• BA (Economics)
• MA (Geography)
• MBA (Marketing)
• Ph.D. (Management)
• GCPCL, Harvard Business School
• CWCD, Harvard Busniess School 

• Marketing
• Interest Areas
  • Sales and Distribution Management
  • International Marketing
  • Services Marketing
  • Marketing of Financial Services

Profile Summary

Three decades of experience in the industry and academia.

Faculty Experience

Currently Professor & Head, GIFT City campus, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. Facilitating courses like International Marketing, Sales & Distribution Management, and Services Marketing at various campuses of IIFT viz Delhi, Kolkata, and Dar-es-Salaam campuses since Nov. 2007. Have been Program Director of various batches (full-time and executives) and MDPs apart from administrative responsibilities such as Corporate Relations & Placements, Contracts Committee, Library Committee and Hindi Cell.

Dr. Sharma has conducted several capacity-building programs related to international marketing and exporting in several African countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Burkina Faso. He has been a regular speaker/resources person at several product/service organizations, The Federation of Indian Export Organizations, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ahmedabad Management Association, Export Promotion Councils, Industry associations, and the Department of MSMEs.

He has also taught International Business at IIM Kozhikode (2025) International Marketing at IIM, Raipur (2021), and marketing principles on the Swayam Platform of MHRD, GoI, apart from being guest faculty at several top institutes like Nirma Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, MS University, Baroda, National Institute of Agricultural Marketing, Jaipur, Hyderabad, and others.

Corporate Experience

• Rich experience in institutional sales and services marketing with renowned organizations like Airfreight Ltd., NIS Sparta, and others for over a decade.
• As Sr. Manager (Marketing & Services) at leading water treatment solutions and fully automatic vending machines. Handled business development, test marketing of new products, network development, and product launches.
• Conducted several sales and marketing training sessions as Sr. Faculty-cum-Business Manager at NIS Sparta, a premier sales and marketing training organization.
• As Branch Head, led business development, operations, and customer service teams at AFL Logistics (Airfreight Limited) and Territory Manager, Eureka Forbes Ltd. (Institutional Sales Division).

Consulting/Training Experience

• Member, Committee for Advanced Trade Research (CATR), Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) (2022-23)
• Advisory Board Member of Food Solutions (I) Ltd. Ahmedabad (2017-2019)
• Have trained about 2000 managers & executives of renowned organizations. The partial client list includes Claris Lifesciences, Ambuja Cement, NDDB, Eureka Forbes Ltd., AFL Logistics, First Flight Couriers, Gruh Finance, and others on Service Excellence, Internal Marketing, Professional Selling Skills, and Sales Management. In addition, designed, developed, and delivered long-term management development intervention viz. Transformational Leadership and Team Orientation & Professional Skills (TOPS) programs for developing senior managers and potential sales managers of Claris Otsuka Ltd. with 15 days of development exercise per batch over six months (200 managers) during 2004-2007.
• Certified Trainer-Philip Crosby Associates Inc., the USA on Quality Improvement Process Management, Internal Instructor at Airfreight Ltd.

