Madhuparna has her academic background in sociology, BA (Hons) from Lady Brabourne College, Master of Arts degree from Presidency University and her PhD in Sociology from the Humanities and Social Sciences Dept, IIT Kanpur. She has a flair for research, with interests spanning the foundational pillars of sociology, such as family, marriage, and kinship; the rural-urban dichotomy; the social anthropology of credit and debt; and the social history of business communities. However, her primary academic focus lies in economic sociology, particularly the study of family firms and business families.

Her doctoral thesis is titled Gold Trade, Business Succession and Kindred Ties: A Sociological Study of the Subarnabaniks of Bengal. A review of business history and social anthropology literature highlights a gap in sociological research on traditional business communities and their social and trade histories. Madhuparna’s thesis examined a Bengali business community, the Subarnabaniks, traditionally involved in gold trading and banking. Using themes of state regulations, wealth accumulation, and kinship, her ethnographic-archival study offers new insights into the intersection of economic and social factors in trade communities. It explores gendered socialization, intergenerational business transfer, and the dynamics between family wealth, business inheritance, and heirs, shedding light on the sustainability of family businesses.