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Exam Pack Summary of Chapters 1-15 for BEM 212 Semester 1
This is a detailed exam pack summary of each chapter covered for BEM 212 for semester 1
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Chapter 1Introduction to Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour: a multitude of mental and physical processes associated with
consumer decision making. It entails the way in which consumers deal with purchase
decisions in different contexts with the aim of satisfying their product needs and
requirements. Consumer behaviour includes all the related activities of consumers and
buyers of products from the pre-purchase phase, when they begin thinking about
purchasing a product or consuming a service, through the actual purchase phase, to
post-purchase evaluation.
1.1.2. The Contribution of Multiple Disciplines to the Field
Studying consumer behaviour from an economic perspective4 allows for an
investigation of consumers’ behaviour from a rational viewpoint. This viewpoint
assumes that consumers formulate needs and wants in terms of concrete and rational
criteria. A limiting assumption of the economic perspective is that consumers in a
specific market are considered to be homogeneous, and essentially alike in nature.
Individual differences in consumers’ behaviour are accounted for through the
incorporation of psychological perspectives, which acknowledge individual consumer
traits (or distinguishing characteristics)
A consumer does not operate in isolation, which explains the relevance of sociological
interpretations of issues such as consumers’ socio-economic status, lifestyle and socio-
psychological aspects of consumption
Cultural anthropology: provides avenues with which to understand the consumption
behaviour and product needs of specific cultures and sub-cultures, for example
nationalities, ethnic groups and religious groups.
etic perspective: An approach that considers the viewpoints of other cultures
emic perspective: when a discussion is specific to one culture, such as South African
cuisine
Cultural perspective: acknowledges long-term influences on consumers’ consumption
practices (for example, the influence of the cultural group to which a consumer belongs)
and accentuates a deeper understanding of the meaning of products, brands and
symbols in a cultural context.
,1.2. A Critical Look at Consumer Decision Making
Simple VS Complex Decision Making
Decision is Simple if: Decision is complex if:
- consumer has a reasonable - the individual has limited or no
degree of experience and skill with experience in handling such a
which to perform the task decision
- the product holds minimal risk - the decision encompasses some
- the product is easy to replace form of risk, (for example, a gas
heater), the likelihood that it might
- the product is not visually
not be easy to use and concern
conspicuous (for example, a
that others might criticise the
toothbrush)
product
- the consumer chooses a reputable
- the product is novel (for example,
brand and does not have
a new cellphone with unfamiliar
exceptional expectations, knowing
technology, brand or service
that it will not cause problems and
provider)
will evoke little critique, if any, from
- many product alternatives exist
others.
that are highly similar, which
confuses the evaluation process.
,Handling Consumer Decisions
Personal Information Sources: friends and family or salespeople to support or
influence a buying decision and are particularly valuable because they are generally
trusted.
Non-personal Information Sources: technical reports, advertisements or electronic
media. Written information can be detailed and even difficult to comprehend, especially
concerning technical specifications and user instructions
1.3. The Consumer Decision-Making Process
Consumer decision making process: typically distinguished in terms of various stages,
namely inputs (influencing factors that would determine the process of decision
making), the transformation or processing stage, and outputs (the post-purchase
evaluation that would result in consumer satisfaction or dissatisfaction).
1. Inputs:
a consumer’s existing knowledge, which is based on a
Personal or combination of someone’s learning and prior experiences as
Internal Level well as personal characteristics such as motives, intellectual
capacity, perception, personality, and attitude, determines the
way in which consumer decisions are handled.
a consumer is influenced by marketing-related and socio-
cultural factors:
controllable marketing factors: can be manipulated by an
organisation, for example the elements of a company or a
External Level store’s marketing mix (3 p’s)
uncontrollable marketing factors: factors that are difficult to
predict in terms of relevance and magnitude, such as economic
conditions at a given point in time
socio-cultural factors: lifestyle and cultural context-related
factors such as social status, cultural and sub-cultural impacts
and family influences.
, 2. Transforming or Processing
Decision Strategies
Compensatory Strategy: a consumer assigns a score to each relevant product
attribute to identify the product with the highest weighted score.
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