Eric Eisenstein

Dr. Eisenstein’s research primarily explores how people make decisions that materially affect their lives. These decisions may be financial, such as the purchase of an expensive durable good, or policy oriented, such as interpreting statistical evidence, choosing between alternative proposals, or combating identity theft.

Prior to becoming an academic, Dr. Eisenstein worked at Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman) where he focused on management of technology and consumer research in the financial services and telecommunications industries. He is active in the community, having founded or led several organizations, and he serves on the board of the Visiting Nurses Association of Philadelphia.

Dr. Eisenstein earned his Ph.D. in Applied Economics and an M.A. in Statistics at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He also completed his undergraduate education at Penn in the Management and Technology program, wherein he concurrently earned B.S. degrees from Wharton and the School of Engineering.

Research Areas

• Managerial and consumer decision-making in high-motivation environments.
• Decision-support systems, decision aids, and debiasing methods.
• Learning and the development of expertise in managerial and consumer environments.

Education

• Ph.D. Managerial Science and Applied Economics (Marketing), The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• M.A. Statistics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• B.S. Economics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• B.S. Engineering, Computer Systems, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania

Experience

• 2008 – Present Fox School of Business, Temple University, departments of Statistical Science and Marketing
• 2002 – 2008 Assistant Professor, Johnson School of Management, Cornell University

Sample Publications

Wilcox, Kieth, Lauren Block and Eric M. Eisenstein (2011)“Leave Home Without It? The Effects of Credit Card Debt and Available Credit on Spending”, Journal of Marketing Research, 48, pp. 60-78.

Hutchinson, J. Wesley, Joseph W. Alba, and Eric M. Eisenstein (2010) “Managerial Inferences: The Effects of Graphical Formats on Data-Based Decision Making,” Journal of Marketing Research, 47, 4, pp. 627-642.

Eisenstein, Eric M. (2010) “Consumer Expertise,” Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, West Sussex, England, ISBN 978-1-405-16178-7.

Eisenstein, Eric M. and J. Wesley Hutchinson (2006) “Action Based Learning: Goals and Attention in the Acquisition of Market Knowledge,” Journal of Marketing Research, 43, 2, pp. 244-258.

Hutchinson, J. Wesley and Eric M. Eisenstein (2008) “Consumer Learning and Expertise,” in The Handbook of Consumer Psychology, Haugtvedt, Herr, and Kardes, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.