MKTGGB.2347.

30CONSUMERBEHAVIOR
Spring2013
NewYorkUniversitySternSchoolofBusiness

ProfessorTomMeyvis Tuesday,6:00pm9:00pmKMC4120
Office:Tisch815
Phone:(212)9980529
EMail:tmeyvis@stern.nyu.edu
OfficeHours:Monday/Wednesday,2:004:00,andbyappointment

CourseGoals

Weareallconsumers.Webuygroceries,computers,andcars.Wepurchaseservices
rangingfrombankaccountstocollegeeducations.However,wealsodifferfromeach
other.Webuydifferentclothes,drivedifferentcars,andeatatdifferentrestaurants.
Eventhesameconsumercanmakedifferentdecisionsdependingonthesituation.So
howarewetoconstructcoherentmarketingstrategies?

Inthisclassweexaminewhyconsumersbehavethewaythattheydo.Wewillexplore
ourintuitionsaboutourownbehavior,learnabouttheoriesdevelopedinmarketing,
psychology,andsociology,andusethesetheoriestopredicthowconsumerswill
respondtomarketingactions.

Thegoalsofthisclassareto:

acquireknowledgeof:

o aframeworkforanalyzingconsumerbehaviorproblems
o relevantpsychologicalandsociologicaltheories
o methodsforstudyingconsumerbehavior

learntoapplythisknowledge:

o tomeasurewhatconsumersbelieveandwant
o topredicthowconsumerswillreacttodifferentmarketingstrategies
o tosolverealworldconsumerbehaviorproblems

CourseResources

RequiredCoursePacket
(availablethroughtheNYUBookstore)

Cases:

1. BostonBeerCompany:LightBeerDecision(HBS9899058)
2. ClaiborneAsksWebSurferstoNameNewLine(HBS9500055)
3. LOrealofParis:BringingClasstoMasswithPlenitude(HBS9598056)
4. SonyAIBO:TheWorld'sFirstEntertainmentRobot(HBS9502010)
5. Starbucks:DeliveringCustomerService(HBS9504016)
6. TiVoin2002(HBS9502062)
7. NandaHome:PreparingforLifeafterClocky(9511134)
8. GilletteFusion:Buildinga$1BillionBrand(Kellogg0841)
9. RenovaToiletPaper:AvantGardeMarketinginaCommoditizedCategory
(INSEAD07/20105685)

Articles:
1. Blakeslee,S.,IfYourBrainHasaBuyButton,WhatPushesIt?TheNewYork
Times,Oct19,2004.
2. North,A.C.,D.J.Hargreaves,&J.McKendrick,InStoreMusicAffectsProduct
Choice,Nature,390,Nov.1997.
3. Gourville,JandD.Soman,PricingandthePsychologyofConsumption,Harvard
BusinessReview,2002(#1814)
4. Watts,D.,IsJustinTimberlakeaProductofCumulativeAdvantage?,TheNew
YorkTimesMagazine,April15,2007.
5. ThetyrannyofChoice,TheEconomist,December16,2010.
6. Dolan,R.AnalyzingConsumerPerceptions,HarvardBusinessSchool#599110.
7. Simonson,I.Getclosertoyourcustomersbyunderstandinghowtheymake
choices,CaliforniaManagementReview,Summer,1993(pp6884).
8. Salganik,M.J.,P.S.Dodds,&D.J.Watts,Experimentalstudyofinequalityand
unpredictabilityinanartificialculturalmarket,Science,2006,Vol.311,pp.854
856.
9. Hsee,C.K.&R.Hastie,Decisionandexperience:Whydontwechoosewhat
makesushappy?,TrendsinCognitiveSciences,Vol.10(1),2006,3137.
10. Duhigg,C.,Warning:Habitsmaybegoodforyou,TheNewYorkTimes,July13,
2008.
11. Gneezy,A.,U.Gneezy,L.D.Nelson,&A.Brown,Sharedsocialresponsibility:A
fieldexperimentinpaywhatyouwantpricingandcharitablegiving,Science,
2010,Vol.329,pp.325327.
12. Hoch,S.J.&Y.Ha,Consumerlearning:Advertisingandtheambiguityofproduct
experience,TheJournalofConsumerResearch,1986,Vol.13(2),221233.
 13. Gladwell,Malcolm(2006),TheFormula,TheNewYorker,October10,2006.
14. Bertini,MarcoandJohnT.Gourville(2012)PricingtoCreateSharedValue,
HarvardBusinessReview,June12012(#R1206F)
15. Spenner,PatrickandKarenFreeman(2012),ToKeepYourCustomers,KeepIt
Simple,HarvardBusinessReview,June12012(#R1205G)
16. Dunn,ElizabethW.,DanielT.Gilbert,andTimothyD.Wilson(2011),Ifmoney
doesn'tmakeyouhappy,thenyouprobablyaren'tspendingitright,Journalof
ConsumerPsychology,21,115125.
17. Andersen,EricT.andDuncanSimester(2011),AStepbyStepGuidetoSmart
BusinessExperiments,HarvardBusinessReview,March2011(#R1103H)

