AKM Shahidullah

AKM Shahidullah, BSS, MBA (Dhaka); MNRM, PhD (Manitoba)

Assistant Professor, Business Administration

Phone: (709) 639-2704

Email: ashahidullah@mun.ca

Office: AS2024

 

Research Focus and Significance

Shahid’s research focuses on ‘Entrepreneurship in the Anthropocene’ that recognizes the triad between economy, society and the environment.

The industrial age is over. In fact, our planet is paying for the prosperity those golden years enabled. As the world’s population increases and our resources dwindle, businesses need to rethink their actions and entrepreneurs should recognise opportunities in changing scenarios. The planet can no longer afford to compromise environment for business. Climate change is literally pushing us to a tipping point; setting an impetus to take a sustainable approach to entrepreneurship. As the ecological goods and services across the world are degrading, only sustainable, climate friendly, and eco-friendly industries can help the situation.

Ecologically responsible entrepreneurship has never been so important. We need big thinkers and new business models to help us navigate the dynamic new markets and opportunities this globalised, high-tech world has created. There is a growing demand for green and organic products and there’s been a pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Demand has skyrocketed for these sorts of products. But, there’s a lack of supply. The solution lies in reconciling demand-supply for these products with the current situation. More research should take place to decipher how business sectors can earn more money and benefit more people along the value chain. But at the same time the research must find ways as to how businesses should operate in the Anthropocene. Therefore, considering ecological component is of paramount importance for the business sectors to ensure sustainability -- as ‘sustainability is a triad between the people, planet and profit’.

There are so many issues surrounding sustainability that need to be tackled. Shahid explores sustainability issues of business enterprises. Drawing on his background with MNC, World Bank, SMEs and Development Organizations, Shahid entered in academia and became keen to pursue research on sustainability, social contributions, value chain and greening dimensions of business entrepreneurship and industrial sectors. As an academic, Shahid’s focus is to help various sectors adapt sustainability principles and come up with solutions to resource and environmental management issues through entrepreneurial means or strategic dispositions. 

 

Research Interests and Expertise  

Dr. Shahid’s research interests centre around socially responsible and ecologically sustainable modes of entrepreneurship, such as: social entrepreneurship, cooperative entrepreneurship, indigenous entrepreneurship, women-entrepreneurship, and primary healthcare-based entrepreneurship. His research also includes business strategies leading to explore and address issues underlying value chain and supply chain, especially of SMEs and agro-industrial sectors. With such focuses, his future research plan is two-fold: to investigate the roles and manifestations of rural entrepreneurship in enhancing sustainability from local level-up; and to explore the potential of innovations in new and existing rural ventures in relation to value addition, diversification, and sustainability. To complement this research agenda, his goal is to undertake major research projects investigating issues that positively affect or leverage the social-ecological roles of enterprises either based at communities or operate at local or regional level to promote sustainable development (e.g., NGOs) . Dr. Shahid welcomes potential research students with scholarly aspiration who wants to pursue research in the following areas (of his research interests):

 

  • Social entrepreneurship
  • Natural resources value chain
  • Cooperative, and indigenous entrepreneurships
  • Green microenterprises and microfinance
  • SME strategies for sustainability
  • Climate change and agro-entrepreneurship
  • Medicinal plants and primary healthcare

 

Teaching

  • BUSN 4010 (Strategic Management)    
  • BUSN 3800 (Innovation Management)   
  • BUSN 1020 (Introduction to Entrepreneurship)
  • BUSN 3610 (Social Entrepreneurship)       

 

Publications (in refereed Journals)

