CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Course code MNG106

Course title Consumer Behavior
Type of course Main
Year of study 2nd
Semester Spring
No. of credits 4 Lithuanian credits, 48 hrs. lectures, 12 (individual discussion of
written papers), 100 hrs. Individual work
ECTS 6
Coordinating lecturer Assoc. prof. Arvydas Bakanauskas, lect. Mindaugas
Lapinskas, lect. Maik Huettinger.
Studies form Full-time
Prerequisites Marketing Principles
Language of instruction English

Course description
Students should develop an understanding of consumer behavior, as well as operational understanding of consumer
behavior in an intercultural environment. A special focus will be put on consumer behavior in Europe. The work will be
organized in class lectures and in practical group work. There will a mid-term quiz and final exam. The rest of grading
you will obtain by in-class work and by a written paper.

Course objectives
The aim of this course is to provide a critical understanding of a wide range of theories and applications which underpin
the discipline of consumer behavior and apply consumer analysis to marketing strategy. The appearance of new modes
of purchasing, the technological capability to target larger group of potential market makes the consumer behavior
understanding even more critical. The overall goal is to provide students with basic understanding of consumer behavior
and the critical role of it in marketing management and strategy.
This course focuses on the study of the psychological, sociological, economic and other dimensions that influence
consumer behavior and how these factors are used to develop marketing strategies. The course tries to overcome the
traditional consumer behavior approach – to look out from one culture and attempt to generalize or adapt principles that
work at home to a different culture. Instead, it should help to understand consumer behavior from a cross-cultural
perspective.

Learning outcomes:
On successful completion of this module the student should be able to:
- Understand the role of consumers in the marketplace
- Critically explain the role of consumer behavior as an essential element of the marketing process
- Classify, segment and compare different tools and models of consumer research
- Assess the role of consumers as decision-makers
- Contrast the key differences and similarities of European consumers
- Understand consumer behavior as a mirror of cultural, social and environmental determinants.

Teaching methods
Several different teaching approaches are utilized to provide students with multiple ways to learn the material. These are
classroom lectures, case discussions and an assessment via a written group-paper.

Quality management
The quality of the course is assured by the variety of teaching and learning methods, interim knowledge assessment,
continuous discussions of individual and group work, other assignment results, as well as by supply of learning materials
to students.

Cheating prevention
Variety of assignments for individual and group work reduces chances for plagiarism; cheating possibilities are prevented
by having extra help (PhD students) to inhibit any acts of dishonesty during exams.

1
Course content
# TOPIC Class HOURS

LECTURE DISCUSSION
1 An introduction to consumer behavior 3 1
2 Consumers as individuals: Perception, Learning and memory 3 1
3 Consumers as individuals: Motivation, values and involvement 3 1
4 Culture and Consumer Behavior 3 1
5 A Portrait of the European Consumer 3 1
6 European Lifestyle 3 1
7 Consumers as individuals: Attitudes, Attitude change and interactive
3 1
communications
8 Consumers as decision-makers: Individual decision-making, Shopping, buying,
3 1
evaluating and disposing.
9 Consumers as decision-makers: Group influence and opinion leadership 3 1

10 Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior 3 1

11 Local vs. Global Consumer Behavior 3 1

12 Submissions/discussions of paper 3 12
13 The intercultural Marketing Environment 3 1
Total 36 24

Assessment methods:

Total hours Final grade, %

Mid-term individual written exam (1 hour) 20 35%

Group work (paper) 20 25%
Active participation during lectures 10 5%
End-semester individual written exam (1 hour) 50 35%
Total: 100 100%

Retake will consist of topics covered in the whole course. It will have weight of 70%, i.e. the exam score will be multiplied
by a factor of 0.7. As the pass grade remains 5, students will have to get minumum 8 (8*.7) in order to get a positive
overall mark. Group work scores will not be added to retake score.
Mid-term individual written exam
This exam will consist of a multiple-choice test and will cover all lectures which were provided until then. Those who
cannot take this exam on a scheduled day for an honored reason will be able to re-take it during the final exam session.
(In addition to the final exam - student has to be granted a special permission from the study department). Topics
covered in this exam will be de-briefed during the class just before the exam.
Group work (class + home)
The class will be divided into groups of 5 which will carry out a market research and present the findings in form of a
paper. The market research project will deal with topics that are discussed in the class – such as consumer decision
making process, brand perception and understanding of prices, influence of culture on consumer behavior. The purpose
of the project work is to apply models learned in class, formulate hypothesis and test the outcomes of the research. The
paper has to fulfill all standards of academic writing (see ISM standards) and shall have a length of 1500 words per team
member. Tasks for group work will be distributed during the classes together with detailed instructions.

Active participation during lectures

2
Pure attendance does not automatically qualify for a good grade. This oral grade will be given by both lecturers without
any formal procedure.
End-semester individual written exam
This is a comprehensive final (multiple-choice) exam covering the topics of the lectures given after the mid-term exam.
Students who receive a failing final grade shall have the right to re-take the exam during the re-sit week, which will
comprise 70 per cent of the final grade. The final grade will weight 30%. Group works and oral grades cannot be retaken
at a later time, but the grades of these assignments will be calculated into the final grade.

Recommended reading
Required for the course are following textbooks:
[1] Solomon, M. (2006) Consumer Behavior: A European Perspective Pearson Education International
[2] Usunier, Jean Claude and Lee, Julie (2005) Marketing across Cultures, International Edition, Pearson
Education Limited.

Optional textbooks:
[1] Solomon, M. (2004) Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having and Being. International Edition, Pearson Education
International.
[2] De Mooij, M. (2004) Consumer Behavior and Culture, Sage Publications

Several other journals, textbooks and papers will be used for the lectures. Students will be informed after each lecture
about the used material. Class notes (slide handouts) and certain assignments will be prepared for each class and
available for downloading after the respective class session. The class notes (slides) are the intellectual property of
teaching instructor. Students may not distribute or duplicate these notes without his written consent.