Master of Management Studies (M.M.S) Consumer Buying Behaviour Syllabus - Mumbai University 2026

Course objectives

• 1 To introduce students to concepts, theories, and models of consumer behaviour.
• 2 To equip students with analytical skills to understand factors influencing consumer purchase decisions.
• 3 To develop capabilities to apply consumer behaviour insights to marketing strategies and campaigns.
• 4 To enhance students' skills in conducting consumer research and behavioural analysis.
• 5 To cultivate understanding of contemporary trends in consumer psychology, including digital and social influences.

Course outcomes

• CO1: Understand how consumers differ in their behaviours across categories, situations
• CO2: Apply consumer’s decision-making process (DMP) at various stages of the buying process to make appropriate decision
• CO3: Analyze the consumer decision making process based on above frameworks and make optimal decisions
• CO4: Evaluate different forces shaping consumer behaviour and their impact on marketing strategies
• CO5: Create a marketing plan based on the frameworks learnt in this course.

Unit 1 CO1, CO2, CO3 · 4 hours

Psychology of Buying Process: Frameworks- High involvement v/s low involvement; Cognitive v/s Emotional, optimizing v/s Satisficing; compensatory v/s non-compensatory decision making

Unit 2 CO1, CO2 · 3 hours

Motivation, attitudes, perception, learning and role in consumer buying decision

Unit 3 CO1, CO2, CO3 · 2 hours

Consumer decision making process – Pre-purchase – triggers for need recognition; search and consideration of alternatives, evaluation of alternatives; role of above frameworks in this stage of buying process

Unit 4 CO2, CO3, CO4 · 2 hours

Purchase Process – which brand, from which sell, when to buy, how to pay?

Unit 5 CO2, CO3, CO4 · 2 hours

Post-purchase decisions- after sales care, end of life recycle, Net Promoter score, loyalty programmes for customer retention

Unit 6 CO2. CO3, CO4 · 3 hours

Prospect Theory, endowment effect and impact on consumer psychology, influence on diffusion of innovation, 9X effect, capturing value from Innovation

Unit 7 CO2, CO3, CO4 · 3 hours

Forces impacting consumer behaviour – ageing of society, women in the workforce, declining middle- class; social media – role in every stage of the buying process, reasons for usage of social media by consumers

Unit 8 CO3, CO4 · 2 hours

Impact of AI Platforms and digital assistants on Consumer behaviour – navigate consumer choices, control access to companies, reduced role of brand recognition; understanding algorithms used to choose and identify brands for each customer; promotion of branding outside AI platforms; acquisition of consumer data from platforms to inhibit brand switching.

Unit 9 CO2, CO3, CO4 · 2 hours

CO-creating value with consumers – crowdsourcing, lead user research; fringe customers – lovers, haters, opt-outers of the brand/category, role of empathy, online ethnography (Netnography) to analyze conversations of consumers in brand communities

Unit 10 CO2, CO3, CO4 · 3 hours

Brand culture – material markers v/s brand culture, authors of a brand culture – company, popular culture, customers, influencers, role of stories, images, and associations in creating brands a cultural artefacts, brand values – reputational, relationship, experiential, symbolic

Unit 11 CO2, CO3, CO4 · 2 hours

Brand Storytelling -emotional connect, elements of a good story – strong ideological message, unforgettable characters for affiliation, conflict as a driving force, dynamic plots; use of humour, fear, romance, irony as storytelling devices to resonate with consumers

Unit 12 CO2, CO3, CO4 · 2 hours

Conscience Marketing – socially and environmentally responsible products, carbon footprint of supply chains,

Text Books

• 1 Consumer Behavior. Hawkins, Best and Coney. Irwin/McGraw Hill
• 2 Consumer Behaviour. Leon Schiffman, Joseph Wisenblit, Ramesh Kumar, 12e, Pearson

Reference Books

• 1 Why we buy: The Science of shopping. Paco Underhill. Pearson
• 2 Thinking Fast and Slow. Daniel Kahneman. Penguin
• 3 Customer Behavior: A Managerial Perspective. Jagdish Sheth, Banwari Mittal. Thomson/South Western