Education

Ph.D., Human Environmental Sciences, Emphasis in Textile and Apparel Management, University of Missouri
M.S., Textile and Apparel Management, University of Missouri
B.S., Textile Technology, Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh

Background

Md. Rafiqul Islam Rana is an assistant professor in the Department of Retailing at the University of South Carolina. Rana joined the department after receiving his master’s and Ph.D. in textile and apparel management from the University of Missouri. He also holds a B.Sc. degree in textile engineering, majoring in fabric manufacturing technology. Before joining academia in the U.S., Rana worked in multiple full-time positions as a knitwear merchandiser, sourcing executive, product developer, and production planner in Bangladesh for three years, which provided him with a holistic understanding of both the upstream and downstream supply chain of the fashion industry. He incorporated his real-life professional experience in the classroom while teaching courses such as global sourcing and multinational retailing.

Rana’s research is a blend of supply chain management in the textile and apparel industry, emerging retail strategies and digital innovation, consumer behavior in omnichannel settings, fashion informatics and sustainability. His research has been published in leading journals such as International Journal of Consumer Studies, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, and International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education. In addition, he was honored to receive the best paper awards at both master’s and doctoral levels from International Textile and Apparel Association.

Along with research and teaching, Rana is a proponent of inclusive excellence: diversity, equity and inclusion in both higher education and the industry.

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In the Media

Expand all

2024

• Sustainable Fashion: A Closer Look at Transparency: GO TRACE
• Global Markets Meltdown: World Business Report on the BBC World Service
• 'Highly Abnormal': How Student Protests Could Further Roil Bangladesh’s Garment Sector: Sourcing Journal
• Bangladesh in Turmoil. What Comes Next for Apparel Production?: Sourcing Journal
• Violence Breaks Out Over BGMEA Leadership: Sourcing Journal, also picked up by Yahoo News
• Why are car insurance prices so different from state to state? WalletHub

2023

• Best Store Credit Cards: WalletHub

Research Interests

• Emerging Retail Strategies
• Supply Chain Management
• Omnichannel Consumer Behavior
• Sustainability
• Fashion Informatics

Teaching

• RETL 385 – Global Sourcing in Retail and Fashion
• RETL 485 – Multi-National Retailing

Honors / Awards

• Best conference paper winner (2024). American Collegiate Retailing Association
• Doctoral best paper winner (2022). International Textile and Apparel Association
• Mizzou 18 (2022). Mizzou Alumni Association, University of Missouri
• Lois Dickey Fellowship: Outstanding Doctoral Student (2021). International Textile and Apparel Association
• Distinguished Graduate Research Award (2021). College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri
• Master’s best paper winner (2019). International Textile and Apparel Association

Professional Affiliations

• International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA)
• American Collegiate Retailing Association (ACRA)
• Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Honor Society
• Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)

Selected Publications

Lee, H., Rana, M. R. I., Xu, Y. (2024). Transforming luxury: Young consumers’ motivations toward purchasing virtual luxury non-fungible token wearables. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-12-2023-0712

Rana, M. R. I., McBee-Black, K., Swazan, I. S. (2024). Adaptive apparel for people with disabilities: A systematic literature review and future research agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 48(3), e13057. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.13057

Rana, M. R. I., & Youn, S. (2024). Knowledge management and fashion retail performance: The moderating role of product complexity. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-07-2023-0468

McBee-Black, K., Rana, M. R. I., Ipaye, H., Wu, J., & Burns, C. (2024). Intimate apparel challenges and consumer satisfaction among female and non-binary people with disabilities: An exploratory study to formulate future research opportunities. Fashion Practice. 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/17569370.2024.2312928

Jestratijevic, I., Uanhoro, J. O., & Rana, M. R. I. (2023). Transparency of sustainability disclosures among luxury and mass-market fashion brands: Longitudinal approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140481

Rana, M. R. I., & Ha-Brookshire, J. (2023). An empirical study on supply chain agility and disruption mitigation performance of U.S. fashion retailers: Knowledge management capability perspective. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 28(1), 99-116. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-10-2022-0205

Youn, S. Y., Rana, M. R. I., & Kopot, C. (2022). Consumers going online for big-box retailers: Exploring the role of feeling disconnected during a pandemic. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 46(6), 2383-2403. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12793

Rana, M. R. I., & Ha-Brookshire, J. (2020). The relationships between buyers' mediated power and suppliers' psychologically defensive workplace behavior: Case of Bangladeshi apparel manufacturing firms. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 24(2), 195-211. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-06-2019-0111

Rana, M. R. I., & Ha-Brookshire, J. (2019). New conceptual framework for fashion business ideation, negotiation, and implementation undergraduate curricula for sustainable development. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 12(2), 140-148. https://doi.org/10.1080/17543266.2018.1534003

Islam, M. T., Rashid, M. R., & Rana, M. R. I. (2016). Influence of different chemical treatments on the properties of PC fabric used as lining. International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, 28(6), 726-735. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCST-05-2015-0062