Invited Talks at Industry Associations

• Regular Invitee/Resource Person, Training Sessions on Screening, Identification and Selection of Foreign Markets; International Marketing Communication & Branding, Export Negotiations, and other International Marketing Themes, FIEO, Eastern Region, Kolkata.
• Regular Invitee/Resource Person, Training Sessions on International Marketing Themes for Industry Professionals, Ahmedabad Management Association, Centre for International Trade, Government of Gujarat.
• Regular Invitee/Resource Person, delivering expert sessions on international marketing, export strategy, AI in global business, SME Development, and digital transformation for industry professionals exporters, and academic-industry forums.
• Series of Invited Talks on ‘Rethinking Handicraft Export Sales amid the Uncertainty of Coronavirus’ and ‘Presenting Products Internationally with Effective Communication,’ Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts for the Exporters from Jodhpur, Moradabad, Agra, Firozabad, Saharanpur and Kolkata Clusters (Virtual Conferences).
• (25 July 2025), Featured Speaker, CNBC-TV18 SME Masterclass addressing global expansion strategies for Indian SME's including a session on the impace of SME's on the Indian economy and their critial role in shaping India's furture growth tracjectory, while highlighting the role of management Development Programs (MDP), IIFT in supporting internationalization.
• (25 May 2026), Speaker, "AI and the Future of Global Busniess", Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), Ahmedabad - session focused on the role of AI in transforming international business and global career opportunities.
• (13 March 2026), Panelist, CeDT Digital Social Innovation Conclave IBS Hyderabad - discussion on leveraging digital technologies, innovation ecosystems and sustainability for inclusive development.
• (22 January 2025) Speaker, India Today GI Samagam - Capitalising on India's Rich Heritage, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi - deliberations on the "Kashi Model" and the role of Geographical Indications (GI) in economic and cultural development.
• (28 February 2020), Conducted workshop on International Marketing & Sales, Exporting Industries of Madhya Pradesh, Melange Curator, Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
• (4 May 2020), Speaker, ‘Rethinking Strategy and Tactics for International Marketing during COVID 19’, Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO)’s Pan India Exporters program, (online).
• (3 December 2019), Resource Person, Training Program on Success Strategy for Marketing Abroad, Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), Eastern Region program for Member Exporters, Kolkata.
• (24 May 2019), Resource Person, Training Program on International Marketing Strategy, FIEO Eastern Region program for Member Exporters, Kolkata.
• (22 February 2019), Speaker, Export Awareness Workshop, District Industries Centre, Directorate of MSMEs in collaboration with Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), Eastern Region, Kolkata.
• (18 January 2019), Invited Talk, ‘Identifying Foreign Markets for Handicraft Exporters’, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), Eastern Region Office, Kolkata.
• (31 October 2018), Invited Speaker, Export Awareness Program, Directorate of MSME, Government of West Bengal.

