Professor Dr KM Zahidul Islam

Dr KM Zahidul Islam is a Professor at the Institute of Business Administration, Jahangirnagar University (IBA-JU), and chairs the Board of Trustees of ASCEND. He served as Director of IBA-JU from September 2021 to September 2024.

His research covers productivity and efficiency analysis, money and capital markets, and macroeconometrics. Across more than seventy publications he has studied banks and non-bank financial institutions, the Dhaka stock market, microfinance and farm efficiency, corporate governance, and sustainability in Bangladesh’s garment and textile industries.

He earned his PhD in Agricultural Economics at the University of Helsinki in 2011, where he worked as a researcher in the Department of Economics and Management from 2008 to 2012. He also holds an MSc in Applied Statistics and Data Science (2024, first position), an MBA in Banking and Finance (2003, first position) and a BBA (2001), all from Jahangirnagar University.

Research and advisory work

• Lead Analyst, “Decoding Investment Intentions in Bangladesh’s Islamic Capital Market”, funded by the Bangladesh Institute of Capital Markets (BICM).
• Lead Analyst, “Unlocking Sustainable Performance through CSR and Green Co-creation: A Dynamic Capability and Green Banking Perspective”, funded by Jahangirnagar University.
• Marketing Consultant, techno-economic feasibility study for a triple superphosphate (TSP) fertiliser plant of 400,000 tonnes a year at North Patenga, Chattogram.
• Consultant, review of bills for data hosting and server management services provided by BDCCL to the a2i project.
• Earlier: Lecturer, Daffodil International University (2003 to 2005); Research Assistant, Centre for Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP).

Selected publications

1. Chaity, N., Islam, K. M. Z., Masud, A., Islam, M., Rahman, M. and Kabir, S. (2025) Sustainable pathways to circular economy adoption: insights from the RMG sector of Bangladesh. Business Strategy and the Environment, 34, 5857-5868. doi:10.1002/bse.4277
2. Sultana, N., Zeya, F., Islam, K. M. Z. and Rodriguez, A. J. (2025) The role of total assets in financial performance: evaluating econometrics and machine learning approaches. Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, 37(1), 204-215.
3. Alam, M. N. and Islam, K. M. Z. (2022) Profitability determinants of non-bank financial institutions under Basel regulations: evidence from a frontier market. Global Business Review. doi:10.1177/09721509221101102
4. Chaiti, N. S. and Islam, K. M. Z. (2021) Bank efficiency and practice of earnings management: a study on listed commercial banks of Bangladesh. Asian Journal of Accounting Research. doi:10.1108/AJAR-09-2020-0080
5. Islam, K. M. Z., Akter, Y. and Alam, N. (2020) Macroeconomic variables and stock returns in Bangladesh: an empirical analysis in the presence of structural breaks. Journal of Economic Development, 45(2), 115-141.
6. Bäckman, S., Islam, K. M. Z. and Sumelius, J. (2011) Determinants of technical efficiency of rice farms in North-Central and North-Western regions in Bangladesh. The Journal of Developing Areas.
7. Hossain, M. M., Heinonen, V. and Islam, K. M. Z. (2008) Consumption of foods and food stuffs processed with hazardous chemicals: a case of Bangladesh. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32(6), 588-595.

All 76 of his publications are listed on Our research works, and on Google Scholar.