Skip to main content
  • Rice Business Wisdom
  • Alumni
  • Companies
  • Events
  • Hire Our Students
  • Give
  • Apply
  • The Rice MBA
    • Find Your MBA
      • Full-Time MBA
      • Professional MBA
      • Hybrid MBA
      • Executive MBA
      • Online MBA
      • Coordinated and Dual Degrees
      • Deferred Enrollment
    • Come Meet Us
      • MBA Admissions Events
    • MBA Admissions
      • MBA Admissions Guide
      • Class Profiles
      • Finance Your Degree
      • Women at Rice
      • Military at Rice
      • MBA Student Ambassadors
      • MBA Admission Events
      • Blog
      • Meet the Team
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Why Rice
      • Tight-Knit Culture
      • Entrepreneurial Mindset
      • The Houston Advantage
    • The Rice MBA Curriculum
      • Global Programs
      • Domestic Experiential Programs
      • Leadership Development
      • Our Electives
    • Beyond the Classroom
      • Global Programs
      • Domestic Experiential Programs
      • Conferences & Case Competitions
      • Student Clubs and Organizations
    • Life at Rice
      • Student Life
      • The Rice Campus
      • At Home in Houston
      • Where To Live
      • After Rice
      • Our Podcast
      • Our Stories
    • Belonging and Engagement
      • You Belong Here: The Report on Culture and Community at Rice Business
      • Strategic Partnerships
      • Alumni Spotlight
      • Report Bias
  • Graduate Programs
    • MBA Programs
      • Full-Time MBA
      • Professional MBA
      • Hybrid MBA
      • Executive MBA
      • Online MBA
      • Coordinated and Dual Degrees
      • Deferred Enrollment
    • Master of Accounting
      • MAcc Admissions Guide
      • Program Prerequisites
      • Class Profile
      • Curriculum
      • Tuition and Funding
      • MAcc Student Experience
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Blog
    • Ph.D. in Business
      • Accounting
      • Finance
      • Operations Management
      • Organizational Behavior
      • Strategic Management
      • Ph.D. Admissions
      • Financial Assistance
      • Ph.D. Student Mentoring Awards
      • Meet Current Students
    • Executive Programs
  • Undergraduate Programs
    • About the Virani Undergraduate School of Business
    • Business Major
      • Major Requirements
      • Sample Degree Plans
      • Courses
      • Business Major Faculty
      • Student Experience
      • Career Highlights
      • Undergraduate Business Student Ambassadors
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Business Minor
      • Course Descriptions
      • Schedule and Requirements
    • Business Major Vs. Business Minor
    • Entrepreneurship Minor
    • Student Experience
    • Career Highlights
    • MBA Deferred Enrollment
  • Executive Education
    • Upcoming Programs
    • Open Enrollment Programs
      • Rice Advanced Management Program
      • Science-Driven Strategy
      • Executive Leadership for Women
      • Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers
      • The Leadership Accelerator
      • Leading Organizational Change
      • Leading Innovation
      • Energy Transition for Business Leaders
      • The Management Incubator
      • The Future is AI
      • CoachRICE: Leadership Coaching
    • Custom Programs
    • Online Programs
      • Leading Workplace Diversity
      • Rice Real Estate Investment and Development
      • The Future is AI
      • Business Finance and Data Analysis Fundamentals Specialization
      • CoachRICE: Leadership Coaching
      • Small Business Entrepreneurship: Starting a Business
      • Small Business Entrepreneurship: Marketing a Business
    • Partnerships
    • Meet the Team
    • Executive Education Employer Sponsorship
    • FAQs
  • Faculty & Research
    • Research Area
      • Accounting
      • Communication
      • Energy
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Finance
      • Healthcare
      • Marketing
      • Operations Management
      • Organizational Behavior
      • Real Estate
      • Strategy and Environment
    • Rice Business Wisdom
    • Faculty Directory
    • Research Seminars
    • Faculty Recruitment
    • Dean's Distinguished Visiting Fellows Program
    • Centers & Labs
    • News & Events
  • The Rice MBA
    • Find Your MBA
      • Full-Time MBA
        • Curriculum
        • Degree Specializations
        • Deferred Enrollment
        • Global Programming
        • Networking and Leadership Opportunities
        • Career Highlights
        • Career Support
        • Class Profile
        • Tuition and Financial Aid
        • Connect With a Student
        • International Students
        • Why Get an MBA in Houston
        • MBA Admissions
        • Admissions Events
      • Professional MBA
        • Curriculum
        • Networking and Leadership Opportunities
        • Tuition and Fees
        • Career Highlights
        • Class Profile
        • Connect With a Student
        • Global Experience
        • Find Your MBA
        • MBA Admissions
        • Admissions Events
      • Hybrid MBA
        • Curriculum
        • Networking and Leadership Opportunities
        • Tuition and Fees
        • Class Profile
        • Global Experience
        • Find Your MBA
        • Connect with a Student
        • MBA Admissions
        • Admissions Events
      • Executive MBA
        • Curriculum
          • Course Descriptions
        • Global Experience
        • Tuition and Fees
        • Class Profile
