School of Business
School of Business
Associate Professor
Faculty Advisor, Enactus UFV
Faculty Associate, EFCIE
School of Business
Abbotsford campus, C2450
Phone: 604-504-7441 ext. 4122
email Saeed
Dr. Saeed Rahman began a post as Assistant Professor, School of Business, University of the Fraser Valley, in August 2019. He holds a PhD in International Management & Organization (Strategy, Organization Theory, and Sustainability stream) from University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business. His PhD dissertation investigates whether and how new knowledge about organization-nature interdependencies allows a business to: (1) effectively adapt to threats from ecosystem degradation including climate change or loss of biodiversity and (2) not further reduce broader ecosystem resilience. His current research explores how businesses in the agriculture and agri-food sector can successfully develop sustainable strategies based on critical knowledge about business-nature interface, and traditional/Indigenous and scientific knowledge on agricultural practices and ecosystem dynamics.
Prior to starting his PhD, Saeed earned an MBA in Strategy & Entrepreneurship from the University of Windsor, an MSc in International Management & Marketing from the Queen Mary University of London and an MBA in Marketing from the North South University. He also obtained an Ontario College Advanced Diploma in Business Admin. from the St. Clair College, Windsor, ON.
Saeed has experience teaching both undergraduate and graduate level courses on corporate social responsibility (CSR), business ethics, strategic management, principles of marketing, business decision making, introduction to business, international marketing, and Canadian business environment. Previously, he taught at University of Victoria, Canada, Royal Roads University, Canada and North South University, Bangladesh. Prior to academia, in a career span of more than 10 years, he worked in the development sector involving consulting projects with organizations like KPMG, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, Asian Development Bank and World Bank and in corporate sector for the multinational company Reckitt Benckiser UK Ltd.
Saeed is an active participant at the top conferences in management. His papers have been accepted for presentations at the Academy of Management (AoM), the Western Academy of Management, the European-based Group for Research on Organizations and Natural Environment (GRONEN), the Academy of International Business (AIB), the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) and several other niche, but high-ranking workshops in sustainability and strategic management.
Courses recently taught at UFV:
The Strategic Initiatives Fund, the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) ($5,750). 2021-2022. Project Title: Enactus UFV AgroHired Project. Principal Investigator.
Faculty/Student Research and Scholarly Activity Fund, the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) ($4,000). 2022-2023. Project Title: Innovations shaping urban agriculture in Canada: Case studies of agri-business companies in the Lower Mainland. Principal Investigator.
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship. ($40,000). 2017-2019. Project Title: Building dynamic capabilities for resilience: A study of competitive firm strategies that achieve environmental sustainability while also increasing competitiveness. Principal Investigator.
Graduate Fellowship, The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), University of Victoria. ($42,000). 2015-2017. Project Title: The Agri-food Industry of British Columbia: Adaptation to Impacts and Risks, and Opportunities from Climate Change. Principal Investigator.
Rahman, M. S., Winn, M., & Pogutz, S. Organizing in the Era of the Anthropocene: The Role of Human Agency in Building Resilient SESs. Paper accepted for presentation at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Seattle, Washington, USA, August 2022.
Rahman, M. S., Winn, M., & Pogutz, S. (2021, June). Paving the way for social innovation: New conceptual foundations for organizations and nature research. Paper presented at the 32nd International Association for Business & Society (IABS) Annual Conference on 'Social Innovation', Brussels, Belgium.
Rahman, M.S., Pogutz, S., & Winn, M. (2020, October). Inventing regenerative sustainability through exploration and collaboartion across sectors. Paper presented at the International Association for Business & Society (IABS) Conference, Lisbon, Spain.
Rahman, M. S., Winn, M., & Pogutz, S. (2018, August). Strategic shifts toward sustainability: The pivotal role of ecological knowledge. Paper presented at the Academy of Management (AoM) Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
Rahman, M. S., Winn, M., & Pogutz, S. (2018, June). Unpacking ecological knowledge in the Anthropocene: Toward an improved organizational relationship with ecosystems. Paper presented at the Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment (GRONEN) Research Conference, Almería, Spain.
