2017-2018 / MARK0793-1

Consumer Intelligence and Marketing Research

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

 Master in management (120 ECTS)5 crédits  

Lecturer

Cécile Delcourt

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Information is regarded as the essential raw material in today's business. In contexts of uncertainty and constant change, organizations that can collect, organize, analyze and  interpret relevant information/data can develop a competitive advantage. Therefore, making effective use of marketing research is one of the most important challenges facing professionals today. Managers all over the world have to decide every day how to collect and process information about market developments, how to transform this information into insight, and how to incorporate the insight into their strategic marketing decisions. This is an advanced course giving an overview of the marketing research process in marketing. 

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

Having successfully completed this course, students should be able to:


  • Understand the benefits of an effective marketing research process for well-founded decision making;
  • Use and critically evaluate the toolset for strategic watch and data collection:
  • Diagnose gaps in marketing decision-makers' knowledge;
  • Be aware of the many sources of secondary marketing data together with the wide panel of techniques to collect primary data ;
  • Utilize various procedures for the acquisition of information linking qualitative and quantitative research designs;
  • Know how technology and software can enhance the efficiency and quality of the data collection process;
  • Assess the biases and limitations of alternative means for gathering and analyzing such information;
  • Be able to interpret, communicate, and impart research results to marketing management;
  • Appreciate the contextual constraints of conducting marketing research in international markets;
  • Recognize ethical issues in marketing research.
 

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

  • A course of Principles of Marketing 
  • A course of Statistics 

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

This course will employ a seminar format with students expected to take a very active role in their learning. Consumer Intelligence & Marketing Research relies on interactive lessons, aiming both on the development of intellectual understanding and on the development of communication skills. The course includes transmitting problem-centered information, collaborative learning in groups, and guest-speakers . Participants are strongly invited to present their own project to enrich discussion.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

  • 8 face-to-face sessions with an hands-on approach (inverted classroom) together with the slides of the Professor
  • Project: Kustomer Insight Challenge (KIC)
  • Practical work sessions to practice:
  •     Nvivo: Software to analyze qualitative data
  •     Qualtrics: Solution to collect data
  •     SPSS: Software to analyze quantitative data
  • Guest-speakers from academia and business
  • Textbook (compulsory! ) and slides provided by the authors of the textbook
  • Bibliography: Scientific articles and key books
  • NB: Slides and material on Lola: http://lola.hec.uliege.be



 



 

Recommended or required readings

Required reading
Malhotra N., Nunan D., Birks D. (2017), Marketing Research: An Applied Approach, 5th Edition, Pearson Education. Students will need to read/consult this textbook. This is a COMPULSORY reading. 

Optional readings
Aaker, David A., V. Kumar, and George S. Day (2007): Marketing Research, 9th ed., John Wiley & Sons.
Belk, Russell, Fischer, Eileen and Kozinets, Robert V. (2013), Qualitative Consumer & Marketing Research, London.
Cooper, Donald R., and Schindler, Pamela S. (2003) Business Research Methods, 8th ed., McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Hair, Joseph F., Rolph E. Anderson, Ronald L. Tatham, and William C. Black (1998), Multivariate Data Analysis, 5th ed., MacMillan Publishing Co.
Hauschild, Susanne, Licht, Thomas and Stein, Wolfram (2001), Creating a knowledge culture, The McKinsey Quarterly, No.1, p. 74-81.
Huff, Darrell (1993): How to lie with Statistics, W.W. Norton & Comp, London.
ICC/ESOMAR International Code on Market and Social Research: http://www.esomar.org/uploads/public/knowledge-and-standards/codes-and-guidelines/ESOMAR_ICC-ESOMAR_Code_English.pdf.
Jacobson, Al and Prusak, Laurence (2006), The cost of knowledge, in: Harvard Business Review, November 2006, Vol. 84, Issue 11, p. 34.
Liebowitz, Jay (2006), Strategic Intelligence: Business Intelligence, Competitive Intelligence, and Knowledge Management, Boca Raton.
Lilien, Gary L., and Arvind Rangaswamy (2004), Marketing Engineering: Computer Assisted Marketing Analysis and Planning, Trafford Publishing.
Malhotra, Naresh K., Birks, David F. and Wills, Peter (2012), Marketing Research: An Applied Approach, 4th Edition, Harlow. 
Nakata, Cheryl and Zhu, Zhen (2006): Information Technology and Customer Orientation: A Study of Direct, Mediated, and Interactive Linkages, in: Journal of Marketing Management, April 2006, Vol. 22, Issue 3/4, p. 319-354.
Sarstedt Marko and Mooi, Erik (2014): A Concise Guide to Market Research: The Process, Data, and Methods Using IBM SPSS Statistics, 2nd ed., Springer. Free download possible at ULg Library (http://lib.ulg.ac.be/).
Sarstedt, Marko, Fabian Festge, and Manfred Schwaiger (2006). ,,Packing the Black Gold: Haver & Boecker and the Chinese Bitumen Market," Management Case Study Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, 34-45.
Schwaiger, Manfred and Matthias Meyer (2002). "The Estimation of Market Volumes," in: Chamoni, P.; Leisten, R.; Martin, A.; Minnemann, J.; Stadtler, H. [Eds.]: Operations Research Proceedings 2001, Selected Papers of the International Conference on Operations Research (OR 2001), Berlin et. al, 109-116.
Solomon, Michael R., Greg W. Marshall, and Elnora W. Stuart (2008), Marketing. Real People, Real Choices, 5th ed., Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Trim, Peter R. J. and Lee, Yang-Im (2008), A strategic marketing intelligence and multi-organizational resilience framework, in: European Journal of Marketing, 2008, Vol. 42, Issue 7/8, p. 731-745.

Assessment methods and criteria

Consumer Research Project (group): 40% 
The goal of this project entitled "Konsumer Intelligence Challenge (KIC)" is to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the whole marketing research process. This project runs throughout the whole semester: Therefore, students need to actively participate to all sessions. Additional details will be provided during the first session.
Final Examination (individual): 60%
The final examination will consist in questions on both the "Konsumer Intelligence Challenge"  and the material covered during the class (including the use of the various softwares) together with the compulsory chapters to read from the textbook . Students must successfully pass this exam (minimum 10/20) to be able to pass the entire course.
Class Participation (individual): Bonus/Malus
The quality of class participation is evaluated. To participate effectively, it is essential to read the assigned materials prior to class and to contribute in a significant way to the KIC project. 
 
NB: IMPORTANT: Given the importance of taking part in the activities, the Article 37(§2)from the 'Academic and Examination Regulations' of the University of Liege (available here: http://bit.ly/2bMA71B) is applicable. According to this article, I may declare students inadmissible for the final examination if they did not take an active role during the class (e.g., they did not submit their work in due time, missed classes without justification,...).

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

  • Students are expected to attend class, have read the materials for the session and participate in the discussions.
  • Missed deadlines may not be made up except for verified illness or family emergency.

Contacts

For lecture content, please contact Cécile DELCOURT (Cecile.Delcourt@uliege.be(Cecile.delcourt@uliege.be) )
For the questions related to KIC and softwares (SPSS, Nvivo, Qualtrics), please contact  Simon HAZEE (Simon.Hazee@uliege.be(Simon.Hazee@ulg.ac.be))