Assignment Question
Write a research paper, using FIVE consumer behavior topics from the course, on the following topic: “Differences in Consumer Thoughts and Behavior Between Consumers in the U.S. and ______ (fill in your ONE country).” Use any reference style (APA, MLA, ETC.) that you are familiar with. A reference list is needed at the end of your paper. No footnotes, endnotes of any kind are needed – only a reference list at the end, using the same reference style as you use in citing your references in the text of your paper. For examples, see the paper ON ANOTHER TOPIC (OBVIOUSLY NOT FOR USE IN YOUR PAPER DIRECTLY!) included at the end of this project description.
This is a research paper to be based on secondary research ONLY (research that has already been done and is available for your use, provided you acknowledge the source with proper citations). Do NOT do primary research (research that is freshly collected like surveys, focus groups, interviews, etc.). You may cite survey results from secondary sources but you may not yourself conduct surveys, etc.. Hence, your paper needs at least TWO SCHOLARLY REFERENCES in EACH OF THE FIVE TOPICS. So, altogether you will need a minimum of TEN DIFFERENT scholarly sources to be cited in both the body of your paper and in the reference list at the end of your paper. A scholarly reference is an article in an ACADEMIC JOURNAL (Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behavior, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Review, etc.), and NOT releases in the POPULAR PRESS/WEBSITES). These articles are known as “peer-reviewed refereed journal articles” since reviewers have seen and approved of these articles. A referred journal is a journal with an editor, an editorial board and reviewers. Once again, if you use someone else’s words (avoid direct quotes if you can and see later for how to use direct quotes, if you must) and ideas, you MUST provide a reference. Otherwise, it is plagiarism and you will fail the project and, possibly, the course. I have ways of knowing! Do not do it. AGAIN, TWO RULES for which Penalties with accrue at the rate of one point for each violation. (A) No sentence more than two lines. Note that you can have as many sentences within a paragraph as you like. So, you could have, for example, six sentences of one line each. (B) No paragraph more than six lines. Note that you can have as many paragraphs in an answer as you like. The format of your paper should be as below. TITLE PAGE WITH THE NAME OF YOUR PAPER (“Differences in Consumer Thoughts and Behavior Between Consumers in the U.S. and ______ (fill in your ONE country).” ), YOUR NAME AND THE CLASS (MKTG2212 FALL 2023). (A) INTRODUCTION, on the next and second page, in which you describe your goals in this project and your methodology (How you went about collecting information for your paper) No findings here until the next section. (2 POINTS) Once again, this page should have a heading titled INTRODUCTION and two sub-headings as follows. On this page, using the two subheadings of (a) Goals and (b) Methodology, you should lay out your goals (what did you want to achieve in this paper? Why are cultural differences in consumer behavior important for marketing purposes?) in this paper and the methodology you used to obtain the secondary data used in your paper. Under methodology, you should discuss what and how many sources you used; where and how you found your sources; how you chose your sources and eliminated other sources, etc. (B), (C), (D), (E), (F) FIVE HEADINGS ON FIVE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR TOPICS WE HAVE STUDIED. SEE EXAMPLES ABOVE. (5 X 8 = 40 POINTS) (G) SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS and SUMMARY OF MARKETING IMPLICATIONS. INTEGRATE YOUR FIVE TOPICS. BRING ALL THE INDIVIDUAL PARTS TOGETHER INTO A “WHOLE”. WHAT IS THE MEANING TO BE DRAWN FROM THE FINDINGS ON EACH OF YOUR TOPICS? DO THE SAME FOR THE MARKETING IMPLICATIONS YOU HAVE ALSO PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED. (FIVE POINTS) (H) REFERENCES. (3 POINTS) As stated above, after the INTRODUCTION, you should have FIVE HEADINGS on FIVE separate single spaced pages, covering FIVE different topics from this class. No credit for topics not covered in the text. Some suggested topics are (choose only FIVE!): Differences in Consumers’ Emotional Responses (for this topic, I suggest the use of a single emotion like “loneliness”. See ch.1 and the instructions in ASSIGNMENT 2. However, more than one emotion is acceptable as well). Differences in Consumer Values (Freedom, etc. See ch. 4) (use more than one terminal consumer value here USING SEPARATE SHORT PARAGRAPHS FOR EACH. See ch.4). Note that “Consumer Values” like freedom etc. are very different from the notion of “Perceived Value” which is a consumer perception based on some combination of quality and price (from ch.11). Use Consumer Values from ch.4 and NOT the notion of Perceived Value. (A SINGLE VALUE is acceptable as well, just as you have done in assgn.2 for a single emotion).
Differences in Consumers’ Needs (use Maslow’s hierarchy here, from ch.8) (use more than one need here USING SEPARATE SHORT PARAGRAPHS FOR EACH)) (A SINGLE NEED is acceptable as well, just as you have done in assgn.2 for a single emotion). Differences in Attitudes (ch.8) (use more than one attitude here USING SEPARATE SHORT PARAGRAPHS FOR EACH). (A SINGLE ATTITUDE is acceptable as well, just as you have done in assgn.2 for a single emotion). Differences in Information Search (see ch. 8 for various aspects of Information search USING SEPARATE SHORT PARAGRAPHS FOR EACH. (A SINGLE ASPECT OF INFO. SEARCH is acceptable as well, just as you have done in assgn.2 for a single emotion).) Differences in Brand Criteria in Brand Evaluation (see ch.8) (USING SEPARATE SHORT PARAGRAPHS FOR EACH, use more than one brand criteria but for any one product category here (say, cars). What the differences in the two cultures in brand criteria for automobiles?). Do consumers in the two cultures look for different criteria when buying a car? What? Why? So what for a marketing manager? Remember that brand criteria can be viewed as particular needs in a certain product category, like autos. etc. So, if you are doing needs as well, make sure these two aspects are related to each other. Other topics (however once again, only five topics on five separate pages will be graded!) are Differences in Brand Trust (ch.10), etc. and so on as in the chapters we cover. (Chs 1-6, 8, 10-11). Make sure you use the knowledge you have gained on these topics and that this is apparent from my reading of your discussion. I recommend using five from the seven topics I have suggested above. ALWAYS USE SHORT PARAGRAPHS IN EVERY PAGE) DO NOT USE TOPICS FROM CH. 2 You must provide at least one marketing implication in the last paragraph of each of the five sections in your paper. What can a marketing manager (working in both the U.S. and your Culture) DO with the information you have provided on the topic on the current topic you are discussing, say consumer needs, etc.? The last page (or two if needed) of your paper (before your reference list) should be titled SUMMARY. Here you should discuss and integrate the main findings from each of your topic headings and also integrate the marketing implications you have already discussed for each topic.
