Master's Programme in Marketing Research & Analysis Management

2. Objective and contents

The entire business environment is experiencing major global changes that have a direct impact on companies and their consumers. Competition is intensifying and generating changes in the way that consumers make purchase decisions. Consumers are responding to the global changes by altering their consumption behavior. Marketing management activities, such as new product development, market repositioning of existing brands, management of distribution networks, competitive pricing of products and services, and promotion of existing products in a rapidly changing market need to be based on systematic and coherent analyses of the entire business environment, competitive climate, and behavior of consumers in the market.

Although marketing research techniques are increasingly more vigorous and can be used to collect and analyze data more effectively, there is still a need for managers to understand the information generated by marketing research studies. Marketing managers must be able to examine data and information in order to formulate effective and efficient marketing strategies. The development of such marketing strategies assumes that marketing managers are able to understand the results of marketing research studies and to use the results as a basis for their decision making. In order for marketing managers to understand the results of marketing research studies and to make competitive decisions, their educational and professional foci must change. A new generation of managers, able to make more competitive decisions, is growing rapidly and will be in great demand among globally focused companies.

Future marketing managers and executives in general will have to monitor and adjust their ability to understand these changes and to determine how best to satisfy evolving consumer expectations. As marketing managers, they must also become marketing data and information analysts. They are already confronted with data generated by scanning devices on the retailing, wholesaling, or even manufacturing levels, and routinely analyze sets of scanner data on their personal computers. Large corporate information systems also allow marketing managers to access previous marketing research studies and commission new studies.

The new types of marketing managers who are able to be successful analysts in the future require a new approach to education. The new types of marketing managers will have to understand consumer behavior; they will have to critically analyze how consumers behave under a variety of market conditions. More specifically, they will have to be able to put themselves into the role of consumers and examine how consumers view the market, how they think, and how they make decisions. However, understanding consumers is only one part of the educational process. The new type of managers, in their roles as analysts, must have the analytical skills to design and conduct comprehensive studies in order to obtain the necessary quantitative information required to make objective decisions. As future executives they must also, as a result of their decisions, allocate resources critical to the changing environment, the competition, and the consumer market.

The Master’s Programme in Marketing Research and Analysis Management is designed to meet the needs of future managers that will serve them in their professional roles as marketing research analysts. The programme begins with an examination of consumer behavior, using well-established concepts and approaches to the study of consumer behavior. It follows with a detail analysis of consumers, using teaching cases, field research, and other experiences to understand how consumers behave. Systematic data collection and analysis are also explored. Both qualitative and quantitative research tools and techniques are examined and applied to different types of data sets available for analysis. Finally, actual cases will be used, to give students experience practising how executives arrive at decisions, what they consider when they make decisions, and the consequences of various executive decisions.

The objectives of this programme are to provide students with a clear understanding of consumer behavior and the tools and techniques they can use to gather data and information about consumers, and to assist students in learning how to make executive-level decisions in the area of marketing management.

The programme consists of four core courses. In order to maximize the learning experience for students in this programme, the core courses are presented in a specific sequence that students registered in this programme should follow.

The core courses are:

Module 1. Consumer Behavior (5 points/7,5 ECTS)

Objectives: The objectives of this course are that the student will develop:

• knowledge in theoretical frameworks for consumer behavior,
• skills in analyzing consumer behavior,
• skills in analyzing and implementing different marketing strategies to reach marketing objectives, and
• an understanding of the role of consumption in society.

Especially important is the relationship between consumer behavior and marketing strategies. In order to be effective, strategic decisions in a company must be based on knowledge of consumer behavior.

Teaching methods: See below 4.
Examination methods: See below 5.

Module 2. Consumer Analysis (5 points/7,5 ECTS)

• training in defining marketing problems,
• knowledge about the need for market information and ways to structure internal and external information in a market information system (MIS),
• the ability to critically evaluate various research methods that can be used to handle marketing problems, and
• knowledge about various statistical techniques for collecting, analyzing, and reporting market information.

To handle the need of market information this course stress on systematic methods for collecting, analyzing, and reporting market information.

The course concentrates on statistical marketing research methods. The entire research process is covered: research design, sampling, data collecting techniques, data analysis, and reporting. Special attention is given to the connection between various marketing problems and the process of designing studies to yield the relevant information.

