MRKT 640
Research Project: Outline Assignment Grading Rubric
Criteria
Levels of Achievement
Content 70%
Advanced
Proficient
Developing
Not present
Points
Earned
Thesis Statement
14 to 15 points
Thesis statement is clear, logical, and sets up the focus of the
paper.
13 to 13 points
Thesis statement is clear and logical but purpose is unclear.
1 to 12 points
Thesis statement is present but lacks clarity, logic, or purpose.
0 to 0 points
Thesis statement is unclear or not present in outline.
Research Question(s)/Issues Being Addressed
18 to 20 points
Research topic(s) clearly stated. Captures full scope of the
approach of research effort.
17 to 17 points
Research topic(s) clearly stated.
1 to 16 points
Research topic(s) stated, but needs more depth to improve
clarity.
0 to 0 points
Research topic(s) not stated clearly. Scope of research is not
identified.

Outline
64 to 70 points
Sections of the paper are determined with estimated space for
each section. Sections clearly build on focus from thesis
statement. Full sentences are used for each level of the outline.
59 to 63 points
Sections are determined with estimated space for each section.
Sections appear to build on focus stated in thesis statement.
Outline uses mostly full sentences but contains 1–3 fragments
or bullet points.
1 to 58 points
Sections are determined with estimated space for each section.
Sections mostly build on focus stated in thesis statement.
Outline uses some full sentences but contains 4–5 fragments or
bullet points.
0 to 0 points
Sections of the paper are not clearly determined. Sections do
not appear to build on focus stated in thesis statement Outline
uses mostly fragments or bullet points, no full sentences are
provided.
Structure 30%
(45 points)
Advanced
Proficient
Developing
Not present
Bibliography and Formatting
23 to 25 points
Preliminary bibliography of at least 10 scholarly/peer -reviewed
sources listed in current APA format; sources are fewer than 10
years old.
21 to 22 points
Preliminary bibliography contains only 7–9 scholarly/peer-

reviewed sources listed in current APA format; sources are
more than 10 years old.
1 to 20 points
Preliminary bibliography contains only 3–6 scholarly/peer-
reviewed sources. APA formatting contains errors. Sources are
more than 10 years old.
0 to 0 points
Contains 1–2 sources. Current APA format missing. Some
sources more than 10 years old.
Spelling/Grammar/Mechanics
18 to 20 points
Spelling and grammar are correct. No errors.
17 to 17 points
Spelling and grammar are correct. 1-2 errors.
1 to 16 points
Spelling and grammar require further review. 3-6 errors.
0 to 0 points
Spelling and grammar review is not evident or incomplete. 7 or
more errors.
Total Points
/150
Instructor’s Comments:
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 9
Annotated Bibliography
Forces Influencing Consumer Behavior
Statement of Topic
Peighambari et al. (2016) suggest that consumer behavior is an
extensive and diverse area influenced by society, technology,
and economic changes. Consumer behavior studies help identify
and define major trends in consumer behavior to help develop

better marketing efforts. Understanding consumer behavior's
psychology is the most crucial aspect to survive and grow in the
current competitive and highly globalized markets. Customer
reactions previously depended on mainly on physical
environment but new factors evolve while the world continues
to change. This paper seeks to provide a perspective of key
factors influencing consumer behavior, the decision-making
process, key trends in consumer behavior, their implications on
organizations, and how marketers can adapt and use the forces
to their advantage.
Furaiji, F., Łatuszyńska, M., & Wawrzyniak, A. (2012). An
empirical study of the factors influencing consumer behavior in
the electric appliances market. Contemporary Economics, 6(3),
76-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.5709/ce.1897-9254.52
Furaiji et al. (2012) contribute to a deeper understanding of the
decision-making process and the impacts of various factors on
consumer buying behavior. It gives a detailed description of the
main stages of the consumer purchasing process. Consumers
pass through need five stages, including problem recognition,
search of information, assessment of alternatives, actual
purchase and post-purchase evaluation. However, consumers
may reverse or omit some of the stages in more routine
purchases. The authors suggest that a consumer purchases a
product or service immediately if he/she has a strong
need/problem and there are available products that meet the
need. The article also provides major findings that indicate the
relationship between various factors, including marketing mix,
psychological, personal, social, and cultural factors the
purchase decision processes.
Mohammadi, A. M., & Mohamed, B. (2011). Applying
consumer behaviour theory and grand models to attendees'
behaviour in coference industry. Tourism & Management
Studies, 151-159.
The article provides significant and relevant facts supporting
the complexity and diversity of consumer buying and decision-
making processes. Developing a better understanding of

