
  [1] Older or newer editions are also accepted. I just expect you to check whether chapters correspond from one to another version.
  
  [2] All scientific articles are available through the University Online Library (https://lib.uliege.be/fr/libraries/graulich), as long as you are connected to the local University network.
  
   

Exam(s) in session

January exam session

- In-person

written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )

August-September exam session

- In-person

written exam AND oral exam

Written work / report

Continuous assessment


Further information:

Grades in this course (1st and 2nd session) will be based on the following components:

• Final individual written examination on the material uncovered in class: 50%
• Nudge Challenge (in group): 45%
• Article presentation (in group): 5%
• Bonus for constructive participation. Malus are applied too in case of, for example, non-participation to contests organized or absence to compulsory sessions.

• In order to pass the course, you MUST at least have 10/20 in the individual examination. In case you pass the Nudge Challenge and the article presentation BUT fail the individual examination, the grade of the final examination accounts for 100% of the final grade.
• Any fraud or plagiarism in any activity leads to a final grade of 0/20. For further information about what plagiarism is, see the "Short Guide for ULiège Students" available here: https://www.student.uliege.be/upload/docs/application/pdf/2019-11/plagiarism_-_not_for_me.pdf
  For more information: https://www.student.uliege.be/cms/c_11161787/en/student-preventing-plagiarism

• Use of AI: You are responsible for the academic work you present, and therefore for the use you make of AI in it. This means distinguishing between permitted and prohibited uses-see: ULiège Charter for the use of generative artificial intelligence in academic work (uliege.be) 
  Students who are tempted to entrust ChatGPT or other AIs with the task of producing all or part of their personal work are liable to sanctions (e.g., fraud).
  
  

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

All documents and useful information will be provided through Lola.


Course registration deadline: September 30, 2024. Registration after the deadline is not allowed. Students who do not attend any of the first two sessions will not be assigned to any group for the Nudge Challenge, and accordingly will not be allowed to take part in the final examination. 

Participation in learning activities: Given the importance of taking part in the activities, the Article 37(§2) from the 'Academic and Examination Regulations' of the University of Liege is applicable. According to this article, I may declare students inadmissible for exams if they did not (1) submit their work in due time or (2) take part in the core learning activities. In particular: students who did not actively participate in the "Nudge Challenge" (group project) are not allowed to take the final examination (of the 1st session).

Classroom behavior: In the interest of common courtesy, you are expected to turn off your cell phone for class and show up on time.

Class attendance: Class participation is key and taken into consideration in the final evaluation. Note that class attendance is MANDATORY in those cases: group presentations, feedback sessions, and guest lectures. Your absence to the class is excused ONLY in case of an imperious reason (e.g., sickness), AND if you provide us with an official proof (e.g., medical certificate) as soon as you are aware of the imperious situation. In such a case, send an email to the assistant (with Cécile Delcourt in cc.). An unexcused absence to a compulsory session will be penalized.

Contacts

Professor

Prof. Dr. Cécile DELCOURT
Department of Marketing
Office: Rue Louvrex 14 (Building N1d-4th floor)
Email: Cecile.Delcourt@uliege.be
Contact hours: By appointment only.

Main Teaching Assistant



Jordan FLEISSIG
Email: JFleissig@uliege.be
Office: Rue Louvrex 14 (Building N1d-4th floor)
Contact hours: By appointment only.

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