The PhD position is supported by the interdisciplinary project “How individual-level choices drive collective consumer behavior in social networks”, recently approved by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
The PhD position is supported by the interdisciplinary project “How individual-level choices drive collective consumer behavior in social networks”, recently approved by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
How do influencers’ choices affect their long-term success on a digital platform? How to detect and target prospect early adopters of new products? How should a firm leverage customers’ behavioral traits and social network structure to promote the diffusion of a new product throughout a social network? These and related research questions will be the focus of the SNSF project that supports the position. The candidate will use quantitative methods (e.g., large-scale empirical data, experiments, and numeric simulations) to address them. The overall goal of the project is to understand the link between individual-level choices with the success of new products and their creators in social systems. The candidate’s research will not only advance theoretical understanding but also derive its implications for influencer marketing policies adopted by firms.
Your responsibilities
As a PhD student, you will develop and implement research ideas within the interdisciplinary SNSF project described below, contribute to publications in leading scientific journals, participate in international conferences and summer schools, and assist in teaching and supervising theses at the Bachelor or Master level. You will apply and successfully complete your PhD in Business Administration (Marketing Track) at the Graduate School of Business (GSB).
Your profile
- MSc in Business Administration (with a focus on Data Science and related skills) or MSc in Computer Science, Statistics, Physics, and related quantitative disciplines.
- Strong interest in developing research of high relevance for firms and policymakers.
- Passion for sharing knowledge and teaching.
- Strong programming skills.
- Strong scientific writing skills or willingness to develop them.
- Very good expressiveness in English.
What we offer
A fully-funded PhD position for three years. You will work at the URPP Social Networks, one of the University of Zurich’s current excellent research priority programs, in a group of interdisciplinary, skilled, ambitious and passionate young scholars. You will be connected with researchers in other chairs of the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich through the Marketing Group Zurich, the PhD program of the Graduate School of Business, and regular seminars and events in Zurich. You will have the opportunity to develop research in collaboration with companies. The rich academic and industry environment make Zurich the ideal place where to study data-driven marketing problems.
Place of work
University of Zurich, Andreasstrasse 15, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland
Start of employment
The employment starts by agreement. Evaluations will continue until the position is filled.
The application should be addressed to Dr. Manuel S. Mariani and Prof. Dr. René Algesheimer, and enclose the following documents in one single PDF file: (1) Motivation letter. (2) Current CV (Name and contact details of one referee, but no reference letters). (3) University diploma and grade transcripts. (4) Statement of research interests, related to the project described above (max. 1 page).