Consumer Behavior

Syllabus

1. The theoretical framework of consumer behavior. Background and history of consumer behavior as an academic discipline. Definition of basic concepts. Consumer decision-making process model - factors, process, and an information block. 2. Situational factors - the influence of the purchasing situation. physical surroundings, social surroundings, temporal perspective, task definition, and antecedent state. 3. External factors of consumer behavior - Culture. Elements of culture. Values. Customs. Rituals. Other elements of culture influencing consumer behavior. Demography and its impact on consumers. Subcultures. Age groups. Consumer behavior of children and teenagers. Generational marketing - understanding the differences in consumer behavior of generations X, Y, Z, and alpha. Specifics of the elderly market. 4. External factors of consumer behavior - Social class, social role, and social status and their impact on consumer behavior. Impact of reference groups on consumers. 5. Internal factors - Personality. Personality theories and their use in the study of consumer behavior. Perception. Perception system requirements. Weber's law of perception. The process of perception. Attention. Understanding. Acceptance. 6. Internal factors - Motivation, Needs, Goals. Hierarchy of goals. Learning and its use in marketing. Behavioral learning (classical and instrumental conditioning). Cognitive learning. Hybrid and passive learning. 7. Internal factors - Attitudes. Attitude functions. Sources of attitude formation. Structural model of attitudes. Measuring attitudes. Multi-attribute attitude models. Strategies for changing attitudes. 8. Family and its influence on purchasing decisions. Consumer socialization. Family life cycle. The influence of partners and children on family purchasing decisions. Models of the family decision-making process. Typical conflicts related to purchasing decisions and conflict resolution strategies. 9. Purchasing decision process. Knowledge of the problem and sources of consumer information. Evaluation and selection of purchasing alternatives. Consumer decision-making process - decision-making rules. Types of consumers in terms of the decision-making process. 10. Shopping and post-purchase behavior of consumers. The process of consumer buying behavior. Shopping orientation and motivation. Purchasing logistics. Types of purchases. The process of consumer behavior. Post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Consumption and types of consumption. Purchasing evaluation - satisfaction / dissatisfaction. Measuring satisfaction. Types of consumer purchasing behavior. 11. Consumer typology. Significance and approaches to creating typologies. Examples of transnational and national typologies. 12. Trends in consumer behavior. Trends in products, purchases, values , and lifestyle. Sustainable consumption in the context of lifestyle, purchasing habits, usage, and disposal trends. 13. Consumer research in the new millennium. Innovative methods in consumer research. Observation of consumer behavior.