Specialization Module on Consumer Behavior


Aims

The course will cover five separate, but connected, topics in consumer research. Each session will be taught by a different faculty (for questions about the overall course structure or other general matters, contact Steven Sweldens, the course coordinator). The selection of topics is made by the marketing faculty based on their beliefs about what topics are currently the most timely and relevant in consumer research. Some sessions will deal with a relatively well-defined and limited range of issues. Others will cover broader ground, providing a primer to entire sub-fields. Most sessions will be directly related to the research conducted by the respective faculty member, so students are taught by world experts in the domain of every session. The combination of sessions should provide a high level entry point into academic marketing research.

The course also serves two additional goals: introducing students to RSM marketing faculty and introducing faculty to students. Our hope is that this course will offer a useful platform on which students can build to develop a successful line of research during their time at ERIM, by exposing them early on to the research carried out at the RSM marketing department and by facilitating interactions between students and faculty and thereby increasing the likelihood of collaborations

Assessment

Students will be evaluated based on attendance, class participation and idea generation (60% of the grade), and a final assignment research proposal (40% of the grade).