CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR - 2020/1

Module Overview

Consumer Behaviour is evident in everyday life, therefore knowledge and understanding of this subject can be beneficial to personal decision-making as well as to marketing and strategy formulation, both in offline and online environments. This module is taught in 3-hour workshops, which give students the opportunity to explore theories and leading-edge research findings and apply knowledge by conducting small group discussion and/or activities. This module requires students’ active participation. The 3-hour workshop format follows a repetitive structure that aids the assessment strategy. 

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

STAVRAKI Georgia (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

JACs code: N500

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Introduction to consumer behaviour


• Psychological aspects and consumer behaviour (e.g. perception, motivation, values, attitudes.)


• Self-concept, including multiple selves, extended self and virtual selves


• Sociological aspects (e.g. income, status, class, education, family structure)


• Individual learning and decision-making in the context of consumer behaviour


• Impact of group influence, opinion leaders and online communities on consumer behaviour


• Cultural and cross-cultural aspects of consumer behaviour


• Lifestyle and ethics in consumer behaviour


• Consumer behaviour in the digital era

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Alternative Assessment Individual essay in lieu of Group Project 1,500 words.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of consumer behaviour theories and the application of these theories in developing marketing strategies. The focus is on assessing higher levels of critical thinking, specifically application and evaluation. This is evident in the group essays and the group presentations. The section below outlines the two graded assessment types for this module.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Group project


• Exam

Group Project (40%)

The group project should give students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, theory application and critical thinking skills as stated in the learning outcomes. Students will receive detailed instructions in the first week.

 

Exam (2 hours, 60%)

The exam follows the procedure students experienced in the workshops with regards to discussing and analysing various consumer behaviour theories and applying them to develop marketing strategies. The exam tests students’ knowledge, ability to critical thinking and practical skills.

Formative assessment and feedback

Ongoing feedback will be provided on Surreylearn and verbally in lectures.

Module aims

• This module aims at developing an interdisciplinary, theoretically informed understanding of consumer behaviour and the strategic implications of this understanding for marketing managers. This understanding is one of the critical components of marketing analysis in examining and diagnosing problems and reaching effective decisions. Principles from several social sciences including psychology, sociology, and anthropology are integrated to understand and analyze consumer actions, experiences, feelings, and judgement processes. The design of the module also aims to encourage students to critically think inside and outside the classroom environment by assessing and evaluating theories and research in Consumer Behaviour.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

This module is taught as a 3-hour workshop. The 3 hours are broken into small units for theory delivery and discussion which allow students to undertake critical thinking after they learn the theory. Each unit requires students to engage actively in the sessions and learn from one another. The tutor facilitates the sessions and guides the students towards higher levels of critical thinking by sharing and questioning their own solutions to specific problems in consumer behaviour. 

The learning and teaching methods include:

Inside class learning

• Repetitive workshop structure (33h, 3 x 11 weeks) this includes:

Content delivery by the tutor

Individual learning

Small group activities

Group presentations

Outside class learning

• Online discussion forums (voluntarily) – Guided learning


• Group work (essay and presentations) – individual and group learning


• Exam Preparation – individual learning

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

Reading list for CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR : http://aspire.surrey.ac.uk/modules/manm047

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.