2.  Start to consider what theory could be informative to study the consumer behaviour

To start your theory search go into Google Scholar (see lecture from the Business Liaison Library for key

steps in completing a Google Scholar search). Run several keyword searches featuring your topic focus and one or two theories you think inform your topic. For instance, these keyword searches could be structured

such as “Discretional Spending + Consumer Value Perceptions” or “Discretional Spending + Budgeting + Affective Decision Making” .

After running the google scholar searches, go to the library databases with a focused theory to identify current MARKETING journal articles that also apply your (1) theory, and (2) similar and/or same

consumption behaviour. Pay attention to the date and relevant sources (i.e., within the specified time range of 5-7 years, taken from marketing/consumer behaviour/service journals).

The required formatting guidelines of this assessment are 1.5 line spacing, size 11 font, and either Times New Roman or Arial typeface.

3.  Desk Research Strategy

In this section, you must justify and verify the approach taken to collecting the information contained in your analysis. As some research consulting firms are leaning toward outsourcing information retrieval to

imperfect automated systems such as GPT-4, auditors and clients will be very focused on the quality of your data, the transparency of the insight collection approach, alongside how clear and justified the rationale of    the approach was.

Provide a brief overview of the strategy employed to collect the research outlined in the tables below, and measures utilised to ensure the validity and relevance of sources. A brief overview of the key or highlight

findings (e.g., finding that a specific component of the theory is a key driver of the consumption behaviour) is also provided here.

a.  Key Concepts

Key concepts are terms that are used to guide your research. These key concept terms involve

the consumption context, consumer segment, and theory of focus in your research report. For example,

concept 1 could be written as: Sensory Marketing + Luxury Retail + Millennials; concept 2 as “Sensory Perception” + Retail; and so on.

The week 5 lecture provided an overview of constructing research search terms, and usage of Boolean operators to narrow your research focus toward sources applicable to your chosen topic.

b.  Current News and Industry Reports

This section consists often credible industry sources and a brief summary of the key or important findings    contained within each source that are relevant to your consumption problem. The summaries can include key statistics and figures, confirmation of growing consumption trends, coverage of the consumption behaviour

as a driving force in a market sector, and information pertaining to the consumer segment and their consumption behaviours within the context of your consumption topic.

In the left-hand table column in this section of the case study template, the full citation must be provided in the left-hand column as it would appear in the reference list. For example:

McLeay, F., Osburg, V. S., Yoganathan, V., & Patterson,A. (2021). Replaced by a robot: Service implications in the age of the machine. Journal of Service Research, 24(1), 104-121.

The second table column needs to contain the source type and location (e.g. Database for Euromonitor or IBIS World sources; Report for Roy Morgan or Nielsen sources; etc.).

Examples of appropriate industry sources include: Kantar Australia, Roy Morgan, Nielsen Australia, PWC,    KPMG, IPSOS, IBIS World, Euromonitor), The Conversation, alongside public sector sources including The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).   Appropriate formats can include reports, white papers, industry and professional blogs, and industry news articles.

The Consumer Behaviour Case Study Overview document provides some preliminary sources to begin searching for relevant reports.

c.  Current Marketing and Consumer Academic Articles

In this section, all provided sources must be cited from peer-reviewed journals. Marks will not be awarded for providing industry or non-peer-reviewed sources in this section.

Journal articles should be current (last 5-7 years), but a maximum of three seminal articles (i.e., foundational

papers covering your theory) that may be older than 10 years can be used to discuss consumer theory foundations.

In the summary, cover how your theory explains why or how the consumption behaviours identified in your research topic area are occurring.

In these sources, ensure that the journal contains terms such as “marketing”, “consumer behaviour”,

“service” or “consumer” in the title. High-quality examples include Journal of Marketing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Service

Marketing, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research and other types.

ABDC list provides a quality list of marketing journal:https://abdc.edu.au/abdc-journal-quality-list/. Filter for marketing journals using the Marketing Code: 3506 (previous year code 2022 was 1504).

4. Mind Map

A mind map serves to illustrate to the reader/client how the concepts identified in the previous section link  together, are related to each other and potentially influence one another. For further information on creating and producing a mind map, return to the resources for the Week 5 workshop.

Tools for creating digital mind maps includeMindMupandCanva. In previous years, students also drew

their own mind maps on a tablet device, took a screen capture of the drawn mind map and copied the image into this section (see Past Student Example 2).

Below your mind map, write a 250 word summary describing your consumer segment in greater detail (i.e., motivations, values, behavioural triggers, desired consumption outcomes of their behaviours within the

context of the topic) and the identified consumption behaviours. This is all taken from the desk research

section, and content presented in this section can inform content provided in the case study overview section.

5.  Theory Guiding Focus

In previous years, this is typically the section of the assessment that left the most marks on the table and could had been optimised further by students. Use theory as a framework to guide your analysis of the    consumer behaviour problem.

A consumer behaviour theory is a system of ideas that explain a consumption behaviour. A theory can be a

framework (e.g., Theory of Planned Behaviour, Perception) or a concept (high or low involvement) that

explains the mechanics or driving forces behind the behaviours of your chosen consumer segment within the context of your topic.

This section is based directly from findings obtained in the academic articles desk research section (see Point 2 above). Here, outline how each component of your theory explains or drives the identified consumption

behaviours within your topic area.

6.  Case Study Problem Statement

A good problem statement will consist of the following components:

.    A consumer segment profile (based on your desk research sources that describe your consumer with relevant segmentation variables such as lifestyle factors, psychographic insights, demographic

statistics, social and cultural influences);

.    Outline the consumers’ wants, needs and/or demands that are driving the market trend and/or

influencing the consumption context (what are their needs associated with the consumption topic area);

.    The consumer behaviour insight (focused on the consequences or outcomes of the consumption behaviour).

A shortened example of a problem statement is as follows, although more detail from the components above would need to be provided:

“E-bike bikies are physically active and environmentally-aware middle-aged white collar professionals aged between 25 and 50 who prioritise their consumption choices around convenience, efficiency and being

socially competitive among their peers. Although their attitudes toward e-bike consumption are driven by their desire to be a consciously-aware consumer (Watt & Edison, 2019), the prevailing subjective norms imposed by their professionally-competitive peers and a lack of behavioural self-control drives the e-bike bikie to engage in destructive behaviours while using their e-bikes (Wheeler, Volta & Ohm, 2020). The

consumption activities of the e-bike bikies are particularly susceptible to the social influence of their

professional peer groups, and are willing to outspend their peers to possess the fastest and most powerful e- bike in their office if encouraged to (Nielsen 2022). This combination of high-power e-bikes, the social

influence of their peers and a lack of behavioural self-control can trigger negative consumption outcomes that risks the safety of themselves and others (Queensland Government 2022). ”

Additional examples can be reviewed in past student examples on Blackboard and from Week 6 workshop notes.

7.  Data Collection Approach

In this section, first outline the sample characteristics for your target consumer. For instance, for the e-bike example mentioned in previous sections, the sample will consist of three white-collar professionals aged

between 25-55; female, male and other in terms of identified gender, and living in Australian metro areas. A source containing demographic variables of the target consumer could be cited to verify these sample

characteristics. Additionally, a lifestyle factor is also important – what attitudes, values or interest influence