Professor at Karlshochschule since

  • October 16, 2008

Committees/Responsibilities

  • Member of the Senate
  • Head of Master Program Management
  • Person in Charge for Master Specialization "Brand"
  • Person in Charge for Master Specialization "Creativity & Innovation"
  • Person in Charge for Master Specialization "New Media"

Research fields and interests

  • Creativity and Innovation Management
  • Branding and Marketing
  • Organizational Transformation
  • Performative and interdisciplinary orientation in the main areas of research

Academic Education and Training

  • Conferral of a Doctorate in Philosophy (Dr. phil.) at the Berlin University of the Arts; dissertation: "Kooperative Kreativität: Theoretische Basisentwürfe und organisationale Implikationen"
  • Second degree in Science of Art at the Technical University of Berlin
  • Studies of Communication in Social and Economic Contexts at the Berlin University of the Arts; degree: Diplom-Kommunikationswirt (Graduate in Communications)
  • Studies in European Business Administration at Middlesex University Business School, London

Business Experience (selection)

  • Planning Director at SelectNY.Berlin – Key account responsibility: Aktion Mensch, Douglas, Thalia, Radisson BLU, BASF
  • Senior Strategic Planner at ECONOMIA/BBDO, Hamburg – Brand Management, Creative Planning, and Qualitative Market Research. Key account responsibility: Telekom, Volvo, Beiersdorf, Schwartau
  • Senior Adviser and Planner at heller & partner, Berlin – Set-up of the Berlin Branch and New Business. Key account responsibility: BMW, Messe Berlin, Deutsche Kreditbank
  • Consultant at zeb/rolfes.schierenbeck.associates, Berlin: Customer projects in the banking and insurance sector

Teaching

Karlshochschule International University (2008 onwards)

  • Supervisor of 70+ BA theses, 40+ Master and Diploma theses, and 3 PhD projects.
  •  “Approaching Brands“, module in the area of specialization “Brand” in the Master Management.
  • “Brand Stories“, module in the area of specialization “Brand” in the Master Management.
  • “Brand Strategies“, module in the area of specialization “Brand” in the Master Management.
  • “Creative Industries”, module in the area of specialization “Creativity & Innovation” in the Master Management.
  • “Creativity in Context“, module in the area of specialization “Creativity & Innovation” in the Master Management.
  • “Creativity & Innovation”, module in the area of specialization “Creativity & Innovation” in the Master Management.
  • “Key Concepts for the Study of Management as Culture: Cultural Turns “, module in the area of specialization “Cultural Change & Society” in the Master Management.
  • “Research Colloquium“, module in the Master Management.
  • “Special Issue“, module in the Master Management.
  • “Change & Innovation”, module in the Bachelor Management.
  • “Corporate Communications“, module in the Bachelor International Media Management.
  • “Culture Marketing“, module in the Bachelor Arts and Cultural Management.
  • “Einführung in das Internationale Marketing“, module in the Bachelor International Marketing Management.
  • “International Marketing Strategy“, module in the Bachelor International Marketing Management.
  • “Modern Brand Metaphors“, module in the Bachelor Arts and Cultural Management.
  • “Strategic Marketing“, module in the Bachelor International Marketing Management.

Expert Activities

  • since 2016: Guest Lecturership at HKU University of the Arts Utrecht
  • since 2010: Guest Lectureship at BI Norwegian Business School
  • 2006 - 2010: Guest Lectureship at Berlin University of the Arts

Further Information

  • 2011: Visiting Scholar (February to April) at the BI-Norwegian School of Management Scholarship from the Research Council of Norway (Yggdrasil), topic: "The Relevance of Cultural Differences for Swarm Branding: Reducing SkepticismScepticism towards Cause-related Marketing or Cause-related Branding?"
  • 2010: ERASMUS Mobility Grant for the BI-Norwegian School of Management
  • 2004-2005: Doctoral Fellowship of Berlin
  • 1997: Kunst3 oder wie lernt ein Museum laufen?, 1st prize in the competition "Jugend entwickelt Berlin"

