Seminar: Selected Topics in Industrial Organization and Competition Economics (2026/27)

Application deadline	Sep. 30, 2026
Application via HISinOne	Apply via course page (starting Sep. 01, 2026)
Participants	max. 12
Target group	M.Sc. VWL; M.Sc. Economics
ETCS	6
Language	English

Requirements: Very good working knowledge of theoretical microeconomics. This seminar is recommended to students who have followed the courses Advanced Microeconomics I & II, Digital and Network Economics, and Industrial Organization

Qualification target: During the seminar, a specific topic in industrial organization and competition economics will be covered in depth, such that students gain a thorough understanding of this topic. They will learn how to approach a specialized field of study and how to write and present a seminar paper. These skills are particularly helpful for writing a Master thesis.

Examination type: Each student will be working on a specific article. Seminar participants have to write a seminar paper (circa 4,500 words plus equations), do a presentation (30 min), and write a short retail industry analysis (circa 900 words).

In their seminar papers, participants should provide a critical discussion of the paper, notably in light of the existing literature, as well as an extension of the results.

Students’ workload and supervision: Students will (i) participate in block sessions, (ii) participate in bilateral meetings in order to benefit from personalized supervision, on both the economic aspects of the paper and on their retail industry analysis, and (iii) work on their seminar paper and presentation individually.

Important dates

September 30, 2026	Deadline for application. Please be aware that all seminar applications are now handled via HISinOne
early October, 2026	Acceptance decision.
October 29, 2025, 8:00 – 12:00am	Introductory meeting, allocation of articles and retail industries (mandatory). Room 02 012 (Rempartstr. 16)
November 22, 2026	Submission of the retail industry analysis.
November 27, 2026	Individual meetings to discuss the seminar paper and individual discussion of the industry analysis (mandatory).
December 18, 2026	Individual meetings to discuss the seminar paper.
January 17, 2027	Submission of the final seminar paper.
February 02, 2027, 8:00am – 2:00pm	Block seminar presentations and discussions (mandatory). Room 02 012 (Rempartstr. 16)

List of specific articles

• Article 1: De Roos, N., & McKenzie, J. (2014): „Cheap Tuesdays and the demand for cinema“ International Journal of Industrial Organization.
• Article 2: Clerides, S., and Courty, P. (2017): „Sales, quantity surcharge, and consumer inattention“ Review of Economics and Statistics.
• Article 3: Diehl, K., Van Herpen, E., and Lamberton, C. (2015): „Organizing products with complements versus substitutes: effects on store preferences as a function of effort and assortment perceptions“ Journal of Retailing.
• Article 4: Fisher, M. L., Gallino, S., and Xu, J. J. (2019): „The value of rapid delivery in omnichannel retailing“ Journal of Marketing Research.
• Article 5: Nishida, M., and Yang, N. (2020): „Threat of entry and organizational-form choice: The case of franchising in retailing“ Journal of Marketing Research.
• Article 6: Lee, D., Gopal, A., & Park, S. H. (2020): „Different but equal? A field experiment on the impact of recommendation systems on mobile and personal computer channels in retail“ Information Systems Research.
• Article 7: Argentesi, E., Buccirossi, P., Cervone, R., Duso, T., and Marrazzo, A. (2021): „The effect of mergers on variety in grocery retailing“ International Journal of Industrial Organization.
• Article 8: Cosguner, K., Chan, T. Y., & Seetharaman, P. B. (2017): „Behavioral price discrimination in the presence of switching costs“ Marketing Science.
• Article 9: Byrne, D. P., Martin, L. A., and Nah, J. S. (2022): „Price discrimination by negotiation: A field experiment in retail electricity“ The Quarterly Journal of Economics.
• Article 10: Zhu, K., Shi, Q., & Banerjee, S. (2026): „Monetizing platforms: An empirical analysis of supply and demand responses to entry costs in two-sided markets“ Management Science.
• Article 11: Bell, D. R., Gallino, S., & Moreno, A. (2018): „Offline showrooms in omnichannel retail: Demand and operational benefits“ Management Science.
• Article 12: Argyle, B., Nadauld, T., Palmer, C., & Pratt, R. (2021): „The capitalization of consumer financing into durable goods prices“ The Journal of Finance.

Background Reading

• Motta, Massimo (2004): Competition Policy – Theory and Practice, CUP (Chapter 7)
• Belleflamme, Paul and Martin Peitz (2015): Industrial Organization – Markets and Strategies, 2^nd edition, CUP (Chapter 11)