His research focus is on economics, economics and business strategy, durable good markets, and market research. His teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include economics and marketing strategy.
He has moved between the business world and academic world during his career. He was an entrepreneur early in his career, earning membership of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame, and later returned to graduate school. He has been on the faculty of the University of Texas, Dallas; the University at Buffalo (SUNY); and most recently Northwestern University.
Sattler has B.Sc. in ECE from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, and a Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University.