Rahman, M. S., Danis, W., & Winn. M. (2017, July). Reverse innovation: Understanding the bottom-up process of knowledge creation and transfer within global multinationals. Paper presented at the Academy of International Business (AIB) Annual Meeting, Dubai, UAE. (Nominated for the Best Paper Award in AIB Emerging Economies Research).
Rahman. M. S., Pogutz, S., & Winn, M. (2017, May). Growing food in climatically turbulent times: Knowledge as a source of adaptive capacity. Paper presented at the 12th Organization Studies Summer Workshop on “Food Organizing Matters: Paradoxes, Problems and Potentialities”, Crete, Greece.
Allen, A., Rahman, M. S., & Adan, H. S. (2016, April). Development and evaluation of an International service-learning program in Tanzania for Canadian teacher candidates. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference, Washington, DC.
Allen, A., Rahman, M.S., & Adan, H.S. (2016, May-June). Examining the pedagogical distinctiveness of a short-term international service-learning program in Tanzania for teacher candidates at the University of Windsor. Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) Conference, Calgary, AB.
Rahman, M.S., & Allen, A. (2016, May-June). A systematic review of the International Service Learning (ISL) literature: Definition, theory and strategies for creating sustainable ISL program. Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) Conference, Calgary, AB.
Rahman, M.S., Winn, M., & Pogutz, S. (2016, May). Global climate change and the emergence of multi-level governance: The role of business, non-profit organizations and cross-sector alliances. Paper presented at the Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment (GRONEN) Research Conference, Hamburg, Germany.
Rahman, M.S., Winn, M., & Pogutz, S. (2016, March). Institutional entrepreneurship and dynamics of organizational identity and practice: Understanding how organizations contribute to creating, reproducing and transforming institutional logics. Paper presented at the Western Academy of Management (WAM) Annual Meeting, Portland, OR.
Rahman, S., Slawinski, N, & Winn, M. (May 23, 2022). How Ecological Knowledge Can Catalyze System-Level Change: Lessons from Agriculture & Beyond. Amplify, vol. 35, no. 5, 2022. https://www.cutter.com/sites/default/files/Amplify/2022/amp2205_0.pdf
Pizzirani, S., Newell, R., Glaros, A., Rahman, S., & Newman, L. (April 04, 2023). Vertical Farming and the Promise of Innovative Businesses for Improving Food Security and Conserving Biodiversity. Amplify, vol . 36, no. 3, 2023. https://www.cutter.com/sites/default/files/Amplify/2023/amp2303.pdf
Rahman, M. S., Pogutz, S., & Winn, M. (2020, July). Inventing regenerative sustainability: Theoretically, empirically, practically. Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society, 31, 89-99. doi: https://doi.org/10.5840/iabsproc2020319.
Rahman, M. S., Winn, M., & Pogutz, S. (2018, July). Strategic shifts toward sustainability: The pivotal role of ecological knowledge. Proceedings of the Academy of Management (AoM), Briarcliff Manor, NY, 2018(1), 15877. doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2018.15877abstract
Rahman, M.S. (2017). Suppliers’ compliance of multinational buyers’ codes of conduct in the ready-made garment industry: A case study of Bangladesh. In R. Jindal (Ed.), Proceedings of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) Conference: Vol. 38. Social Responsibility Division (pp. 5).
Rahman, M. S., Pogutz, S., & Winn, M. (2016). Policy vacuums and institutional voids in global climate governance. Proceedings of the Academy of Management, 2016(1), 14866.
Walker, K., & Rahman, M.S. (2013). The Detroit River International Crossing Bridge: A stakeholder analysis of how one wealthy individual could exercise his will against many. In G. Grandy (Ed.), Proceedings of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) Conference: Vol. 34. Case Track Division. (pp. 72-98). (Received an Honorable Mention).
I have a great appreciation for the professor who pushed me to get my CA designation. Isn’t it crazy how a little conversation can change your life so completely. Keith’s guidance alone has given me a lifetime of happiness and wealth. If I had gone to a larger university who knows if something like that would have ever happened. I am very proud of the route I took, but I wouldn’t have gotten there without my professors at UFV.