Research profile

I am an Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy at Aalborg University Business School (AAUBS) in Denmark and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge in the UK. Additionally, I serve as the Director of the Sustainability Lab at AAUBS.

My research spans various areas within international management and strategy, with a particular emphasis on sustainable international strategic management, technology-driven value creation, and the impact of institutional factors on firm capabilities and sustainability-driven business models, such as the Circular Economy. My studies have explored how European multinational enterprises develop and co-develop strategies and capabilities to achieve synergy—both in terms of acceptance and efficiency—within national business systems. Notably, my research was the first of its kind to examine Bangladeshi institutions and firms (both national and multinational), elucidating how multinational subsidiaries are integrated into Bangladeshi business systems and the roles played by national institutions, civil society actors, and transnational communities in the processes of internationalization, legitimation, and sustainability.

I view firm strategy as a dynamic construct shaped by the interactions between firms and the institutional environments in which they operate. Firms do not function in isolation but are influenced by the rules, norms, values, and logic of institutional systems. Therefore, their missions, perspectives, goals, strategies, activities, and offerings are continually shaped by the evolving nature and performance of these institutional arrangements. Changes in national institutions often arise from external forces, such as the influence of transnational institutions (e.g., UN, EU, OECD) and collaborations between multinational enterprises, civil society, national institutional actors, and large local firms to establish new business norms, such as sustainability standards.

I consider strategy development to be a complex process where understanding the role of institutions and their influence on firm strategies is crucial. Rather than viewing institutions merely as macro-environmental constraints, I see them as providing both opportunities and constraints that shape strategies to fit specific contexts.

My research can be categorized into three main themes: 1) The strategies of multinational corporations regarding internationalization, capabilities, legitimation, and sustainable management in emerging markets; 2) Business modeling, including sustainability-driven business models and their impact on global value chains, climate change, and the transition to a Circular Economy; and 3) Technology adoption and digital strategies (such as Artificial Intelligence) for value creation and sustainable adaptation.

Despite the broad range of my research interests, the central focus remains on cross-border management and multinational strategies through an institutional and business systems perspective. I aim to understand the strategic choices, antecedents, and mechanisms of sustainable international strategic management.

In my consulting work, I have collaborated with numerous large multinational corporations, including Novo Nordisk, Arla, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Nestlé, Telenor (Grameenphone), Tesla, iRobot Roomba, H&M, Bestseller, Oticon, and Kube Data. I have also studied Bangladeshi multinational corporations such as Walton Electronics, DBL Apparel Company, Micro Fibre Apparel Group, GMS Apparel Group, ABA Apparel Group, Interstoff Apparel Limited, and Shasha Denims, among others.

Recently, I completed a project in 2022 on “Practical Tools for Sustainable Business Model Innovation for SMEs in Denmark and Sweden,” funded by the EU with a budget of 3 million DKK, where I served as the principal investigator and a member of the steering committee. In the same year, I also completed a project on “Artificial Intelligence, Value Creation, and Adaptation in the International Context,” led in collaboration with the Department of IT & Media Technology at AAU and funded by AAUBS.

As a principal investigator, I have received a grant of 12 million DKK to study the circular economy transition in Bangladesh's apparel industry, which involves global brands from the EU and USA. This is the first research project on circular economy in the apparel sector funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it commenced in October 2022 and will continue till 2027. This multi-stakeholder project, in collaboration with Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, BGMEA, GFA, RR, DM&T, ETI-UK, A2I, MMU, SOAS, and CBS, aims to enhance research capacity in Bangladesh on circular economy and assist the Bangladesh government and BGMEA in developing policies to promote greater circularity in apparel value chains.

Additionally, I am working on another project titled “Climate Change and Global Value Chains in the Textile and Garments Industry in Bangladesh” (11.7 million DKK), in collaboration with Copenhagen Business School, Roskilde University, DK, and BRAC University, Bangladesh. I am the principal researcher and lead from AAUBS for this consortium project.

Currently, my projects and research are focused on understanding the dynamics of the apparel industry’s transition, exploring firms’ shift to circular business models, capability reconfiguration in global value chains, workers' wellbeing in circular economy transition, technology adoption, corporate strategies, and the impact of institutions on green industrialization in the context of circular economy adoption.

I was a member of the Dean’s Signature Project Committee on Sustainability-driven Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, and am currently a member of the Rector's Climate Change Mitigation Strategy Committee at AAU. I co-edited the book “Upgrading the Global Garment Industry,” published by Edward Elgar, UK, which is the first book to address the global garment industry from the perspectives of internationalization, capabilities, and sustainability. This work has brought the garment industry to the forefront of research in international business and strategy, highlighting its significant impact on emerging economies and its historical influence on Western countries during the colonial era.

I primarily use qualitative methods, including case studies, qualitative data analysis techniques, comparative case analysis, and storytelling science. However, I am also interested in working with panel data and quantitative techniques. My research has been published in leading academic journals such as the Global Strategy Journal, Technovation, International Business Review, and the Journal of International Management.