Understanding Customer Behaviour (5 cr)

Learning outcomes

The student is able to
- define the factors that underlie customer actions, feelings and judgment processes
- describe purchasing decisions from the perspective of the individual and the organization*
- analyze patterns and trends in customer behavior

*The verb 'understand' has been replaced effective 1st of August 2024.

Location and time

In Leppävaara according to schedule. Presence on the first day is compulsory, as well as on team presentation days.
Lectures are on campus.

Materials

Barden, Phil. (2013). Decoded. The Science Behind Why We Buy. Wiley.
Blythe, Jim. (2013). Consumer Behaviour. Sage.
Kahle, Lynn R. & Valette-Florence, Pierre. (2012). Marketplace Lifestyles in an Age of Social Media. Theory and Methods. Routledge.
Kahnemann, Daniel. Thinking Fast and Slow. (2011). Penguin Books.
Kotler, Philip & Armstrong, Gary. (2012). Principles of Marketing. Pearson.
Robbins, Stephen P. & Judge, Timothy A. (2016). Essentials of Organizational Behavior. Pearson.
Robbins, Stephen P., Judge, Timothy A. & Campbell, Timothy T. (2010). Organizational Behaviour. Pearson.
Solomon, Michael R. (2011). Consumer Behavior. Buying, Having, and Being. Pearson.
Soman, Dilip and N-Marandi, Sara. (2010). Managing Customer Value. One Stage at a Time. World Scientific.
Thaler, Richard H. & Sunstein, Cass R. (2009). Nudge. Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Penguin Books
Walden, Steven. (2017). Customer Experience Management Rebooted - Are you an experience brand or an efficiency brand? Palgrave Macmillan.

Teaching methods

Contact classes, team work, individual work.

Exam schedules

Contact classes and deadlines.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Further information

Understanding customers can be challenging. How do we define what is valuable for an individual customer? What about organizations as customers? Today, many of the trends are international, but their local interpretation and implementation may still be very multifold. The study of the human mind has gone a long way, but part of the mind’s operations, especially on individual level, still remain difficult to forecast.
During this course we will define the factors that underlie customer actions, feelings, and judgment processes. We strive to understand purchasing decisions from the perspective of the individual and the organization, and analyze patterns and trends in customer behaviour.
The course grade is composed of two assignments which both need to be successfully completed and handed in by the deadlines. The assignments that arrive late will be graded only if the late handing in has been agreed in advance with the teacher. The honoring of deadlines is taken into account in the grading. The late handing in will lower the grade, and if not justified, disallows the completing of this course.