Consumer and Buyer Behaviour (11178.2)

Please note these are the 2026 details for this unit
Home
/
Find your course
/
Consumer and Buyer Behaviour
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
Online self-paced
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Business, Government & Law
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Canberra Business School Level 2 - Undergraduate Intermediate Unit Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
Band 5 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit covers both consumer behaviour and business buying behaviour. Students will explore the processes that consumers go through when selecting services and goods, such as the individual customer make up and environmental influences that impact on human decision making. Consumers' culture and social status, psychographics and demographic factors as well as the role of emotion and humour in marketing strategies will be discussed and analysed. Of equal importance is how businesses/organisations make purchasing decisions and students analyse how this is different/ similar to consumer decision making processes in new task buying and repeat buying decision making processes.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Identify and interpret consumer behaviour theory and its implications for marketing strategy in both consumer, organisational and industrial markets;
2. Analyse consumer decision making processes in different scenarios;
3. Evaluate consumer decision making theories and apply to new product development and entrepreneurial environments;
4. Analyse how cultural differences impact on marketing strategies;
5. Compare organisational buyer behaviour in different settings to consumer buying behaviour; and
6. Describe the scope and nature of psychology and sociology in consumer behaviour.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - communicate and engage with Indigenous Australians in ethical and culturally respectful ways


Prerequisites

11176 Marketing Fundamentals

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None

Equivalent units

6390 Consumer Behaviour

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 03 February 2025 On-campus Dr Marjan Aslan
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 03 February 2025 Online self-paced Dr Marjan Aslan
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 On-campus Dr Marjan Aslan
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 Online self-paced Dr Marjan Aslan
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

Recommended books:

Solomon, M., Previte, J., Russell-Bennett, R., and Payne, R. (2022) "Consumer behaviour: buying, having, and being, Australian-adapted edition", 5th edition, Pearson, ISBN-13: 9780655703396.

or

Solomon, Michael R. (2019) "Consumer Behavior – Global Edition", 13th Edition, Pearson Education Limited, Essex, ISBN 13: 9781292318103, ISBN-10: 9781292318202.

Supplementary readings:

Baker, M. J. Parkinson, S. T.(1986) "Organizational Buying Behaviour: Purchasing and marketing management implications", Palgrave, ISBN print: 978-1-349-08050-2, ISBN online: 978-1-349-08048-9

Schiffman, L. (2018) "Consumer Behaviour", 12th Edition, Pearson Australia, ISBN13: 9780134734828, e-text ISBN: 9780134735009

Academic Journals:

Important: The publications in peer-reviewed journals listed below are highly recommended for further reading on the topics covered in the unit. You should also consult them for the preparation of your assessments.

  • Journal of Consumer Research
  • Journal of Marketing
  • Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
  • Journal of Consumer Behaviour
  • Journal of Consumer Psychology
  • Journal of Marketing Research
  • Journal of Advertising Research
  • European Journal of Marketing
  • Harvard Business Review

Websites of con-current news and business reviews:

http://www.acrwebsite.org

https://www.ama.org

http://theabj.com.au

http://www.marketingmag.com.au

http://sloanreview.mit.edu

http://hbr.org

http://www.wsj.com

http://www.nielsen.com

http:www.roymorgan.com

Submission of assessment items

Special assessment requirements

It is important that the students come prepared for workshops by listening to the lecture recordings and by reading designated chapters and engaging in online content. We will focus on Assessment #2 and #3 during the workshops on campus. Please note that to be able to complete the assessment tasks for this unit, it is necessary that you read the required readings, read the rubrics, watch the instructional videos, and listen to the lecture recordings.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

 

***The pre-recorded lectures for this unit will contain elaborate briefing on the key theories/topics on Consumer Behaviour. The workshops will facilitate conceptual reflection and learning through sharing. The workshops will also contain blending of rich discussion from the text and practical activity-based learning experiences. Therefore, it is essential that the students come prepared for the workshops by listening to the pre-recorded lectures and by reading designated chapters for workshops. Students are also required to actively participate in problem-solving, critical thinking, hands-on activities, and discussions during the workshops.

***Learning occurs most effectively in an environment where all the participants are eager and ready to learn. Therefore, I expect that everyone will engage in professional behaviour that contribute to the creation of a stimulating learning environment. As such, the followings are required:

  • Attending all formal class sessions/workshops and being on time,
  • Remaining in class for the duration of the class,
  • Being prepared for class,
  • Reading/watching all content provided on the UCLearn site designed for this unit,
  • Actively participating in class discussions,
  • Asking thoughtful questions and sharing ideas,
  • Questions or ideas that provoke discussion or illustrate class material are ideal forms of contribution.
  • Listening respectfully when others are speaking,
  • Being focused on the activities at hand,
  • Regularly checking and reading announcements sent by the unit convener on the UCLearn site.
  • regularly checking your UC emails.
  • Communicating to the unit convener through your UC mail account and not a personal account.
  • Reading, understanding, and respecting the rules concerning plagiarism.
  • Avoiding all acts which could be considered plagiarism.
  • familiarising yourself with the conventions of referencing in your discipline.
  • Providing accurate information about your address and contact details, and notifying Student Administration of changes as soon as they occur; and
  • Ensuring that you are correctly enrolled in each unit and that the units are correct for your course of study.

 

***In each module, you will complete learning activities which enable you to apply your learning and understand different perspectives. Most activities are designed to provide you with the skills necessary to succeed in your assessments. Some activities will require direct engagement on the UCLearn Site, while some will be completed in the workshop, so please do read the instructions carefully.

***At the beginning of each module, you will be given required and optional reading resources. Required readings are essential to support your learning journey, while optional reading resources are supplementary often providing more detail or perspectives on a specific topic.

***All students are expected to attend each of the workshops. All students are expected to listen to the pre-recorded lectures and prepare the required readings before the workshops and to actively participate in discussions and activities before and during the workshops.

***It is essential that students use the online content (including recorded lectures, and other information on assessments) provided on the UCLearn site for this unit to complete their assessments.

*** To learn about details of the assessments, it is essential that students watch the instructional videos, read the rubrics and other documents uploaded on the UCLearn site.

***For some of the workshops which will be run for this unit, we might use an online collaborative whiteboard platform (Miro). Information about the online collaborative whiteboard platform (Miro) and how to have access to it, has been provided on the UCLearn site.

Required IT skills

***For some of the workshops which will be run for this unit, we might use an online collaborative whiteboard platform (Miro). Information about the online collaborative whiteboard platform (Miro) and how to have access to it, has been provided on the UCLearn site.

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit involves a WIL project (see details of Assessment Item #3 (Part A) and Assessment Item #3 (Part B)

Next step

Apply now Enquire