        • Meet Our EMBA Community
        • MBA Admissions
        • Admissions Events
      • Online MBA
        • Curriculum
        • Tuition and Fees
        • Connect with a Student
        • Online MBA GMAT Waiver Information
        • Request Info About Our Online MBA
      • Coordinated and Dual Degrees
        • MBA/PSM Program
        • MD/MBA Program
        • MBA Admissions
        • Admissions Events
      • Deferred Enrollment
    • Come Meet Us
      • MBA Admissions Events
    • MBA Admissions
      • MBA Admissions Guide
      • Class Profiles
      • Finance Your Degree
      • Women at Rice
      • Military at Rice
        • Military Scholars Program
        • Military and Veteran Benefits
        • Rice Business Veterans Association
      • MBA Student Ambassadors
      • MBA Admission Events
      • Blog
        • A Message From Our Dean
        • Application Tips
        • Application Tips
        • Choose Houston
        • Decisions, Decisions
        • Game Changer
        • Life Savings
        • One Of A Kind
        • Paving The Way
        • Staying Power
        • Ten Easy Pieces
        • Why A Rice Professional MBA
      • Meet the Team
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Why Rice
      • Tight-Knit Culture
      • Entrepreneurial Mindset
      • The Houston Advantage
    • The Rice MBA Curriculum
      • Global Programs
      • Domestic Experiential Programs
      • Leadership Development
        • MBA Courses
        • Leadership Coaching Opportunities
      • Our Electives
    • Beyond the Classroom
      • Global Programs
      • Domestic Experiential Programs
      • Conferences & Case Competitions
      • Student Clubs and Organizations
    • Life at Rice
      • Student Life
      • The Rice Campus
      • At Home in Houston
      • Where To Live
      • After Rice
      • Our Podcast
      • Our Stories
    • Belonging and Engagement
      • You Belong Here: The Report on Culture and Community at Rice Business
      • Strategic Partnerships
        • The Rice Business Consortium
      • Alumni Spotlight
      • Report Bias
  • Graduate Programs
    • MBA Programs
      • Full-Time MBA
      • Professional MBA
      • Hybrid MBA
      • Executive MBA
      • Online MBA
      • Coordinated and Dual Degrees
      • Deferred Enrollment
    • Master of Accounting
      • MAcc Admissions Guide
      • Program Prerequisites
      • Class Profile
      • Curriculum
      • Tuition and Funding
      • MAcc Student Experience
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Blog
        • Excellent Job Prospects
        • Life in Houston
        • Meet our MAcc Director
        • Rice MAcc Opens Career Opportunities
        • The Rice MAcc Prepares You for Today’s Data-Driven Business World
        • Top CPA Exam Score Winner -- Third Year in a Row!
        • What's it like to work in audit?
        • What's it like to work in tax?
        • Why Should You Pursue A Master's in Accounting?
    • Ph.D. in Business
      • Accounting
      • Finance
      • Operations Management
      • Organizational Behavior
      • Strategic Management
      • Ph.D. Admissions
        • Doctoral Dissertation
      • Financial Assistance
      • Ph.D. Student Mentoring Awards
      • Meet Current Students
    • Executive Programs
  • Undergraduate Programs
    • About the Virani Undergraduate School of Business
    • Business Major
      • Major Requirements
      • Sample Degree Plans
      • Courses
      • Business Major Faculty
      • Student Experience
      • Career Highlights
      • Undergraduate Business Student Ambassadors
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Business Minor
      • Course Descriptions
      • Schedule and Requirements
    • Business Major Vs. Business Minor
    • Entrepreneurship Minor
    • Student Experience
    • Career Highlights
    • MBA Deferred Enrollment
  • Executive Education
    • Upcoming Programs
    • Open Enrollment Programs
      • Rice Advanced Management Program
      • Science-Driven Strategy
      • Executive Leadership for Women
      • Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers
      • The Leadership Accelerator
      • Leading Organizational Change
      • Leading Innovation
      • Energy Transition for Business Leaders
      • The Management Incubator
      • The Future is AI
      • CoachRICE: Leadership Coaching
    • Custom Programs
    • Online Programs
      • Leading Workplace Diversity
      • Rice Real Estate Investment and Development
      • The Future is AI
      • Business Finance and Data Analysis Fundamentals Specialization
      • CoachRICE: Leadership Coaching
      • Small Business Entrepreneurship: Starting a Business
      • Small Business Entrepreneurship: Marketing a Business
    • Partnerships
    • Meet the Team
    • Executive Education Employer Sponsorship
    • FAQs
  • Faculty & Research
    • Research Area
      • Accounting
      • Communication
      • Energy
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Finance
      • Healthcare
      • Marketing
      • Operations Management
      • Organizational Behavior
      • Real Estate
      • Strategy and Environment
    • Rice Business Wisdom
    • Faculty Directory
    • Research Seminars
    • Faculty Recruitment
    • Dean's Distinguished Visiting Fellows Program
    • Centers & Labs
    • News & Events
  • Rice Business Wisdom
  • Alumni
  • Companies
  • Events
  • Hire Our Students
  • Give
  • Apply

