Consumer Behaviour

Consumer Behaviour pertains to the study of why and how consumers make decisions related directly or indirectly to a consumption event. All of us being consumers, consumer behaviour is omnipresent in our lives even if we are not consciously aware of it. As such, the study of consumer behaviour has great significance not only for marketing but for public policy as well. For marketers, understanding the field of consumer behaviour is perhaps the most important tool for commercial success. This is not an easy task because the field draws from multiple disciplines including psychology, economics, sociology, and anthropology. Its complexity also derives from the heterogeneity of cultures in this age of expanding globalization because meanings and interpretations are not necessarily portable across cultural boundaries when they exist. This has given rise to the need for a sophisticated marketing professional with a strong grasp on consumer behaviour issues. At the same time more and more questions are being raised about ethical practices, requiring this marketers to become aware of the ethical and social responsibility factors as they think through their marketing strategy.

 

This course will teach the students the basic consumer behaviour frameworks, theories, tools and procedures. It will broadly cover five aspects – the inner workings in the mind of a consumer that deals with consumer psychology; the different situational factors that influence the consumer decision; the process by which a consumer makes a decision; the aggregate aftermath of consumer decisions; and finally the key issues surrounding ethics and social responsibility.