Publications

Books

  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2020): Routenplaner Kreativität: So kommen Sie im Alltag und Job sofort auf richtig gute Ideen. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.
  • Küpers, Wendelin; Sonnenburg, Stephan; Zierold, Martin (2017) (Eds.): ReThinking management: Perspectives and impacts of cultural turns and beyond. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Wee, Desmond (2015) (Eds.): Touring consumption. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Baker, Laura (2013) (Eds.): Branded spaces: Experience enactments and entanglements. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2009) (Eds.): Swarm Branding: Markenführung im Zeitalter von Web 2.0. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2007): Kooperative Kreativität: Theoretische Basisentwürfe und organisationale Erfolgsfaktoren. Wiesbaden: DUV.

 

Guest Editor for Special Journal Issues

  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Runco, Mark A. (2017) (Eds.): The hero’s journey: A tribute to Joseph Campbell and his 30th anniversary of death. Special Issue, Journal of Genius and Eminence, 2(2).
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Wee, Desmond (2016) (Eds.): Touring consumption. Special Issue, Journal of Consumer Culture.

 

Series Editor

  • 2013 onwards, “Management, Culture, Interpretation“, together with Dirk Wagner, Springer VS, six published volumes till now.
  • 2018 onwards, “Anthem Series on Thresholds and Transformations”.

 

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

  • Primus, Dirk; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2018): Flow experience in Design Thinking and practical synergies with Lego Serious Play. In: Creativity Research Journal, 30(1), 104-112.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Runco, Mark (2017): Pathways to the Hero’s Journey: A Tribute to Joseph Campbell and the 30th Anniversary of His Death. In: Journal of Genius and Eminence, 2(2), 1-8.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): From zero to hero: A metaphorical amplification of design thinking. In: Journal of Genius and Eminence, 2(2), 104-114.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Manz, Lena (2017): Moments to despair in the co-creative process. In: Business Creativity and the Creative Economy, 3, 75-87.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Wee, Desmond (2016): Introduction to touring consumption. In: Journal of Consumer Culture, 16(2), 322-333.
  • Baker, Laura; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2013): Business co-creativity with an eye towards MENA. In: Journal of Strategy and Management, 6(2), 123-138.
  • Singh, Sangeeta; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2012): Brand performances in social media. In: Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(4), 189-197.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2004): Creativity in communication: A theoretical framework for collaborative product creation. In: Creativity and Innovation Management, 13(4), 254-262.

 