The course is structured like a research process. The content is delivered through lectures and students must complete a project assignment in which they define a problem, design suitable research, and present their work.

Teaching methods: See below 4.
Examination methods: See below 5.

Module 3. Advanced Market Analysis (5 points/7,5 ECTS)

The objective of this module is to develop a fundamental understanding of the quantitative and qualitative techniques and tools used in examining and analyzing data and information gathered through environmental assessment and consumer studies. Special attention will be paid to analysis of data generated by scanner devices. The outcome of these analyses will be presented in the form of executive briefings, customized reports, or models such as market simulations. The material presented in this course will be in the context of an overall information system used by management to make strategic or operational decisions.

The students registered in this course will have the necessary background to understand how data are collected using quantitative and qualitative methods. The focus of this course is on a fundamental understanding of the techniques and tools of data analysis in the context of information systems and the presentation of the results of such analyses. The course will be typically divided into three parts.

Part One will examine the techniques and tools of analysis and data interpretation leading to information generation and presentation. Various analytical techniques and tools will be examined, such as case analysis, scenario planning, the formulation of basic questions, and the examination of statistically significant differences among data using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques.

Part Two will focus on the development and management of the overall information system within a firm as a basis for corporate marketing strategy and operations. The objective is to formulate the information system that individual decision makers within a firm require in order to make effective and efficient marketing decisions. The typical reports generated for individual decision makers will also be discussed.

Part Three will focus on the gathering, storing, and processing of data generated by scanner systems. The concepts of data storage in silos, warehouses, and boutiques will be investigated, followed by an examination of appropriate computer-based data-mining methods. The role of computer-based simulations in data and information management will also be considered in this part of the course.

Teaching methods: See below 4.
Examination methods: See below 5.

Module 4. Executive Decision Making (5 points/7,5 ECTS)

The objective of this course is to closely examine the representative marketing decision-making process in a contemporary corporate setting. More specifically, it provides marketing decision makers with the appropriate information to make competitive decisions in the market. Attention will be given to generation of information and management reports from corporate information systems utilizing modern data management techniques supported by scanner devices throughout the entire value chain.

Students in this course should acquire the ability to collect and analyze data and information obtained from environmental analysis and consumer research. In addition, the students will be given the necessary skills to provide appropriate information to allow marketing decision makers to formulate competitive marketing decisions. The focus of this course is to examine the decision-making process in the context of some of the more advanced decision-making tools. The course will be divided into two parts.

Part One will focus on management decision-making process and on contemporary approaches such as forecasting, scenario planning, decision modeling, and the simulation of a variety of situations. This part will also include an examination of different types of marketing decision making on both the strategic and operational levels of management.

Part Two will examine marketing management decision making from an applied perspective. Management experiences in decision making will be discussed and evaluated through the use of teaching cases. Sufficient opportunity will be provided for each student to make marketing management decisions relating to a variety of issues based on unique data and information needs. This approach will provide students with the opportunity to examine decision making from a marketing executive perspective.

Teaching methods: See below 4.
Examination methods: See below 5.

Module 5. Electives (10 points/15 ECTS)

Module 6. Master's Thesis / D-Thesis (10 points/15 ECTS)

Module 6:1 Seminars
The aim of this module is to develop the student’s ability to examine investigations and reports from a critical and scientific point of view. This part of the course requires the student a) to perform a major critical analysis of another Master’s thesis, including the conducting of an oral examination of this thesis; and b) to submit written critical analyses, 4 to 5 pages in length, of two other Master’s theses This is an individual assignment. The written critical analyses, in which the student’s critical abilities must be clearly documented, should be numbered consecutively (Number1 - Number2).

Module 6:2 Master's thesis
Thesis work should prove the student’s independent ability to investigate and develop an issue within the field of business administration. The emphasis lies in the critical choice of method, in the creation of a relevant theoretical frame of reference, and in the extensive analysis of the theoretical and empirical material in which the author makes a contribution to the literature in a chosen subject or problem area. The deeper methodology studies must be clearly connected to the problem area and the different parts must be well integrated as a harmonized unity. Thesis work should generally be conducted in groups of two. The lengths of the Master’s theses in this programme typically range from 40 to 60 pages.

