A lecture held Friday will aim to give students a better idea of consumer behavior when purchasing products and services.

The College of Business will host a marketing lecture at 1 p.m. Friday in 2117 Gerdin as part of Iowa State’s annual F. Wendell Miller lecture series.

The keynote speaker for the lecture will be David Stewart, professor of marketing at the University of Southern California. Stewart is also the chairman of marketing with USC’s Marshall School of Business.

“We’re pretty excited about it, and we’re excited to bring him here,” Russ Laczniak, professor in marketing, said of Stewart.

Stewart’s lecture, “Threats to Hope and the Motivated Reasoning of Product Information,” will focus on explaining what motivates consumer purchasing decisions. Laczniak called Stewart’s research cutting edge because it looks at what leads to motivation, rather than what happens after a purchase.

“Consumers have expectations for the products they buy,” said Daniel Ryan, director of marketing and alumni relations for the College of Business. “The lecture will look at what drives these expectations, where they come from, and what kind of hopes consumers place in the products.”

Stephen Kim, associate professor of marketing and the lecture organizer, said the topic of consumer motivation has significance far beyond the field of marketing.

“This has implications for people in psychology, journalism and public policy,” Kim said.

Kim also said the lecture will be of interest to students, professors and researchers.

Laczniak said he hopes the lecture will also attract graduate students, as well as professionals from the surrounding area.

“The lecture may appeal to those in the business community in the area who might be interested in learning a little bit about how consumers behave,” he said.

The lecture, presented by the College of Business, is the 11th annual lecture in the F. Wendell Miller series. It brings esteemed professors and researchers from around the country to Iowa State to speak on university-wide topics.

It is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Stephen Kim at 294-9409 or visit www.bus.iastate.edu/outreach/miller_lecture.asp.