Prof. Luise Eisfeld tells us more about her youth, studies, interests and current research in the interview below.

Where did you grow up?
In a medium-sized city called Siegen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany – a good hour north of Frankfurt, and one hour east of Cologne. It is not extremely well-known, but has a lot of forests and hills that are great for a range of activities such as mountain biking, hiking, trail running, etc.

Where did you go to University?
I did my Bachelor in Economics at the University of Mannheim in Germany. The program set excellent foundations for my Masters as well as my PhD in Economics. I still cherish great memories of living in Mannheim – it is perhaps not exactly the prettiest city you will find in Germany, but very vibrant and multicultural. I also spent half a year as an exchange student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, which was a wonderful experience.

Where did you do your PhD? 
I completed my Masters as well as my PhD in Economics at the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) in France. The academic as well as social environment at TSE has deeply impacted who I am as a researcher today. I also was fortunate enough to spend half a year at Boston University, upon invitation by Professor Tim Simcoe.

Who were your PhD Advisors?
Professor Daniel Ershov (an Industrial Organization empiricist), as well as Professors Alexandre de Cornière and Bruno Jullien (two Industrial Organization theorists). Daniel Ershov gave me the impetus to work on challenging topics related to the digital economy, to use cutting-edge methods, and to dig into new data sources. Further, it is probably thanks to Alexandre de Cornière and Bruno Jullien that I obtain a lot of inspiration for new research ideas from theoretical work, despite being an empiricist myself. Finally, while not an official advisor, Professor Uli Hege became an important mentor to me, helping me build bridges from IO to Finance during the final years of my PhD.

Any anecdote or memory from your time as PhD?
I have fantastic memories of the academic environment, and the multitude of seminars, workshops, and reading groups at TSE, which exposed me to many new ideas, especially in the realm of Industrial Organization and the Economics of Digitization. On the leisure side, I have fond memories of international potluck dinners with fellow PhD students, as well as weekend hikes in the nearby Pyrénées mountains.

What is your main research focus?
Very broadly, my goal is to understand how digitization and new technologies shape markets and competition between firms. One branch of my research studies the link between M&As and entrepreneurship in software markets, and assesses the impact of the dominance of a few big players in those markets. The other branch focuses on digital platforms: by setting the rules that govern how market participants interact with each other, those online intermediaries oftentimes re-define the way competition plays out in a given market.

What research are you working on right now that you are really excited about and why?
Going forward, I am really excited about continuing to bridge currently relatively separate streams of research – Industrial Organization and Finance. Definitely a challenging endeavor, but possibly very fruitful!

What attracted you to Switzerland, UNIL and SFI?
To Switzerland: the reliability and functionality of the public administration and infrastructure (French and German railway infrastructure has a lot to catch up on), and the mountains. To UNIL: a supportive and collegial Department of Finance, with colleagues who study exciting and important questions and from whom I hope to learn a lot; as well as the extremely well-functioning surroundings and the support for conducting research and teaching, enabling me to push my research agenda. To the SFI: a stellar network of researchers in Finance, with seemingly endless opportunities to collaborate and to benefit from each others’ insights.

What languages do you speak?
German, English, and French. My native language is German, but since I’ve been living abroad since age 22, my German feels very rusty each time I use it in professional contexts. Explaining my research to someone in German gives me major headaches. I also learned a little bit of Mandarin, but my level is very basic.

Tell us something exciting that happened to you in the last five to ten years?
I’ve become the proud aunt of six nieces and nephews.

What do you do in your spare time?
I try to spend my free time doing outdoor activities – mostly hiking, but also cycling or skiing. To me, this is the perfect balance to the very long hours we all spend sitting in the office and using our brains. Perhaps needless to say, the opportunities in Switzerland couldn’t be better for this type of leisure activity.

What is your favourite holiday destination?
I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint a particular destination. The amount of variety in cultures, languages, and landscapes which you can find within Europe – often times just train rides away from each other - will never cease to amaze me.