  • Choudhury, M., Wu, H., & Shahidullah, A. K. M. (2024). Improving the feedback loop between community‐and policy‐level learning: Building resilience of coastal communities in Bangladesh. Sustainable Development, 32(2), 1508-1524. DOI: 10.1002/sd.2686
  • Shahidullah, A. K. M. (2023). ‘Community-based adaptive entrepreneurship’ addressing climate and ecosystem changes: evidence from a riparian area in Bangladesh. Climate Risk Management, 41, 100543. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2023.100543
  • Shahidullah, A. K. M., Islam, A., & Kendall, L. (2023). Women agro-entrepreneurship promoting vegetables at a family level: a healthcare approach towards non-communicable disease risk reduction. Healthcare, 11 (15), 2165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11152165
  • Shahidullah, A. K. M., Islam, A. & Rahman, M. (2023). Knowledge, attitude, and practice of pesticide use by vegetable growers in Bangladesh: a health literacy perspective in relation to non-communicable diseases. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems,7, 1199871. DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1199871
  • Shahidullah, A. K. M., Choudhury, M. U. I., & Emdad Haque, C. (2020). Ecosystem changes and community wellbeing: social-ecological innovations in enhancing resilience of wetlands communities in Bangladesh. Local Environment, 25(11-12), 967-984. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2020.1849077
  • Shahidullah, AKM., & Islam, D. (2018). Social entrepreneurship by cooperative: examining value chain options of an Indigenous Fishermen’s co-op in Northern Manitoba. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 35 (4). [Link: https://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=96177]
  • Shahidullah, A. K. M. & Haque, C. E. (2015). Green microfinance strategy for entrepreneurial transformation: validating a pattern towards sustainability. Journal of Enterprise Development and Microfinance, 26(4), 325-342. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3362/1755-1986.2015.027
  • Shahidullah, A. K. M., Mohiuddin, H., & Haque, C. E. (2015). Institutional interplay in natural resources governance: toward a sub-sectoral approach for medicinal plants management in Bangladesh. Resources, 4(1), 93-109. Online: http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/4/1/93/htm 
  • Shahidullah, A. K. M., & Haque, C. E. (2014). Environmental orientation of small enterprises: can microcredit-assisted microenterprises be green”? Sustainability, 6(6), 3232-3251. Online: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/6/3232 
  • Shahidullah, AKM, Venema, H., & Haque C.E. (2013). Shifting developmentalism vis a vis community sustainability: can integration of ecosystem goods and services with microcredit create a local sustainability ‘dispositiff’? International Journal of Development and Sustainability, 2 (3), 1703-1722. Online: http://isdsnet.com/ijds-v2n3-4.pdf
  • Shahidullah, A.K.M., & Haque C.E. (2010). Linking medicinal plant production with livelihood enhancement in Bangladesh: Implications of a vertically integrated value chain. Journal of Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies, 9(2):1-18. Online: http://www.journal-tes.dk 

 

Publications (Refereed Chapters)

  • Shahidullah, AKM., Islam, A., & Haque C.E.. (2024). Designing and Implementing a Transdisciplinary Research Methodology: The Case of an International Collaborative Project on Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Risk Factors in Bangladesh. In Haque, C.E., Ahsan, G.U., and Anisul Islam (Eds) Red Alert! Non-Communicable Diseases in Bangladesh. Dhaka: The University Press Limited.
  • Shahidullah, AKM., Islam, A., & Mokhlesur Rahman. (2024). Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) of Pesticide Use Among Vegetable Producers in Bangladesh: A Non-Communicable Disease Health Literacy Perspective. In Haque, C.E., Ahsan, G.U., and Anisul Islam (Eds) Red Alert! Non-Communicable Diseases in Bangladesh. Dhaka: The University Press Limited.
  • Shahidullah, AKM., Mahbuba N.E., & Esha Husain. (2024). Gender and Family Health: Role of Women in Promoting Vegetables and Healthy diet Towards NCD Risk Reduction. In Haque, C.E., Ahsan, G.U., and Anisul Islam (Eds) Red Alert! Non-Communicable Diseases, Dietary Habits and Lifestyle in Bangladesh. Dhaka: The University Press Limited.
  • Shahidullah, AKM., & Haque C.E. (2016). Social Entrepreneurship by Community-Based Organizations: Innovations and Learning through Partnerships. In R. Laratta (Ed.), Social enterprise: Context-dependent dynamics in a global perspective (pp. 79-101). Rijeka: InTech. doi: 5772/62469.
  • Shahidullah, A.K.M. & Haque C.E. (2014). Medicinal plants conservation strategies for primary health care and livelihood at the local level: an examination of initiatives in South Asia. In A. Mathe (Ed.) Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World - Vol. 1 (pp 381-402). Dordrecht: Springer Science. Online: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-9810-5_19
  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2007). Socioeconomic dynamics of extreme disastrous Event: lessons learned from Indian Tsunami. Pages 463-471 in Strategy and Implementation of Integrated Risk Management, Shaoyu Wang et al., editors. Qunyan Press, Harbin. Online: https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/4393903

 

Publication (Book)

Shahidullah, AKM., & C.E. Haque. (2009). Medicinal plants production and livelihood: A participatory approach to management and marketing. VDM Verlag, Saarbrucken.