consumer decision-making is of great importance to marketers
because it helps them identify how to best position a product to
encourage consumers to buy the product. Mohammadi and
Mohamed propose grand models of consumer behavior, which
illustrate five main stages of the consumer decision-making
process to understand how consumers make purchasing
decisions. The authors also discuss the critics against grand
models and challenges associated with effectively adapting the
model to various business strategies.
Echezuria, A. R. (2012). Brand Engagement: An Analysis on
Motivation. Proceeding of Association of Marketing Theory and
Practice. Florida: Creative Commons License Agreement.
https://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/files/2012/02/Reyes-Brand-
Engagement.pdf
Echezuria (2012) offers a comprehensive description of
motivation theories and how they help understand the motives,
attitudes, and beliefs that drive consumer buying decisions.
Using motivation needs theory, Echezuria provides various
needs that motivate consumers to engage in specific brands to
fulfill such needs. He suggests that Maslow's Hierarchy of
needs “serves as an important tool to understand purchasing
decisions” He also explores other basic factors, including
learning and cognition, that influence consumer behaviors. The
article provides insights that contribute to developing
communication strategies, new products, market segments, and
overall promotional strategies.
Kani, J. (2015). Factors That Influence Consumers’ Buying
Behavior. The Marketing OER ToolKit.
https://open.lib.umn.edu/principlesmarketing/chapter/3-1-
factors-that-influence-consumers-buying-behavior/
Kani (2015) provides a detailed description of how various
factors affect consumer buying behavior. He posits the
consumers make different purchasing choices no matter how
similar they are. He demonstrates how situational factors,
including store layout and design, location, arrangements of
products, and other physical factors, influence consumer

behavior. The author critically analyzed various personal
factors, including lifestyle, age, gender, stage of life, and cited
various examples to illustrate how they affect consumer
behavior. He also mentions psychological factors such as
motivation, perception, learning, attitude, and social forces,
including culture, social class, reference groups, and family, as
the vital forces impacting consumer behavior.
Vainikka, B. (2015). Psychological factors influencing
consumer behaviour.
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/38126112.pdf
Vainikka provides an in-depth analysis of the many aspects
affecting consumer behavior. He answers the questions as to
why and how consumers participate in the decision-making and
buying process. For instance, he provides a comprehensive
outlook of different personalities, emotions, internal influences,
and motivations influencing consumers’ attitudes and behavior.
He employed Affective Cognitive and Behavior (ABC) model to
provide insights into personality, emotions, and motivation
leads to different attitudes. The article also presents various
challenges that marketers encounter while trying to discover
target consumers as they differ significantly while
recommending ways to better understand consumer behavior.
Chovanová, H. H., Korshunov, A. I., & Babčanová, D. (2015).
Impact of brand on consumer behavior. Procedia Economics and
Finance, 34, 615-621. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-
5671(15)01676-7
The article establishes evidence on the impacts of a brand on
consumer decision-making brand. The results of this study
confirm that brand has a strong impact on consumers’
perceptions. Branding increases brand awareness and
recognition, thus creating a connection between consumers and
organizations. Chovanova et al. (2015) maintain that branding is
crucial to enhance consumers’ perceived value of the brand
through strong awareness, positive images, and associations.
Consequently, brand awareness increases consumers' general
feelings and perceptions about the brand, thus enhancing

confidence in the consumers buying process. However, the
impact varies depending on consumers’ age. The brand image
easily influences young people in contrast due to less
purchasing experience hence relying more on brand and price.
In contrast, older people have more purchasing experience,
making them rely less on brand and price.
Chakraborty, P., & Suresh, A. S. A Study of Factors of
Consumer Buying Behavior and its Influence on Consumer
Perception: Evidence from Value Fashion Retail in The City of
Bengaluru. DOI : 10.18843/ijms/v5i3(6)/04
The article gives statistical data and factual evidence that
supports the technological and product-specific factors
influencing consumer purchasing behavior. It suggests that the
current generation has high spending power, which constitutes
20% of the U.S and half of the UK population in 2020. The
article also describes consumers' rational action alongside
impulse buying as driven largely by external stimuli such as
images, color, design, and other visually appealing tools. As
such, companies can employ various visual themes and styles
when presenting their goods, especially clothes footwear, to
enhance positive impacts on impulse buying for consumers.
They also give insights into how prices and age influence
consumers buying behavior.
Martinez-Ruiz, M. P., & Moser, K. S. (2019). Studying
consumer behavior in an online context: The impact of the
evolution of the World Wide Web for new avenues in research.
Frontiers in psychology, 10, 2731. |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02731
The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the current
behavioral shift and current phenomena amongst consumers.
Additional factors such as the emergence of new technologies
and increased penetration of the internet have influenced
consumer behavior through sharing informatio n. Martinez-Ruiz
& Moser (2019) mention that communication channels have
completely changed the way consumers obtain and compare
information and knowledge about brands, generating behaviors

