Using Attitudes to Understand Consumer Behaviour: A Study on Ethical Marketing Practices

In-depth Research and Analysis

This assessment requires you to do some IN-DEPTH (secondary) research about the assigned assessment topic, and then present the results of your research in an essay. It is insufficient to simply tell the reader what the topic is, but also why it is essential and how it impacts on other related aspects of the topic, consumers and/or other stakeholders concerned. In addition, you are asked to take the topic and argue and explain why your topic has merit. This means that you must think through what the topic and question are about, then formulate your opinion and justify that position, drawing on real-life examples where appropriate.

Assessment Topic:

Using knowledge of attitudes is just a natural extension of wanting to understand the consumer. By using attitude information, a marketer (or advertiser) can more easily meet the wants and needs of the consumer.

It is important that you relate other consumer behaviour concepts (e.g., consumer needs and motivation, perception, decision making, consumer learning, etc.) to this statement.

Ethical business practices include managing relationships with the people in your business community at the highest moral standard. This includes the most critical stakeholder in your business, your customer. Given the importance of ethics to a successful business, how should marketers approach the abovementioned issue to build trust and reputation among business associates and stakeholders?

Please ensure that you achieve a balanced discussion between theory and your own analysis. Note that excessive theory that is not linked to the topic via your own analysis is irrelevant. However, too much emphasis on your own analysis without theoretical support leads to a descriptive rather than analytical answer. Make sure that you support each key argument with an academic source, and that you explain the relevance of the theory to your argument. Sources of literature to support your arguments could be drawn from the following high-quality academic journal articles:

Ø Journal of Consumer Research

Ø Advances in Consumer Research

Ø Journal of Consumer Behaviour

Ø Journal of Consumer Psychology

Ø Journal of Consumer Marketing

Ø Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Ø Psychology and Marketing

Ø Journal of Marketing Research

Ø Journal of Marketing

Ø Journal of Academy of Marketing Science

This assessment takes the following format:

a) Cover page: lists your name, student number, assignment due date, the topic, lecturer name-on a separate page.

b) Contents page: lists in order, the headings and subheading of the essay including the page number on which it commences-on a separate page.

c) List of tables, graphs, and illustrations (if any): lists in order, tables, graphs, and illustrations of the essay including the page number on which they appear on a separate page.

d) Introduction: background information to set the scene for the essay.

e) Discussion section that includes: discussion of the key insights and arguments; explain how consumer behaviour concepts (other than consumer attitudes) can be applied to the topic (or issue raised). Please use research findings and recommendations obtained from academic journal articles as a guide for your discussion.

f) Recommendation section that tells the reader: What it is that you recommend the reader do about the topic/issue.

g) Conclusion that summarises: What the essay was about.

h) References: APA referencing style. Each team is expected to use 7 to 15 references to construct the essay.

i) Appendices (if any): these contain any other material that supports the findings, conclusions, and recommendations.