OtherArticles&Exercises

Additionalexercises,journalarticles,andrecentnewsfromthepopularbusinesspress
willbeprovidedthroughoutthesemester.Thejournalarticleswillprovideyouwitha
deeperinsightintoselectedtopicsandmethodsofconsumerbehaviorresearch.The
businessnewsarticlesareusedtoillustratetheconceptualframeworkwithcurrentreal
worldmarketingproblems.Thearticleswillbepostedontheclasswebsite.

CourseWebsite

http://sternclasses.nyu.edu
Thiswebsitehasmanyusefulthingsonit,includingcontinuouslyupdatedinformation
onassignments,readings,courseschedule,etc.Pleasecheckregularly.

ClassNotes

ThePowerPointslidesforeachclasswillbeavailablefordownloadingfromthewebsite
andwillalsobehandedoutatthestartofclass.Note,however,thattheseslidesonly
presentanoutlineoftheclassdiscussion.Youwillstillneedtotakeadditionalnotesto
fullycapturethematerialdiscussedinclass.

AdditionalLiterature

Aspecialsectionontheclasswebsitewilllistoptionaladditionalreadingsaswellas
usefullinkstoresourcesfortheteamproject.

StudentEvaluation

Yourevaluationwillbebasedononefinalexam,8casestudypreparations,agroup
project,andyourclassparticipation:

FinalExam: 40%
GroupProject: 20%
CasePreparations: 20%
ClassParticipation: 20%

FinalExam 40%

Thefinalexamwillbebasedonthelectures,classdiscussions,assignedreadings,and
caseassignments.Theexamwillprimarilyconsistofshortessayquestions.Students
whodonotattendthefinalexamandwhodonothaveaprioragreementwithmewill
receiveazerofortheexamgrade.

GroupProject 20%

Asignificantpartofyourcoursegradewillbedeterminedbyateamproject.The
objectiveofthisteamprojectistoexamineconsumersreactiontoanewcompany
initiative.Youcanfindmoreinformationonthegroupprojectintheseparatehandout.

CasePreparations 20%

Youwillbeaskedtoprepare9casesforclassdiscussion.Tomakesurethatyouhave
readandthoughtaboutthecasesinadvance,Iwillaskeveryonetouploada12page
preparationsheetonBlackboardby10pmthedaybeforewediscussthecaseinclass.
Youreightbestcaseprepswilleachcontribute2.5%towardsyourfinalgrade.Formore
informationonthecasepreparations,pleaseseetheseparatehandout.

ClassParticipation 20%

Iexpectthatyouallrealizetheimportanceofattendingtheclasses.Attendingclassesis
notoptional.Notonlywillitincreaseyourunderstandingoftheassignedreadings,but
wewillalsobeaddressingmanyissuesthatarenotcoveredinthereadings.Itwillalso
giveyoutheopportunitytoactivelyparticipateinclassdiscussionsandobtainabetter
classparticipationgrade.Yourmerepresenceisnotsufficient.Whatmattersmoreisthe
quantityand,especially,thequalityofyourcontributionstoclassdiscussions.

ClassPolicy

Beprepared:Makesurethatyouhavecarefullyreadtheassignedcasesand
articles.

Attendallclasses:Iexpecteveryonetoattendallclasses.Asidefrombeingan
essentialpartofthelearningexperience,regularattendanceisanobvious
prerequisiteforcontributingtoclassdiscussionsandreceivingagradeforclass
participation.Pleasealsonotethatyouareresponsibleforknowinganychanges
orassignmentsannouncedinclass.

Arriveontime:Latecomersdisturbtheclass.Systematictardinesswillhavea
negativeimpactonyourclassparticipationgrade.

Respectassignmentdeadlines:Lateassignmentswillnotbeacceptedwithouta
prioragreement.

Behonest:CheatingandplagiarismwillresultinagradeofFforthe
assignment/testforallpartiesinvolved.Allstudentsareexpectedtofollowthe
SternCodeofConduct:http://www.stern.nyu.edu/uc/codeofconduct

Laptopsandcellphonesareadisturbancetoyourfellowstudentsaswellasthe
instructor.Allelectronicdevicesmustbeturnedoffpriortothestartofclass.
Thisimplies:
Youcannotuseyourlaptopinclass.
Phonesmustbeturnedoffnotputonsilentorvibrate.