Sharif’s research interests lie at the intersection of international business, strategy, and economic geography. His work specialises in regional competitiveness, manufacturing reshoring, global value chains, and the effects of locational factors on firm performance. He has successfully secured research grants for industry-relevant projects. One such grant supports the project ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Supply Chain Management in Advanced Manufacturing’, which aims to develop an AI-supported tool to help businesses manage their supply chains more effectively. Sharif has also received a research grant to lead a study investigating the impact of the growth of advanced manufacturing on regional competitiveness in Australia. The project, ‘Economic Complexity of Australian Regions’, examines the concentration and growth of advanced manufacturing across the country.

Previously, he collaborated with World Vision India, the Indian Institute of Management Udaipur (IIM Udaipur), and Monash University to secure a competitive grant from the Australian Government in 2021. He is also involved in the 'GLOBE 2020 (Global Leadership and Organisational Behavior Effectiveness)' Project as a co-country investigator, which includes over 400 researchers from more than 140 countries. In addition, he serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Review of International Business and Strategy.

Since joining Flinders University in 2019, Sharif introduced a student-centred, innovative teaching approach and received the Student-Led Teaching Award in 2022. Before joining Flinders University in December 2019, he taught international business and strategy at Monash Business School for six years, where he received commendations for outstanding teaching performance from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President (Education), Monash University.

Sharif received his PhD from Monash University. Situated within contemporary theoretical debates in international business literature, his doctoral thesis examined within-country location decision strategies of multinational firms using a multidisciplinary approach grounded in international business and economic geography.

He obtained his BSc in Economics (First Class, second in order of merit) from Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh and an MSc in International Development Studies (with distinction) from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.