1. Farjana Nur Saima & Kazi Asequl Arefin (2022). Board Gender Diversity and Financial Distress Risk: Evidence from Bangladesh, Journal of Innovation in Business Studies, 2(1); ISSN2788-8673.Abstract: The study aims to find out whether board gender diversity matters in the corporate board and whether it can be valuable for predicting financial distress risk. The data set consists of 370 firm-year observations gathered from DSE-listed manufacturing firms during 2012-2019. The mean value shows the ratio of female directors in Bangladeshi firms is greater than in India but lower compared to other developed countries. Besides, the presence of female directors is greater in FD (financially distressed) firms than in non-FDs during the study period. Logistic regression finds a positive but statistically insignificant influence of BGD on the likelihood of FD. This finding supports the argument placed by other authors about female directors being the victims of tokenism specifically in family firms. Practically, the study will provide exclusive inputs for ensuring gender equality in corporate top management positions and facilitate reforming governance guidelines specific to country and culture relevant.

2. Kazi Asequl Arefin, Anwar Hossain, & Md. H Asibur Rahman (2021). Factor Affecting COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Bangladesh: An Empirical Investigation, IAR Journal of Health Care and Prevention, 1(1); ISSN 2789-6048.Abstract: This study aims to look at the causes of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Bangladesh by examining the cultural and religious values, lack of trust, misinformation, and fear of side effects as predictors of vaccine hesitancy. Selfdeveloped measurement items, developed based on the expert's opinion, were used to accomplish the objective. Data was gathered from 268 respondents who represented their community through both an online and a physical survey. SPSS version 25 was used to optimize descriptive statistics. Besides, SmartPLS 3.0 was used to examine the hypotheses using the PLS-SEM approach. The study confirms that lack of trust, misinformation and fear of side effects all play a role in vaccine hesitancy. Besides, the results have many significant implications for public health policymakers, vaccine manufacturers and distributors, and the media. Besides that, the study proposes some new research avenues for overcoming this study's limitations and gaining more detailed information on the topic.

3. Chowdhury Ummeh Kulsum, Kazi Asequl Arefin, & Saiful Anis Muhammad Sagir (2023). Adoption of Islamic Banking in a Mediated Mechanism: Bangladesh Perspective, Journal of Innovation in Business Studies, 2(2); ISSN 2788-8673.Abstract: Although Islamic banking is widely adopted in Bangladesh, the Bangladeshi banking sector is still dominated by conventional banks. While religious sentiment helped Islamic banks grow in Bangladesh, lack of awareness and negative perceptions about Islamic banking may diminish that growth. This study aims to investigate how the willingness to adopt Islamic banking in Bangladesh is affected by the awareness of Islamic Banking and religiosity and how these relationships are mediated by the perception of Islamic Banking. Data from 302 respondents were collected using convenience sampling with a closed-ended self administered questionnaire, while PLS-SEM was used to analyze the data. The study contributes to the existing literature by confirming the relationship between the aforementioned variables in the context of Bangladesh. As the study provides practical insights into the impact of perception, we recommend awareness and marketing campaigns to deal with potential negative perceptions from diminishing the willingness to adopt Islamic banking.

4. Kazi Asequl Arefin & Barna Bose (2025). Job Continuation Challenges of Women in Social and Economic Spheres of Corporate Job Sector in Dhaka City, Journal of Innovation in Business Studies, 5(1). 10.63266/JIBS/25050104.Abstract: The aim of this study is to find out the significant social and economic factors affecting the decision of job continuation of female employees in Dhaka city. The number of the educated women has increased greatly in Bangladesh over the years, but the country will not be able to reap the benefit fully if these women cannot continue their jobs. A closed ended semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 199 women from the diverse backgrounds. Convenience sampling was used to collect the data. Probit regression was used to analyse the data. The analysis revealed that age, nature of job, marital status, hours spent doing household work and the bullying behaviour by boss or colleagues, the vehicle facility, the access to day care facility and the family pressure to quit jobs significantly affects the decision of job continuation of female employees. In line with the results of this study, government may provide incentives to various organizations and simultaneously design social interventions to prevent these women from discontinuing their jobs.