• Sama. R., Tolia V., Sharma, R. P., Srinvastava, S., & Yousaf, A. (2025). Exploring Mindful Consumption in Cross-border E-commerence: Moderating Role of Return Policy Leniency. NMIMS Managament Review, 33(2), 103-114. https://doi.org/10.1177/09711023251336883 (Original work published 2025).
• Aditya Narayan Rai, Manjit Singh, Rajendra Prasad Sharma, Anjan Sen: Role of cultural fairs in re-imaging cognitive image of city brands: Studying the Deepotsay in Ayodhya, Transactions | Vol.47, No.1,2025 | 175-188. Trans. Inst. Indian Geographers, ISSN 0970-9851, Indexed in Scopus.
•  Bhattacharya, S., Sharma, R.P. and Gupta, A. (2022), “Country of Origin and Online Retailing Ethics: The Mediating role of Trust and Satisfaction on Purchase Intention, International Journal of Emerging Markets, Emerald Publishing, ABDC B category, ISSN: 1746-8809, https://doi.org/10.1108/ijoem-08-2021-1233
• Bhattacharya, S., Sharma, R.P. and Gupta, A. (2022), “Does e-retailer’s country of origin influence consumer privacy, trust and purchase intention?”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 40, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-04-2021-4611 ABDC (A category journal), Emerald Publishing.
• Bhattacharya, S., & Sharma, R. P. (2022). The Impact of Country of Origin, Trust, and Satisfaction on Online Purchase Intention in Emerging Markets: An Indian Perspective. Jindal Journal of Business Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/22786821221082617
• Sood H, Sharma RP (2021). Customer Digital Engagement and Lifetime Value: An Empirical Study of Telecom Services in India. FIIB Business Review. December 2021. doi:10.1177/23197145211065086, Scopus-indexed, Sage journal.
• Bhattacharya, S., Sharma R.P., Gupta A. (2021): Determinants of Consumer Perceptions of the Ethics of Online Retailers: An Investigation using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Vision, The Journal of Business Perspective, Sage (ABDC- C), Accepted for publication.
• Sharma R.P. and Kaur R. (2020): India-Latam: Cultural Proximity & Trade Potential: A Post Pandemic Scenario, Journal of International Marketing and Exporting, Vol. 22, No 1. 2020, pp.19-32, (ABDC- C)
• Maheshwari, N. & Sharma, R.P.: Growth of Patanjali Brand from Local to Global Market: A study, THE IUP JOURNAL OF BRAND MANAGEMENT, ICFAI University Press, Vol. XIV, No. 4, Dec. 2017, ISSN: 0972-9097.
• Sharma, RP, and Sarkar, P.P.: Marketing to the rural poor in India- An empirical study of North Kerala, SKYLINE BUSINESS JOURNAL, A research publication of Skyline University College, Sharjah, UAE, Vol. XII, Issue 1, 2016-1, pp 28-36, ISSN 1998-3425.
• Majumder, S & Sharma, RP, Trends in Shared Services for Sustainable Business Impact, The ALTERNATIVE, Journal of Management Studies and Research, BITS, Mesra, April-Sept. 2014, Vol. XIII, Issue2, pp 19-26, ISSN 0973-0451.
• Sharma, RP, Chittora G & Saxena K: An empirical study of e-commerce practices of Indian Organizations, Management & Change, No. 2, Volume 14, 2010, ISSN 0972-2149.
• Sharma, RP: Meeting faculty shortage: A major challenge for Indian B-schools, The ALTERNATIVE, Journal of Management Studies and Research, BITS, Mesra, Vol: VIII, No.:2; April- Sept.’09, ISSN 0973-0451.
• Sharma, RP: Human Resource: A source of competitive advantage for India Inc., The ALTERNATIVE, Journal of Management Studies and Research, BITS, Mesra, Vol: VII, No.:1 & 2; Oct.’07- Sept.’08, ISSN 0973-0451.
• Sharma, RP: An empirical study of life insurers in India, SCOUR, Journal of Institute of Productivity & Management, Vol. 01 No. 02 July 2007, ISSN 0973- 6123.
• Decoding the right market selection & entry strategies, India Business & Trade, September, 27, 2022, Available at:https://www.tpci.in/indiabusinesstrade/blogs/decoding-the-right-market-selection-entry-strategies/
• How MSMEs can go beyond branding to emotionally connect with consumers through ‘lovemark’Financial Express, July 4, 2022, Available at: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/msme-eodb-how-msmes-can-go-beyond-branding-to-emotionally-connect-with-consumers-through-lovemark/2582740/
• Sharma RP (2022), The fall of products and the rise of services, ET Brand Equity,Published on3 February 2022, Available at: https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/the-rise-of-services-and-fall-of-products/89306274
• Sharma, R.P. (2021), Will women do better at marketing to women? ET Brand Equity, 14 February 2021, Available at https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/will-women-do-better-at-marketing-to-women/80912569
• Sharma, R.P. (2021), “Is personal selling dead? The rise of virtual selling”, ET Brand Equity, 23 January 2021, Available at https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/digital/is-personal-selling-dead-the-rise-of-virtual-selling/80417593
• Sharma, R.P. (2020), ‘The mystery of ‘human-like customer-brand relationships, ET Brand Equity, 27 September 2020, Available at https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/business-of-brands/the-mystery-of-human-like-customer-brand-relationships/78337974
• Sharma, R. P. (2020), Customer-centric and responsive sales & marketing during crisis, ET Brand Equity, 23 August 2020, Available at https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/customer-centric-and-responsive-sales-marketing-during-crisis/77670191
• Sharma, R. P. (2020), ‘Brand or availability: What took prominence during the pandemic?’ ET Brand Equity, 13 July 2020, Available at https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/brand-or-availability-what-took-prominence-during-the-pandemic/76921011
• Sharma, R.P. (2020)‘Creating ‘Moments of Magic’ during the ‘Moments of Misery’ by Delivering the Right Elements of Value,’ Manage Magazine, Denmark. 1 May 2020, Available at: https://managemagazine.com/article-bank/marketing/creating-moments-of-magic-during-moments-of- misery- by- delivering-the-right-elements-of-value/?fbclid=IwAR1lXgbbT-tlat7TB40xdTRT_KZiOHLxyWhIto9CE8lvUSSpYQeTgtr0gOw
• Sharma, RP: Enhancing Handloom Exports from India, Monthly Newsletter of Handloom Exports Promotion Council (HEPC), Ministry of Textiles, GOI, Vol. XLIX. No. 12; March 2017.
• Majumder, S & Sharma, RP: “Indian ITES Industry Going Rural: The Road Ahead,” Journal of Business & Economic Policy, (ISSN 2375-0774), Vol. 1 No. 2, December 2014, pp 79-8
• Sharma, RP & Maheshwari, N.: “A study on the customer awareness and perception level towards green cars,” International Journal of Technology Enhancements & Emerging Engineering Research (ISSN 2347-4289), Vol. 2, Issue 5, 201
• Sharma, RP: Book review- “The Future” by Al Gore, Publisher: WH Allen (ISBN9780753540503) in FIIB BUSINESS REVIEW (FBR), Volume 4, Issue 2, Apr. - Jun. 2015, pp 32-33, ISSN 2319-7145.
• Bhattacharya, S., Sharma, R.P. (2022), "Advanced Services Accelerating Servitization: A Review Synthesis and Future Research Agenda", Rana, S., Sakshi and Singh, J. (Ed.) Exploring the Latest Trends in Management Literature (Review of Management Literature, Vol. 1), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 169-183. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2754-586520220000001009
• Bhattacharya, S., & Sharma, R. P. (2021). Servitization of Business in Heavy Equipment Industry. Servitization: A Pathway Towards A Resilient, Productive And Sustainable Future, 285. https://publications.aston.ac.uk/id/eprint/42739/1/Servitization.pdf#page=297
• Sharma, RP: The role of sales leaders in sales effectiveness: Perception of sales reps in India, Proceedings of Evidence-Based Management (ICEBM 2015) by BITS, Pilani, 21-22 March 2015, Excellent Publishing House, Vol. II, ISBN: 978-93-84935-18-4.
• Sharma, RP, and Sarkar, PP: Employee and customer perception about women entrepreneurs leading service businesses in India. Volume II of the Eleventh Biennial Conference on Entrepreneurship (18-20 Feb. 2015) at EDI, Ahmedabad; Publisher: Bookwell, ISBN: 978-93-80574-76-9.
• Sharma RP: Selling Services in Emerging Markets - An empirical study of sales force management in Indian life insurance organizations in the Proceedings of 6th IIMA Conference on Marketing in Emerging Economies, January 7-9, 2015, ISBN 978-81-920800-3-1.
• Rangarajan K, Sharma, RP & Sarkar D.: CAPEXIL Strategic Plan, 2009
• Dutta, G, Sharma RP & Ghosh, TP: Declining Trends in Exports of Handicrafts from India, 2009

