GRA 2418 Understanding the Consumer
GRA 2418 Understanding the Consumer
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This course is designed to help students learn how to critically evaluate and use various streams of consumer behavior research. The course is article based, with selections from some of the most well-known and respected journals covering marketing issues.
Students will learn how to critically analyze consumer behavior research, by uncovering the weaknesses and limitations of existing literature, and determining how further research might address existing knowledge gaps on the topics.
The course will expose students to various consumer behavior topics and research methods that might be applied to the development of their theses or other future research on consumer behavior topics.
The design of the course is meant to encourage discussion of the issues, theories and methods that are used and tested in the study of consumer behavior. While topics for this course can change from year to year depending on current events and research interests, some examples of recent past topics include the discussion of:
- Relationship marketing
- Risk and decision framing
- Aesthetics - what is cool or ugly?
- Consumer happiness
- Sponsorship and social media influences
- Food consumption choices
- Green marketing
Each session of the course will offer discussion and critical review of research on important and emerging issues in marketing. Students are expected to be well prepared for each discussion by reading the assigned article list. Students will also be responsible for developing a research proposal paper on a consumer related topic of their choosing which may also prove to be an excellent way to develop a thesis topic.
Please note that while attendance is not compulsory, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided during class discussion/lectures.
The examination for this course has been changed from autumn 2023. It is not possible to resit the old version of the examination.
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
Disclaimer
Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.
| Exam category | Weight | Invigilation | Duration | Grouping | Comment exam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Exam code: GRA 24181 Grading scale: ECTS Grading rules: Internal examiner Resit: Examination when next scheduled course | 100 | No | 1 Semester(s) | Individual | Research proposal paper of 15 pages or less on consumer behavior topic of student's choice, consisting of an introduction, critical literature review, literature review derived research questions/hypotheses, and description of method to answer research questions/test hypotheses. |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.