Enter a Search Term

Scott Sonenshein
Visit Website
View CV
Organizational Behavior

Scott Sonenshein

Organizational Behavior Area Coordinator
Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Management – Organizational Behavior

Faculty
McNair Hall 238
713-348-3182 scotts@rice.edu
Scott Sonenshein
Visit Website
View CV
Organizational Behavior

Scott Sonenshein is the Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Management at Rice University and bestselling author of Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less – And Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined and co-author (with Marie Kondo) of Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life. 

Prior to joining Rice Business in 2007, he taught at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan where he also received his Ph.D. in Management and Organizations. Sonenshein also received a B.A. from the University of Virginia in Business Ethics and an M.Phil from the University of Cambridge in Management Studies.

His research employs field methodologies (primarily involving qualitative data) to explain the resourceful actions of employees to foster organizational, social and personal change. His work usually follows an inductive approach using grounded theory and other ethnographic methods.

Sonenshein has contributed to a variety of theoretical perspectives that span both “micro” and “macro” topics, including creativity, sensemaking, identity, personal growth, prosocial competition, social influence, and decision making. He has made these contributions by locating generative field settings ranging from fashion to food trucks, banks to booksellers, and entrepreneurs to environmentalists. Although his studies often contain an inductive surprise, his work coalesces around illuminating the skill, agency, and motivation of individuals to contribute to change (personal, organizational and social) as well as the corresponding practices that foster these outcomes.

In 2013, the Center for Positive Organizations at the University of Michigan awarded his paper on the psychological resources employees create through sensemaking to facilitate strategic change with its Biennial Best Paper Award. In 2008, The Aspen Institute recognized his research on social change and business ethics by naming him a finalist for its Faculty Pioneer Award. In 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020, he won the Rice Business Faculty Research Excellence Award.

Sonenshein’s research has appeared in many leading journals of organizational behavior including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal and Organization Science. Additionally, he served as an associate editor at the Academy of Management Journal and currently sits on its editorial board along with Academy of Management Review and Organization Science.

Sonenshein has written for the New York Times, Time Magazine, Fast Company and Harvard Business Review. He has been interviewed on national and local television, NPR stations throughout the country, and has been featured in most major newspapers.

Please visit his website to learn more: www.ScottSonenshein.com

Teaching Interests: 

  • Organizational behavior
  • Change
  • Leadership

Research Interests: 

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

Podcasts (as featured speaker):

 

In the Media

Organizations in crises may benefit from jazz ensemble model
July 28, 2024
The 4 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Saying 'Yes' to a Job Offer
May 10, 2024
How the Houston Symphony stayed ‘jazzy’ during crisis
March 18, 2024

Rice Business Wisdom

Newton balls
Corporate Social Activism | Peer-Reviewed Research

Cause And Effect

How to get your company to buy in for your cause.
Stained paint brushes.
Workplace Creativity | Peer-Reviewed Research

The Da Vinci Routine

How companies can foster employee creativity in routines.
Child sitting up a tree and reading a book
Organizational Behavior | Peer-Reviewed Research

Story Time

Why the stories companies tell themselves are serious business.
""
Management | Peer-Reviewed Research

Retail Therapy

Organizations can solve problems by repurposing objects in creative ways.
""
Advocacy at Work | Peer-Reviewed Research

Power To The People

Advice for employee advocates about changing the world.
""
Business Ethics | Peer-Reviewed Research

Moral Compass

Ethical expertise is a teachable skill.
Corporate Culture | Peer-Reviewed Research

Hive Mind

How the company you work for guides your idea of self-improvement.
Typewriter and piles of paper
Peer-to-Peer Lending | Peer-Reviewed Research

What’s in a Story? For Online Borrowers, Everything

Personal narratives in loan applications — however unverifiable — can sway lenders, lower interest rates, and even predict repayment behavior.
Competition | Peer-Reviewed Research

Compliments Of The Chef

What happens when food trucks mix business, peer pressure and high standards?
""
Organizational Behavior | Peer-Reviewed Research

Money Talks

How employees shape the companies that help reshape society.
Book Excerpt | Mind Your Business

Resourcefulness

Scott Sonenshein teaches us we all have more to work with than we can imagine.
Top down view of a workbench
Peer-Reviewed Research

Is Necessity Truly The Mother Of Invention?

Through their actions, leaders can foster creativity within their companies.

Site Footer

Rice Business

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • X
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • Threads

Footer

  • About
  • Directory
  • Departments & Offices
  • Work with Us
  • Current Students
  • Faculty and Staff Resources
  • News & Events
  • Facilities

Directions

6100 Main Street
Houston, Texas
77005-1892
713-348-4622

Rice Business Wisdom

Copyright © 2025 Rice Business, Rice University

Privacy Notice