BUU33710 Consumer Behaviour (5 ECTS) 2025/26
(5 ECTS)
Lecturer:
Dr. Stephen Murphy
Email: stephen.murphy@tcd.ie
Tutor: Matthew Jackson
Office hours: email for appointment
Email: jacksom4@tcd.ie
Office hours: email for appointment
Module Prerequisite:
BUU22520 Principles of Marketing (SF Year)
Available to Exchange students
Module Description
Consumption isn’t just about the acquisition of good and services to satisfy needs and wants. Consumption is a big part of our culture. We consume to make meaning, establish identities, connect with other people, and for the experience. Consumption is a part of our daily routines and habits, but it also forms the basis of the extraordinary experiences that we seek to escape from the mundane.
The aim in this module is to understand consumer behaviour as a social, cultural and psychological phenomenon. This means recognising that consumption is not merely a business or economic function. Through these varied approaches, you will develop a rich understanding of how and why people consume in the ways they do.
BUU33710 draws from sociological, anthropological and psychological theory to provide a contemporary view of consumer behaviour that moves beyond predominant behaviourist approaches to the subject area.
Students will be introduced to cutting edge research methods for studying consumer behaviour, while also putting these methods into action to examine their own consuming behaviour and the behaviour of real consumers.
Using consumer insight developed using these methods, students will have opportunities to develop marketing strategy that stands out.
Learning Outcomes:
Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:
- To grasp and know how to apply research methods designed to study actual consumer behaviour in the market.
- To understand, critically evaluate and apply contemporary consumer behaviour theory to make sense of your own consumer behaviour.
- To understand, critically evaluate and apply contemporary consumer behaviour theory to make sense of actual consumer behaviour in the market.
- To appreciate how consumer research is used to inform effective marketing strategy.
- To develop a critical understanding of the role that consumption plays in organising society, and to appreciate some of the broader social, economic, environmental and cultural consequences of this.
Relation to Degree:
Consumers are central to contemporary business and marketing practices. This module introduces students to the cultural complexities of consumer behaviour. Understanding consumer behaviour is essential for marketing students and practitioners. For these reasons, consumer behaviour is a crucial sub-discipline of the wider field of marketing
The insights from this module may also inform the study and practice of other areas of marketing, including marketing strategy, segmentation, targeting, and positioning, B-to-B interactions, and branding. Such insights can also inform the other courses the students take including: strategy, operations management, human resource management, organizational theory and change management.
Workload:
|
Content |
Indicative Number of Hours |
|
Lecturing hours |
24 |
|
Preparation for lectures |
24 |
|
Individual assignment |
10 |
|
Group assignment |
42 |
|
Reading of assigned materials and active reflection on lecture and course content and linkage to personal experiences |
25 |
|
Final exam preparation |
0 |
|
Total |
125 |
Essential Texts/Key Reading:
Students should read materials prior to attending lecture sessions and tutorials. Participation in lecture and tutorial sessions should draw on this reading. Marks for CW1 will be awarded based on your ability to demonstrate this engagement. There is no preparatory reading for the first week of lectures. Students should use this time to prepare for week 2.
Recommended Reading List By Topic:
|
Module Introduction
|
Askegaard, S., & Linnet, J. T. (2011). Towards an epistemology of consumer culture theory: Phenomenology and the context of context. |
|
Ethnographic / Netnographic Research Methods |
Valtonen, A., Markuksela, V., & Moisander, J. (2010). Doing sensory ethnography in consumer research. Murphy, S., Patterson, M., & O’Malley, L. (2019). Learning how: Body techniques, skill acquisition and the consumption of experience. |
|
Consumer Habits, Rituals, and Meanings
|
Shove, E. (2012). Habits and their creatures. Tadajewski, M. (2019). Habit as a central concept in marketing. |
|
Consumer Identity Projects
|
Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Belk, R., (2014) Digital consumption and the extended self. Thompson, C. J., & Üstüner, T. (2015). Women skating on the edge: Marketplace performances as ideological edgework. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(2), 235-265. |
|
Subcultures, Brand Communities, and Tribes
|
Canniford, R. (2011). A typology of consumption communities. Muniz, Albert M. and Thomas C. O’Guinn (2001) “Brand Community,” Journal of Consumer Research, 27(March), 412-432. Schouten, John W. and James H. McAlexander (1995) “Subcultures of Consumption: An Ethnography of the New Biker”, Cova, B. (1997), "Community and consumption: Towards a definition of the “linking value” of product or services", |
|
The Experience Economy
|
Pine, B. J., & Gilmore, J. H. (1998). Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard business review, 76, 97-105. Lanier Jr, C. D., & Rader, C. S. (2015). Consumption experience: An expanded view. Marketing Theory, 15(4), 487-508. Joy, A., Charters, S., Wang, J. J., & Grohmann, B. (2020). A multi-sensory and embodied understanding of wine consumption. Hultén, B. (2011). Sensory marketing: the multi‐sensory brand‐experience concept. European business review, 23(3), 256-273 |
|
Consuming Emotions & Atmosphere
|
Illouz, E. (2009). Emotions, imagination and consumption: A new research agenda. Journal of consumer culture, 9(3), 377-413. Murphy, S., Hill, T., McDonagh, P., & Flaherty, A. (2022). Mundane emotions: Losing yourself in boredom, time and technology. |
|
Consuming Experiences: Flow & Edgework
|
Celsi, R. L., Rose, R. L., & Leigh, T. W. (1993). An exploration of high-risk leisure consumption through skydiving. |
|
Consuming Craft |
Maciel, A. F., & Wallendorf, M. (2021). Space as a Resource in the Politics of Consumer Identity. Journal of Consumer Research, 48(2), 309-332. Campbell, C. (2005). The craft consumer: Culture, craft and consumption in a postmodern society. Journal of consumer culture, 5(1), 23-42. Moisio, R., Arnould, E. J., & Gentry, J. W. (2013). Productive consumption in the class-mediated construction of domestic masculinity: Do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvement in men's identity work. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(2), 298-316. |
Assessment:
- Individual Assignment
Worth 20% of overall grade – TBC - Group Project
Worth 80% of overall grade – TBC.
Late submission policy: Students unable to submit assessments at the submission date will only be excused on the basis of extenuating circumstances. Students must produce suitable documentation to Trinity Business School and to the module coordinator within three working days of the missed submission date.
Supplemental Assessment Details
Reassessment: Non-submissions and failed assignments will be reassessed by revision and resubmission of an additional individual assessment. Students should check the modules blackboard page for information.
Biographical Note:
Stephen Murphy is a consumer researcher interested in the interface between technology, embodiment and identity. Recent studies investigate connections between boredom and technology use as well as examining how people develop 'hands on' skills with technical objects. These kinds of interests have led to ethnographic studies of various consumer groups including craftworkers, conspiracy theorists, and motorcycle enthusiasts. His research has been published in European Journal of Marketing, Marketing Theory, Journal of Marketing Management and Industrial Marketing Management. Stephen's research has also featured in popular outlets such as The Irish Times, RTE, BBC, The Telegraph, The Sunday Business Post, The Conversation, The Metro, and Sky News. This research has received numerous awards at leading international conferences.