Teaching methods
The author’s independence and responsibility is emphasized in the conducting of thesis work. Thus the supervisor’s influence and control is reduced in order to create the necessary conditions for individual autonomy, creativity, and personal responsibility. Nevertheless, students are expected to participate actively in joint discussions and seminars during the thesis period. It is understood that the ongoing Master’s thesis work is presented to the supervisor on at least three occasions during the thesis process.

Examination methods
The writing and defending of an independent work is the primary requirement of this course (Module 6:2). Students will also be evaluated on their ability to perform a major critical analysis of another Master’s thesis and the quality of their written critical analyses of two other Master’s theses (Module 6:1).

In case of complementary work as instructed by the supervisor, this should be completed and delivered to the supervisor within four weeks after the final seminar.

The following grading system will be used: Pass with distinction (Väl godkänd, Vg), Pass (Godkänd, G) and Fail (Underkänd U).

Remainder
Library copies of the thesis must be delivered within four week after the final seminar, in paper version as well as in digital form, to the Student Services Office (Studentexpeditionen).

The students must write their thesis within the field of the Master's Programme the student is following.

3. Prerequisites

A minimum of 40 points/60 ECTS from A- and B-level [Basic and Intermediate] courses in Business Administration (Management, Accounting, Finance, Organization, Investments, Management Accounting, Marketing)

At the advanced level, C-level, in Business Administration a minimum of 20 points/30 ECTS, including a Bachelor’s thesis or equivalent

Statistics or similar (10 points/15 ECTS credits)

Further information about language skills etc.

4. Teaching methods

5. Examination

6. Utilisation et cetera

Course language: English.

Diploma
After completing a full one-year Master’s programme, students can apply for Ekonomie magisterexamen i företagsekonomi med inriktning mot Marketing 160 poäng/240 ECTS-credits (translated as Degree of Master of Science in Business Administration and Economics with specialization in Marketing) if they meet the degree requirements.

Alternatively, after completing a full-year Master's programme, students can apply for Filosofie magisterexamen i företagsekonomi med inriktning mot Marketing 160 poäng/240 ECTS-credits (translated as Degree of Master of Science in Marketing) if they meet the degree requirements.

Further information about degree requirements : in Swedish or in English

Diploma supplement
Every student who graduates from one of the Master's programmes will receive, in addition to the diploma, a Diploma Supplement that describes the content and main goal of that specific programme.

Other Regulations
Acknowledgment/Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is not acceptable and may result in the imposition of severe penalties. The University provides clear guidelines on its attitude towards plagiarism and how to avoid unintentional plagiarism. Students are advised to read these carefully. If any doubts remain as to what constitutes plagiarism, students should discuss the matter with the lecturer(s).

Study Time:
Students are expected to prepare a significant amount of material outside of the classroom in order to fulfil course requirements. Previous indications suggest that students should treat this subject as full time work and invest a minimum of forty hours in preparation and attendance.

7. Readings and other Materials

Module 1. Consumer Behavior (5 points/7,5 ECTS)

Umeå School of Business, Articles. Studentexpeditionen.

Reference readings
Kotler, P., Keller ,K., Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall, latest edition

Module 2. Consumer Analysis (5 points/7,5 ECTS)

Umeå School of Business, Articles and Cases.

Module 3. Advanced Market Analysis (5 points/7,5 ECTS)

Larréché, Jean-Claude, Gatignon, Hubert, Triolet, Rémi. Markstrat Online Student Handbook. StratX International (available from Umeå School of Business, Student Office)

Laudon, Kenneth C., Laudon, Jane P. Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, 9th Ed. Prentice Hall 2006

Umeå School of Business, Articles and Cases.

Module 4. Executive Decision Making (5 points/7,5 ECTS)

March, James G., A Primer on Decision Making: How Decisions Happen (Free Press, 1994).

Umeå School of Business, Articles and Cases.

Reference readings
Max H Bazerman., Judgement in Managerial Decision Making 5th ed. Wiley International Edition, 2003

Module 5. Electives (10 points/15 ECTS)

Module 6. Master’s Thesis / D-Thesis (10 points/15 ECTS)

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