PhD Position in Strategy and Economics of Digitization

Introduction

The University of Lausanne (Unil) is a leading academic institution composed of seven schools/faculties, which educates approximately 14,300 students, and employs 3,900 among professors, other researchers, and collaborators.  Situated along the idyllic Lake of Geneva, near Lausanne's city center, the university brings together students and faculty from over 120 nationalities. HEC Lausanne, Unil’s Business School, is renowned for its research and teaching excellence, consistently ranking among the top institutions in Europe by scientific publications, as well as the quality of its academic programs.

The Department of Strategy, Globalization and Society of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne provides a stimulating, interdisciplinary research environment. We value the diversity of the expertise of the members of the department as well as the diversity of the departments at the Faculty of Business and Economics. HEC Lausanne offers a competitive set of PhD programs. Members of the Department have published in leading international outlets such as Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Annals, and Information Systems Research.

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The Research Team

Christian Peukert is an Associate Professor for Digitization, Innovation and Intellectual Property at the University of Lausanne, Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC Lausanne), Switzerland. He studies how digital technologies and their regulation affect firms, consumers, and markets, with a focus on the economics of data and artificial intelligence, and intellectual property. His work has been published in Management Science, Marketing Science, Information Systems Research, Strategic Management Journal, Research Policy, and other journals.

The successful candidate will join the Digital Markets Lab and work in an international research environment. The SNSF-funded project is carried out in close collaboration with a team at the University of Warsaw and focuses on how digitization has changed the consumption of media and cultural goods using large-scale individual-level data.

Job information

Expected start date: August 1, 2026, or by agreement
Contract length: 1 year, renewable 2x 2 years, up to a maximum of 5 years of funding in total
Activity rate: Full-time, or part-time by agreement
Workplace: Lausanne-Dorigny
Supervisor: Prof. Christian Peukert
Salary: According to the UNIL salary scale for "SNSF Doctoral Student /Assistant doctorant FNS " 

Your responsibilities

• As a SNSF Doctoral Student you will be engaged in the completion of your thesis at a minimum of 80% of your workload. This part will be dedicated to the contribution to an SNSF-funded project on how digitization has changed the consumption of media and cultural goods. You will work with very large individual-level consumption datasets in music, video games, books, and related media and cultural industries, and collaborate closely with a research team at the University of Warsaw.

• You will also have a complementary activity in supporting teaching, research, or services for the University of Lausanne (UNIL), representing an average monthly workload of up to 20%.

Your qualifications

We are looking for one candidate with the following qualifications:

• Master's degree in Economics, Marketing, Information Systems, Management, Computer Science, Business Analytics, or a related field


• Strong interest in media markets such as music, video games, movies, books, comics, and related cultural industries


• Strong background in statistics, econometrics, machine learning, or related quantitative methods


• A quantitative marketing background is particularly welcome


• Strong interest in digitization, platforms, consumer behavior, and the economics of media and cultural goods


• Very good skills in English


• The candidate must be serious, precise, independent, and diligent


• Strong ambition to pursue a career in academia

What the position offers you

You will work on exciting and rewarding research projects on how digitization has reshaped the consumption of media and cultural goods. The position is financed by an SNSF project and carried out in close collaboration with a team at the University of Warsaw. You will join the Digital Markets Lab, work with very large individual-level datasets in music, video games, books, and related sectors, and be part of a stimulating, multicultural, and international academic environment with strong opportunities for research training and professional development.

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Your application

Please submit your application through the UNIL applications platform by July 24th, 2026. It should include:

• Motivation letter


• Curriculum vitae


• Proposal of a potential thesis topic (guidelines)


• All grade reports of BA and MA studies


• A PDF copy of the MA thesis or another research-oriented output (for example a BA thesis or seminar paper). This document should be single-authored.


• At least one academic reference letter

Contact for further information

• Questions about the position can be directed to [email protected] 


• For any administrative information related to your application, please contact Mrs Pavla Le Moing:  [email protected]

Additional information

• Information about the Faculty of Business and Economics is available here: https://www.unil.ch/hec/en/home.html


• Information on the Department of Strategy, Globalisation and Society (SGS) is available here: https://www.unil.ch/sgs/en/home.html


• Information on the doctoral program in Economics is available here: PhD in Economics - HEC Unil 


• Information on the doctoral program in Management is available here: PhD in Management - HEC Unil 

 Seeking to promote an equitable representation of men and women among its staff, the University encourages applications from women.

UNIL is committed to:
•    equality, diversity and inclusion within its community;
•    ensuring an open and respectful environment that is conducive to personal development;
•    offering working conditions that facilitate work-life balance;
•    supporting early career researchers.

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