Behavior Change Management

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/E_MKT_BCM

Course Objective

After successfully completing this course, students will be able to:Critically read and discuss articles in top academic journals covering a host of topics (e.g., consumer behavior, communication marketing, judgment and decision making).Apply theories of consumer judgment and decision-making that can inform the development and implementation of behaviour change interventions to benefit business, society, or the consumer.Communicate and collaborate effectively with an international cohort of classmates and improve your skills in teamwork.

Course Content

This course examines how to use consumer judgment and decision-making theory to influence individuals to make better decisions and improve the well-being of themselves and others. The course will start with a deep-dive into fundamental theories of decision making (e.g., dual-process theories, heuristics and biases, prospect theory, etc.). We will then focus on specialized topics across the lectures including choice freedom, information seeking, happiness, financial decision making, medical decision making, among many others. Throughout the lectures, you will learn to reflect on different practical ways of using this theoretical knowledge to change human behavior. Specifically, you will gain hands-on experience in designing marketing interventions to tackle the urgent issues of the society including climate change, social inequality, corruption, or health emergencies.

Teaching Methods

This class will have two main components: 1) Lectures: Each week, you will have two lectures covering different topics on consumer judgment and decision-making theory. In some of the lectures, we will have guest speakers from the industry. 2) Tutorials: Each week, you will have one tutorial where you will work on a real-life case collaborating with a company or policy institution. This will give you an opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge to improve the well-being of the society.

Method of Assessment

Written examination (individual): 70%; Assignments (group): 30%; Each to be completed with a minimum score of 5.0.

Literature

You will read academic articles, book chapters, managerial articles and/or case studies.

Recommended background knowledge

The most useful quality that will make this course enjoyable—and also students successful—is an innate curiosity to understand human behavior and creative thinking to tackle societal problems.