Conferences

• Bhattacharya, S., & Sharma, R. P. (2020). “Transformation of Business through Servitization: Review, Synthesis & Future Research Agenda,” Conference paper, Rajagiri Business School.
• Sood, H. and Sharma, R.P. (2019) ‘Impact of Digitalization on CLV (Customer Life-Time Value) with Special Focus on Service Industry,’ Book of Abstracts of the 2019 IIM INDORE-NASMEI Summer Marketing Conference, July 2019, Emerald Publishing, p. 163. ISBN - 978-1-78635-428-0.
• Sharma, RP: Branding Indian Tea for higher export unit value realization: IIFT’s Fifth International Conference on Empirical Issues in Trade and Finance, December 16-17, 2016 at Kolkata Campus.
• Sharma, RP: The role of sales leaders in sales effectiveness: Perception of sales reps in India at the First International Conference on Evidence-Based Management 2015 (ICEBM 2015), March 20-21, 2015, at BITS Pilani
• Sharma, RP: Role of India in accelerating growth of services sector in Tanzania, IIFT & IFM Conference at Dar es Salaam, 6 March 2015.
• Sharma, RP, and Sarkar, Pallabi Pal: Employee and customer perception about women entrepreneurs leading service businesses in India, at the Eleventh Biennial Conference on Entrepreneurship organized by Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India. Ahmedabad, 18-20 Feb. 2015.
• Sharma, RP & Maheshwari, N: Sustainable Development through green practices: An exploratory study on selected hotels of Kolkata, 5th Annual International Conference on Innovations and best practices in business, human and other Earth resources management at IISWBM, Kolkata, Jan. 15-16, 2015
• Sharma RP: Selling services in Emerging markets: An empirical study of sales force management in Indian life insurance organizations, 6th IIMA Conference on Marketing in Emerging Economies, January 7-9, 2015
• Sharma RP and Sarkar, Pallabi P: An empirical study of marketing to the rural poor in North Kerala at the Third International Marketing Conference, MARCON 2014 at IIM Calcutta, Dec. 18-20, 2014
• Sharma RP & Sharma GN: A new perspective in cement marketing: Augmenting the product presented in the national conference at Pacific University, 6-7 April 2013
• Sharma, RP & Maheshwari, N: Green marketing practices of Indian organizations presented in the national conference at Pacific University, 6-7 April 2013
• Life insurance marketing In India: Leveraging the strengths of multi-channel distribution, Journal of Marketing Trends, 8th Marketing trends congress, Paris (2009).

• Ahmedabad Management Association
• Harvard Business School - GCPCL
• AICTE MBA Curriculum Committee 
• Visiting Professor at IIM Raipur
• Visiting Professor at IIM Kozhikode
• IGNOU Swayam Platform