Consumer research in marketing
Week 1 -introduction to consumer research
Knowledge clips + readings week 1
Plato’s allegorie
- Plato argues that people are too stubborn and ignorant to govern themselves.
- Origin of knowledge
Research fundamentals
What is research?
- Gathering information to solve a particular problem
- A studious inquiry or examination: especially an investigation or experimentation
aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, the revision of accepted theories or
laws in the light of new facts, or the practical application of such new or revised
theories or laws
- Uncover the objective truth
Why do we need to conduct research?
- To solve problems and advance knowledge
How can we conduct research?
- Use exiting theories to derive hypotheses and test them
- Create new theories based on observation and and inquiry
Systematics research consists of three steps
- Research question: a question that can be answered by conducting a research study
o Come up with a question based on observation, prior research, professional
literature or peers
- Collect data
- Analyze data and interpret the findings
,Generate theories: a statement of concepts and their interrelationships that shows how and/or
why a phenomenon occurs generate hypothesis: a proposition or prediction about a
phenomenon/state of the world
Experiment: a form of research in which one or more factors are manipulated to see their
effect on an outcome.
Ethnography: a form of naturalistic inquiry (0bservation, participation, interviews etc) that has
a specific interest in culture
Research paradigms (article: Hudson, L. A., & Ozanne, J. L. (1988))
What is a research paradigm?
- Lens or a way of thinking about the world; provides direction for the researcher,
different ways of thinking about reality
- Positivist paradigm and interpretivist paradigm
What characterizes different research paradigms?
- Basic assumptions, beliefs, norms and values of each paradigm
Ontology: what is the nature of reality
- Influences perception of the truth
- Positivist paradigm
o Realism: one objective truth, independent of context, human behavior is
determined
- Interpretivist paradigm:
o relativism, multiple subjective realities, human behavior is created, reality is
socially constructed and perceived and evolves with context
Epistemology: How can we know reality?
- Positivist paradigm
o Objective measurement, regularities and laws, real causes and affects, specific
rules for doing science
o Etic approach; from the outside
- Interpretivist paradigm
o Subjective perception
, o Meaning, motives or experiences, mutual, simultaneously shaping of cause and
effect
o Emic approach = from the inside
-
Axiology: What is valuable and ethical? Where do values come from?
- Positivist paradigm
o Free of values
o Guided by logic
o Goal: explanation and prediction
- Interpretivist paradigm
o Values help to co-construct meaning
o Guided by intuition
o Goal: understanding
Methodology: how is the research conducted
- Positivist paradigm
o Deductive
o Systematic
o Testing theories and hypotheses
o Mostly quantitative
- Interpretivist paradigm
o Inductive
o Emergent
o Generating theories and hypotheses
o Mostly qualitative
Methodology: approaches that guide how data is gathered and analyzed
Method: a particular research tool or data-gathering technique
, What is consumer research (article: Lynch Jr, J. G., Alba, J. W., Krishna, A., Morwitz,
V. G., & Gürhan-Canli, Z. (2012))
Consumer research is the study of people operating in a consumer role involving
acquisition, consumption, and disposition of marketplace products, services and experiences
Seven premises
- It studies consumer behavior
- Consumer behavior entails consumption
- Consumption = acquisition, usage, and disposal of products
- Products = goods, services, events, ideas etc. that provide value
- Value = when a goal is achieved or need fulfilled
- Such achievement leas to consummation
- Consumer research = research of consumer consummation
Behavioral economics
- Perceptual biases, framing effects, judgement and decision-making
Social & cognitive psychology
- Attitudes, information processing, perception, self-identity, personality
Sociology and anthropology
- Consumer culture theory
Why do we need consumer research?
- None of the other research field focus on all consumption stages
- Study unique stimuli and phenomena, behavioral outcomes and unique market-
force00shapeed behaviors
Week 1 -introduction to consumer research
Knowledge clips + readings week 1
Plato’s allegorie
- Plato argues that people are too stubborn and ignorant to govern themselves.
- Origin of knowledge
Research fundamentals
What is research?
- Gathering information to solve a particular problem
- A studious inquiry or examination: especially an investigation or experimentation
aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, the revision of accepted theories or
laws in the light of new facts, or the practical application of such new or revised
theories or laws
- Uncover the objective truth
Why do we need to conduct research?
- To solve problems and advance knowledge
How can we conduct research?
- Use exiting theories to derive hypotheses and test them
- Create new theories based on observation and and inquiry
Systematics research consists of three steps
- Research question: a question that can be answered by conducting a research study
o Come up with a question based on observation, prior research, professional
literature or peers
- Collect data
- Analyze data and interpret the findings
,Generate theories: a statement of concepts and their interrelationships that shows how and/or
why a phenomenon occurs generate hypothesis: a proposition or prediction about a
phenomenon/state of the world
Experiment: a form of research in which one or more factors are manipulated to see their
effect on an outcome.
Ethnography: a form of naturalistic inquiry (0bservation, participation, interviews etc) that has
a specific interest in culture
Research paradigms (article: Hudson, L. A., & Ozanne, J. L. (1988))
What is a research paradigm?
- Lens or a way of thinking about the world; provides direction for the researcher,
different ways of thinking about reality
- Positivist paradigm and interpretivist paradigm
What characterizes different research paradigms?
- Basic assumptions, beliefs, norms and values of each paradigm
Ontology: what is the nature of reality
- Influences perception of the truth
- Positivist paradigm
o Realism: one objective truth, independent of context, human behavior is
determined
- Interpretivist paradigm:
o relativism, multiple subjective realities, human behavior is created, reality is
socially constructed and perceived and evolves with context
Epistemology: How can we know reality?
- Positivist paradigm
o Objective measurement, regularities and laws, real causes and affects, specific
rules for doing science
o Etic approach; from the outside
- Interpretivist paradigm
o Subjective perception
, o Meaning, motives or experiences, mutual, simultaneously shaping of cause and
effect
o Emic approach = from the inside
-
Axiology: What is valuable and ethical? Where do values come from?
- Positivist paradigm
o Free of values
o Guided by logic
o Goal: explanation and prediction
- Interpretivist paradigm
o Values help to co-construct meaning
o Guided by intuition
o Goal: understanding
Methodology: how is the research conducted
- Positivist paradigm
o Deductive
o Systematic
o Testing theories and hypotheses
o Mostly quantitative
- Interpretivist paradigm
o Inductive
o Emergent
o Generating theories and hypotheses
o Mostly qualitative
Methodology: approaches that guide how data is gathered and analyzed
Method: a particular research tool or data-gathering technique
, What is consumer research (article: Lynch Jr, J. G., Alba, J. W., Krishna, A., Morwitz,
V. G., & Gürhan-Canli, Z. (2012))
Consumer research is the study of people operating in a consumer role involving
acquisition, consumption, and disposition of marketplace products, services and experiences
Seven premises
- It studies consumer behavior
- Consumer behavior entails consumption
- Consumption = acquisition, usage, and disposal of products
- Products = goods, services, events, ideas etc. that provide value
- Value = when a goal is achieved or need fulfilled
- Such achievement leas to consummation
- Consumer research = research of consumer consummation
Behavioral economics
- Perceptual biases, framing effects, judgement and decision-making
Social & cognitive psychology
- Attitudes, information processing, perception, self-identity, personality
Sociology and anthropology
- Consumer culture theory
Why do we need consumer research?
- None of the other research field focus on all consumption stages
- Study unique stimuli and phenomena, behavioral outcomes and unique market-
force00shapeed behaviors
