Schutz's writings have had a lasting impact on the social sciences, both on phenomenological approaches to sociology and in ethnomethodology (through the writings of Harold Garfinkel). Heavily influenced by Schutz's work as his student, Thomas Luckmann ultimately finished Schutz's work on the structures of the lifeworld by filling out his unfinished notes after Schutz died. As noted by Farganis (2011), Peter L. Berger, also a student of Schutz's, was arguably the best-known living sociologist influenced by Schutz, especially through his creation of the social construction theory, which explains how the processes of externalization, objectification, and internalization contribute to the social construction of reality. Berger and Luckmann went on to use Schutz's work to further understand human culture and reality, through the development of a new form of the sociology of knowledge.