that hadn’t existed in traditional consumer behavior. The
authors also predict future changes in technology that might
further influence consumer behavior. They also provide
recommendations that are applicable and appropriate to many
organizations on how to adapt and respond to changing
consumer behavior.
Arenas-Gaitán, J., Sanz-Altamira, B., & Ramírez-Correa, P. E.
(2019). Complexity of understanding consumer behavior from
the marketing perspective.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2837938
The article provides significant and relevant facts on new trends
in consumer behaviors which could help companies make better
decisions and adapt appropriately. Its focus on opportunities
and challenges that the rapid evolution of technologies has
presented to business organizations. Arenas-Gaitán et al. (2019)
argue that the changing consumer demands and increasing
product variety are the primary factors that increase market
complexity. While technology has heightened the complexity of
business environments, it has also improved access to
information on consumer buying patterns. He recomme nds using
new technologies and information sources to identify emerging
consumer behaviors to customize marketing strategies to meet
the needs. The article also analyzes the key elements that
contribute to customer satisfaction.
Xhema, J. (2019). Effect of Social Networks on Consumer
Behaviour: Complex Buying. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 52(25), 504-
508.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2019.12.594
Xhema (2019) examines how social networks have offered
opportunities for reducing the complexity of consumer behavior.
Social networks, such as blogs, company websites, chat rooms,
and discussions, allow consumers and firms to constantly share
their opinions, ideas, and reviews, enabling companies to
influence target markets' purchasing decisions. Xhema suggests
that today’s online systems can change consumers’ behavior in
positive ways. Unlike past decades when consumers based
decisions on advertisement or advice from professions, today,

they currently rely on reviews and opinions on online platforms.
Companies can utilize these networks to create brand awareness
and positive reviews and make status updates and
recommendations to increase consumer involvement and
purchase intentions. Xhema recommends companies focus on
online presence and consumer engagement to serve and satisfy
customer needs.
References
Arenas-Gaitán, J., Sanz-Altamira, B., & Ramírez-Correa, P. E.
(2019). Complexity of understanding consumer behavior from
the marketing perspective.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2837938
Chakraborty, P., & Suresh, A. S. A Study of Factors of
Consumer Buying Behavior and its Influence on Consumer
Perception: Evidence from Value Fashion Retail in The City of
Bengaluru. DOI : 10.18843/ijms/v5i3(6)/04
Chovanová, H. H., Korshunov, A. I., & Babčanová, D. (2015).
Impact of brand on consumer behavior. Procedia Economics and
Finance, 34, 615-621. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-
5671(15)01676-7
Echezuria, A. R. (2012). Brand Engagement: An Analysis on
Motivation. Proceeding of Association of Marketing Theory and
Practice. Florida: Creative Commons License Agreement.
https://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/files/2012/02/Reyes-Brand-
Engagement.pdf
Furaiji, F., Łatuszyńska, M., & Wawrzyniak, A. (2012). An
empirical study of the factors influencing consumer behaviour
in the electric appliances market. Contemporary Economics,
6(3), 76-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.5709/ce.1897-9254.52
Kani, J. (2015). Factors That Influence Consumers’ Buying
Behavior. The Marketing OER ToolKit.
https://open.lib.umn.edu/principlesmarketing/chapter/3-1-
factors-that-influence-consumers-buying-behavior/

Martinez-Ruiz, M. P., & Moser, K. S. (2019). Studying
consumer behavior in an online context: The impact of the
evolution of the World Wide Web for new avenues in research.
Frontiers in psychology, 10, 2731. |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02731
Martinez-Ruiz, M. P., & Moser, K. S. (2019). Studying
consumer behavior in an online context: The impact of the
evolution of the World Wide Web for new avenues in research.
Frontiers in psychology, 10, 2731. |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02731
Mohammadi, A. M., & Mohamed, B. (2011). Applying
consumer behaviour theory and grand models to attendees
behaviour in coference industry. Tourism & Management
Studies, 151-159.
Peighambari, K., Sattari, S., Kordestani, A., & Oghazi, P.
(2016). Consumer behavior research: A synthesis of the recent
literature. Sage Open, 6(2), 2158244016645638. DOI:
10.1177/2158244016645638
Vainikka, B. (2015). Psychological factors influencing
consumer behaviour.
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/38126112.pdf
Xhema, J. (2019). Effect of Social Networks on Consumer
Behaviour: Complex Buying. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 52(25), 504-
508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2019.12.594