Scott Sonenshein

Scott Sonenshein is the Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Management at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University where he teaches courses in organizational behavior, change and leadership. Dr. Sonenshein’s research employs field methodologies (primarily involving qualitative data) to explain the resourceful actions of employees in the context of organizational and social/ethical change. Dr. Sonenshein’s work usually follows an inductive approach, posing broad research questions grounded in the literature that enable the development and elaboration of theory—often in unexpected directions. This has led to contributions to a variety of theoretical perspectives including sensemaking, narratives, social influence, creativity, social issues and organizational change. He has made these contributions by locating generative field settings ranging from fashion to food trucks, banks to booksellers, and entrepreneurs to environmentalists. While his studies often contain an “inductive surprise,” his work coalesces around illuminating the skill, agency, and motivation of individuals to contribute to change (in the workplace or for the social good) as well as the corresponding organizational practices that foster these outcomes. He currently serves as an Associate Editor at the Academy of Management Journal and serves on the editorial boards of Academy of Management Review and Organization Science.

He is the author of the book, “STRETCH: Unlock the Power of Less -- and Achieve More than You Ever Imagined”. HarperCollins (2/7/2017). Learn more about STRETCH.

For additional publications, please visit Scott’s research page.

Teaching Interests: 

-Organizational behavior
-Change
-Leadership

Research Interests: 

-Sensemaking
-Narratives
-Social Influence
-Creativity
-Organizational change
-Social issues