 

Web-Publication

Shahidullah, AKM (2015), “Training microentrepreneurs in green production methods: Supporting growth and responding to climate change”, Centre for Economic Policy Research, UK. Online: https://pedl.cepr.org/sites/default/files/Research%20Note_Green%20Microfinance_1752_0.pdf

 

Selected Technical Papers (Organizational Studies)

  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2020), “Cost-effectiveness analysis of livelihood improvement initiative among ultra-poor of  Bangladesh” - Social Development Foundation–World Bank, Dhaka.  
  • Shahidullah, AKM & Islam, A. (2018), ‘‘Social management framework for artisanal and industrial marine fishers” - World Bank-Dhaka Office and Department of Fisheries (DoF), Bangladesh. 
  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2017), “Guidline and operational procedure to manage kitchen waste from the plant and residential facilities from gas exploration sites at Sylhet, Bangladesh” - Chevron Asia South Ltd.   
  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2017) “Solar irrigation systems for sustainable crop and organic vegetable productions in wetland-communities of Northeast Bangladesh” – IUCN - Centre for Natural Resources Studies (CNRS), Dhaka. 
  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2016), “Consumer surplus to the impact zone: The role of rural roads in enhancing social benefits of agro-entrepreneurs” -  Social Development Foundation (SDF), Dhaka
  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2015), “Socioeconomic demarginalization of extreme poor: a transitional livelihood approach through gradual up-scaling of agro-entrepreneurial ventures” - Social Development Foundation (SDF), Dhaka
  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2013), “Economic valuations of common pool resources in selected open access areas in Bangladesh” - UNDP, Dhaka. 
  • Shahidullah, AKM & Rahman, M. (2012)’ “Community as owner and manager: Institutional evaluation of community based disaster risk reduction program” - Swiss Development Corporation. 
  • Shahidullah, AKM & Rahman, M. (2012), “Community based disaster risk reduction:benefit-cost analysis of multipurpose cyclone shelters” - Swiss Development Corporation
  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2011), “Ecotourism potentials in the protected areas” – USAID, Dhaka.
  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2010), “Development plan and policy support mechanisms for deemed exporter SMEs of Bangladesh” - The European Union, Dhaka
  • Shahidullah, AKM. (2009), “Ship-breaking att Sitakundu, Chittagong coast of Bay of Bengal: social - ecological consequences and economic dilemmas” - Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)

 

Research Projects

Recent Projects

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insights Grants, June 2023 -May 2026. Two-eyed seeing for climate-related disaster risk reduction: Decolonizing science, and strengthening community resilience | Applicant: Dr. C. Emdad Haque, University of Manitoba | CA$ 337,068 | Collaborator: AKM Shahidullah, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Memorial University of Newfoundland Start-up Research Fund, Feb 2022- Jan 2024. Community-Based Developmental Entrepreneurship. | PI, AKM Shahidullah | CA$ 10,000 

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insights Grants, October 2017-Sep 2022. ‘Social-Organizational Learning Matters: Change management for resilience building | Applicant: Dr. C. Emdad Haque, University of Manitoba | CA$ 329,260 | Collaborator: AKM Shahidullah

 

Earlier projects

Principal Investigator, “Green microfinance strategy for entrepreneurial transformation: supporting growth and responding climate change” - Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), funded by DFID, UK. | September 2013-March 2015 | GBP 33,000 | 

Project URL: https://pedl.cepr.org/content/green-microfinance-strategy-entrepreneurial-transformation-supporting-growth-and-respondin-1

Co-investigator, “Crop Insurance as a Strategy to Adapt Climate Change and Salinity Intrusion’. DoE, Bangladesh (funded by World Bank); Applicant: Mizan Khan, North South University | September 2008-March 2010 | US$ 200,000.