CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS
cod. 1005206

Academic year 2019/20
2° year of course - First semester
Professor
Academic discipline
Economia e gestione delle imprese (SECS-P/08)
Field
Aziendale
Type of training activity
Characterising
42 hours
of face-to-face activities
6 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in ITALIAN

Integrated course unit module: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS

Learning objectives

a. Knowledge and understanding
The purpose of the course is to transfer the knowledge necessary to identify the optimal type of research with respect to the cognitive needs and budget constraints of the company, and the skills required to conduct field research. In particular, the students will develop advanced knowledge of:
• Marketing research: people, processes, types
• Non standard research
• Observation
• In-depth interview
• Focus Group
• Analysis of documents
• The standard research
• Structured interview
• Experiment
• Structured observation
• Validity and reliability of the research
• Statistical analysis of data
• Decision-making system, cognitive errors and social influences

These results, in terms of knowledge and understanding, will be achieved through the combined use of monographic lectures, seminars held by business operators and team works.

b. Applying knowledge and understanding
The students will be able to apply the most appropriate methodological tools to solve a marketing question. At the end of the course, the students will have a complete view of the marketing research process and will have acquired skills of applied comprehension, analytical ability and problem solving. The ability to apply the knowledge gained will be done through critical reflection on the themes proposed for self-study, the study of specific case studies and team works.

c. Making judgements
At the end of the course, the students will be able to apply the acquired analytical tools to collect, analyze and interpret the data to support decision making in marketing. The ability of making judgments will be stimulated promoting the ability to develop an individual process of reflection and management of a research project.

d. Communication skills
During the course the students will be encouraged to acquire adequate communication skills. They will be asked to transfer in a clear and effective way information and concepts related to specific issues of marketing research. Specifically, they will be asked to prepare brief papers, or provide an oral summary on specific topics, also with the aid of information technology tools and media.

e. Learning skills
At the end of the course the students will have gained the ability to expand, update and deepen the knowledge acquired from lessons and course textbooks. The presentation of case studies and guided discussion of hot topics will aim to stimulate intellectual curiosity, willingness to update and to strength the acquired application skills.

Prerequisites

NO

Course unit content

The course illustrates the design and organization of marketing research with the aim of effectively supporting business decision making.
The course is divided into two main sections. The first section explores the scientific and operational aspects of the research process: design of the research project, methods of data acquisition, measurement tools, techniques of analysis and presentation of results. Particular attention will be devoted to the most important qualitative and quantitative research techniques employed in marketing. The issue of the validity and reliability of the research will be examined in order to produce accurate, relevant and timely information to support decision-making. On the application side, the knowledge needed to analyze advanced data collection with both qualitative and quantitative methods will be transmitted. The second session focuses on cognitive bias and related psychological and social aspects that can compromise the quality of the research. The strategies and solutions useful to counteract them will be illustrated.

Full programme

- - -

Bibliography

Luceri B. (2013), Prospettive della ricerca di marketing. Business, scienza, spazi e vertigini, Egea, Milano.

Recommended readings
Tedeschi M. (2013), decisioni economiche:
l'illusione della scelta, Egea, Milano.

Teaching methods

Frontal lecture and case study analysis

Assessment methods and criteria

The learning results will be assessed through a final written test.
The knowledge and understanding achieved will be assessed with n. 1 open-ended questions, worth 20 points, on relevant theoretical topics.
The ability to apply the acquired knowledge, the autonomy of judgment and the ability to learn will be assessed through n. 1 question of application content, worth 10 points.
The ability to communicate using the appropriate technical language will be assessed by evaluating the correct use of expressions / technical terms in the context of the answers given to the above questions.

Other information

- - -