Edited Chapters and Articles

  • Primus, Dirk; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2020): Flow. In: Runco, Mark A; Pritzker, Steven R. (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Creativity, 3rd edition. Cambridge: Academic Press.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): Beyond a wordplay. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 80.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): From Design Thinking to designerly thinking. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 98.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): A hero’s journey with Tarot cards in 60 minutes: A creative template. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 126-129.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): A hero’s journey with Tarot cards in 60 minutes: A creative template. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 126-129.
  • Hindley, Clare; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): Imagining yesterday: The geist of the Gothic. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 175-176.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): Branded Spaces: Corporate Architecture aus Sicht der Marke. In: Bielzer, L. (Ed.): Corporate Architecture. Künzelsau: Swiridoff, 49-56.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2015): Mensch-Medien-Hybride: Auf dem Weg zu einem neuen Da-sein In: Stiegler, Christian; Breitenbach, Patrick; Zorbach, Thomas (Eds.): New Media Culture: Mediale Phänomene der Netzkultur. Bielefeld: transcript, 281-295.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Baker Laura (2013): Approaching branded spaces. In: Sonnenburg, Stephan; Baker, Laura (Eds.): Branded spaces: Experience enactments and entanglements. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 9-29.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2013): Beatles & Co: Creativity as an emergent phenomenon. In: Becker, Lutz; Müller, Andreas (Eds.): Narrative and innovation. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 175-194.
  • Baker, Laura; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2012): Using DASH to generate co-creativity in liminal experiences. In: Innovating innovation, initiated by Thomas Fundneider and Markus Peschl in cooperation with APA-ZukunftWissen.
  • Baker, Laura; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2011): Creating creativity in business contexts. In: Bylok, Felicjan; Cichobłazinski, Leszek (Eds.): The role of human capital in knowledge based management. Czestochowa: WWZPCz, 17-31.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2011): Brauchen Kulturmarken Markenkultur? Zwischen Inszenierung und Involvierung. In: Holst, Christian; Janner, Karin; Kopp, Axel (Eds.): Social Media im Kulturmanagement: Wie Online-Geschäftsmodelle und das mobile Web das Kulturmanagement revolutionieren. Heidelberg: mitp, 191-207.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2011): Kreativität. In: Meier, Rolf; Janßen, Axel (Eds.): Coachs ausbilden: Ein strategisches Curriculum. Sternenfels: Wissenschaft & Praxis Dr. Brauner, 406-413.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2010): Unternehmenskreativität als Unternehmen Kreativität: Und was können wir dabei von berühmten Unternehmungen lernen? In: Preiß, Jürgen (Eds.): Jahrbuch der Kreativität 2010. Köln: JPMK, 101-112.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2009): Markenmodelle des Involvements: Von der Mission zur Transmission. In: Sonnenburg, Stephan (Eds.): Swarm Branding: Markenführung im Zeitalter von Web 2.0. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 73-86.
  • Burgold, Felix; Sonnenburg, Stephan; Voß, Markus (2009): Masse macht Marke: Die Bedeutung von Web 2.0 für die Markenführung. In: Sonnenburg, Stephan (Eds.): Swarm Branding: Markenführung im Zeitalter von Web 2.0. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 9-18.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2007): Creative complexes: A theoretical framework for collaborative creativity. In: Jöstingmeier, Bernd; Boeddrich, Heinz-Jürgen. (Eds.): Cross-cultural innovation. München: Oldenbourg, 149-165.

 

Magazine Articles and Interviews

  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): "So schickt man Kreative auf eine Heldenreise“, Werben & Verkaufen 11.12.2017,
  • www.wuv.de/karriere/so_schickt_man_kreative_auf_eine_heldenreise.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): "Was bringt Design Thinking in Agenturen?“, Werben & Verkaufen 18.09.2017,
  • www.wuv.de/agenturen/was_bringt_design_thinking_in_agenturen.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): "Diese Techniken machen kreativer", Werben & Verkaufen 23.05.2017,
  • www.wuv.de/agenturen/diese_techniken_machen_kreativer.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): "Macht Trump uns alle kreativer", Werben & Verkaufen 04.04.2017, www.wuv.de/agenturen/interview_macht_trump_uns_alle_kreativer.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): "Kreativer scheitern: Warum Fehler und Qualen dazu gehören", Werben &Verkaufen 21.02.2017, www.wuv.de/agenturen/kreativer_scheitern_warum_fehler_und_qualen_dazu_gehoeren.
  • Küpers, Wendelin; Sonnenburg, Stephan; Zerr, Michael (2017): „The Karls as a place for re-thinking management“. In: Karlsmagazine, 6-8.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2010): Brands are like Barbecues: Die Mit-Mach-Kultur in der Marke. In: German Council Magazin "Kultur", 34-38.

