About
Rashi Sonal is a Fellow in the Department of Management at the London School of Economics.
Rashi studies identity processes in the workplace, especially the role of image in identity construction. She is also interested in studying this process in future of work contexts such as the emerging independent workforce as well as AI-mediated work. She employs qualitative, quantitative, and experimental methods in her research.
Her work has received several awards and recognition. Rashi won the Denny Gioia Best Qualitative Paper award at the 2025 Academy of Management conference in Copenhagen where her work was also nominated for the Carolyn Dexter award. In 2024, her work won the Best Developmental Paper award at the 2024 British Academy of Management conference.
Before joining LSE, Rashi received a dual MSc degree in Global Strategic Management from the University of Virginia, US, and ESADE Business School, Spain. She holds a Bachelors in Commerce (Honours) from the University of Delhi, India.
Rashi also has industry experience in external audit, having worked with Deloitte previously.
Rashi is affiliated with the Employment Relations and Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour Faculty Research Groups.
Conference Presentations:
- Janardhanan, N. S., Reaney, R., Sonal, R., Hollensbe, E., & Spriha, Y. August 2024. The Art of Stenciling: Agency in Work Identity Construction amidst Sudden Change. Academy of Management Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Sonal, R., Janardhanan, N. S., Hollensbe, E. September 2024. Crystallizing Nebulous Identities: How New Work Identities are Born and Maintained amidst Image Discrepancy. British Academy of Management Annual Conference, Nottingham, UK.
- Sonal, R., Janardhanan, N. S., Hollensbe, E. August 2023. Follow me on Instagram? Identity Spillover and Image Discrepancy among Online Independent Workers. Academy of Management Annual Conference, Boston, M.A., USA.
- Sonal, R., Janardhanan, N. S., Hollensbe, E. October 2023. Follow me on Instagram? Identity Spillover and Image Discrepancy among Online Independent Workers. London OB Research Day Conference, London, UK.
- Janardhanan, N. S., Reaney, R., Spriha, Y., & Sonal, R. June 2022. Identity Stenciling: Constrained and Agentic Identity Work Amid an Ongoing Crisis. Positive Organizational Scholarship Research Conference, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Sonal, R. January 2020. Analyzing patterns of anti-migrant sentiments: The role of critical mass. Indian Academy of Management Conference. Indian Institute of Management, Tiruchirappalli, India. Won Best Paper of the Track Award.
- Sonal, R. December 2019. Sir, Ma’am or Just the Name? Understanding how Forms of Address impact Supervisor-Subordinate Relationship. Pan IIM World Management Conference, Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak, India.
Expertise
Identity, Identity work, Image, Image Discrepancy, Independent Work