Academic Conference Contributions

  • “Organizations as cathedrals: The Geist of the Gothic” (together with Clare Hindley), Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism “Ghosts”, York, 8.-11 July 2019.
  • “Measuring individual flow experience with EEG” (together with Johanna Anzengruber and Dirk Primus) plus roundtable, ISPIM Innovation Conference, Florence, 16.-19. June 2019.
  • “In-between thresholds and transformations”, Art of Management & Organization Conference, Brighton, 30.08.-02.09.2018.
  • “The heroine or hero with a thousand ideas: Melding myth and management”, Art of Management & Organization Conference, Brighton, 30.08.-02.09.2018.
  • “Pathways from the hero’s journey: A tribute to Joseph Campbell and the 30th anniversary of his death”, Panel-Organizer, Creativity Conference, Ashland, Oregon, 03.-06.08.2018.
  • “Team flow rhythms during design thinking: Flow inhibitors, flow inducers and the link between team flow rhythms and co-creative quality” (together with Dirk Primus), ISPIM Innovation Conference, Stockholm, 17.-20.06.2018.
  • “Marke – Mythos – Medien: The hero wears Prada.”, Corporate Architecture Conference, Künzelsau, 19.01.2018.
  • “Flow experience in Design Thinking and practical synergies with Lego Serious Play”, XXVIII ISPIM Innovation Conference, Vienna, 18.-21.06.2017.
  • “Human-robot-hybridity in performance: Approaching a new da-sein by disability” (together with Claudia Rebola), Utopia after the Human, The Fifth Symposium of the Imaginaries of the Future: Historicizing the Present Leverhulme International Research Network, Ithaca, NY, 11.-12.04. 2017.
  • “From zero to hero: A metaphorical perspective on design thinking”, International Conference “Creative Society: Ideas, Problems, and Concepts”, Florence, 13.-14.03.2017.
  • “Moments to despair in the co-creative process”, XXVII ISPIM Innovation Conference, Porto, 19.-22.06.2016.
  •  “Deconstructing brands” (together with Laura Baker), Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism “Creative De-Construction”, Warsaw, 13.-16.07.2013.
  • “Co-creativity as normal business” (together with Laura Baker), Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism “Creative De-Construction”, Warsaw, 13.-16.07.2013.
  • “Co-creativity as a liminal experience” (Keynote Speaker), AIB-MENA conference “Managing in Uncertain Times”, Dubai, 13.-15.01.2012.
  • “Creating creativity in business contexts” at the conference “People and the Value of an Organization – Social, Human and Intellectual Capital”, Czestochowa/Koszecin,16.-17.06.2011.
  • “We-branding: Brands are like barbecues“ at the conference “Narrative + Innovation”, Karlshochschule International University, Karlsruhe, 15.-17.09.2010.
  •  “Swarm creativity“ at the 3rd UNeECC (University Network of the European Capitals of Culture) conference, Vilnius, 22.-23.10.2009.
  • “Project creativity in organizations: What can we learn from the Beatles, Picasso, Braque, and Herzog & de Meuron?” at the Creative Economy and Beyond Conference, Helsinki, 09.-10.09.2009.
  • “Group creativity and beyond: What can we learn from famous groups?” at the Applied Business Creativity in 21st-Century Organisations Conference, London, 30.-31.05.2007.

Organized Conferences and Academies

2019

Planning and organization of the first “Imagining Tomorrow” summer academy at the Karlshochschule, 27 May till 6 June. Imagining Tomorrow is a two-week international study program in which students from art, design, art and economy, management and architecture as well as lecturers collaborate to address questions about the future of design and communication. They work with national and international clients from public and private organizations like Reet Aus Fashion Tallinn, Anne Frank Zentrum Berlin, the Dutch Red Cross, Amsterdam Public Library or ZKM/Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe to propose creative and artistic solutions.

2014

“ReThinking management“ conference, concept and organization together with Wendelin Küpers, David Sixt and Martin Zierold (all Karlshochschule), see section publications.

2013

“Touring consumption” conference, concept and organization together with Desmond Wee and David Sixt (all Karlshochschule), see section publications.

2012-2016

Co-developer of the International Summer Programme “Intercultural management: A Scandinavian perspective“.

2011

“Branded spaces” conference, concept and organization together with Laura Baker (FH Joanneum Graz) and Louise Bielzer (Karlshochschule), see section publications.

Certifications

  • 2017 Lego Serious Play certified facilitator.
  • 2015 Design Thinking Open Course at the HPI Academy in Potsdam.