Doris Schneeberger, Vienna University of Economics and Business

Linda Tallberg, University of Lapland

José-Carlos García-Rosell, University of Oulu

Astrid Huopalainen, Aalto University

Eline Jammaers, Hasselt University

Katherine Dashper, Leeds Beckett University

Helen Wadham, Manchester Metropolitan University

Whilst human treatment of animals has long been a subject of considerable debate within the ethics literature, it is only in more recent years that scholars in business have examined ethical issues around the tourism and food industries, innovation, business education, animal rights and business failure, posthumanism, art, work involving animals, multispecies space, animal protection work, and stakeholder theory. Such interest is to be welcomed. Nevertheless, the interest that business scholars have shown in non-human animals remains piecemeal, and often seems unaware of non-Western or indigenous perspectives. Additionally, ongoing technological developments that have the potential to radically transform the moral demarcations we make between humans and other non-human animals have hitherto received limited attention. Such transformations could slow down, or potentially reverse, the exponential increase in human domination over animals that has been evidenced over the past two centuries, and could significantly impact producers who still depend on traditional ways of animal production.

The present call seeks studies that critically examine human-animal relations in the workplace, industry, or other societally organized spaces. We invite contributions that take an ethical, political, and/or multispecies lens to bring animals from the margins to the center of focus and analysis. We are especially interested in scholarly work that builds on interdisciplinary insights from animal ethics in general.

Industrial animal agriculture not only causes enormous animal suffering but also has severe negative ramifications for our planetary ecosystem, biodiversity, climate change, and species extinction. Despite this, meat production is at its highest level ever, with an expanding animal industry. Given that these animals are commonly raised in inhumane and unnatural circumstances, further discussion on the ethical challenges of killing sentient animals for food and alternative ways of producing animal products is required.

Corporate disclosure concerning animal welfare also awaits further discussion. Companies may be reluctant to include animals in their CSR reports and codes of ethics, fearing potential accountability issues from powerful activists and social movements. Only a few recent scholarly efforts have explored the question of CSR and animal welfare. Some scholars have chosen to be deliberately critical and provoke change by, for example, advocating for an accounting of animal welfare as a potential avenue forward.

Recent work on DEI has highlighted the overlapping inequalities animals and marginalised humans face, requiring equality policies that are both multispecies and intersectional. Others have called for more research around intersecting issues of asymmetrical power and care, like the ecofeminist tradition, as well as interspecies solidarity and justice. Developing multispecies inclusivity based on illuminating the animal's standpoint moves the traditional organizational lens to a post-anthropocentric way of perceiving, fostering multispecies wellbeing. Scholars might thus also seek inspiration from Indigenous ontologies which perceive life as interconnected.

Potential topics

• Applying animal ethics theories to business ethics: Using specific animal ethics theories (e.g., rights-based, utilitarian, care ethics) to address business ethics issues
• Corporate disclosure, CSR, and accounting for animals: Examining how businesses disclose and account for their impact on animals
• Expanding business ethics frameworks to include animals: Discussing how stakeholder theory, corporate moral responsibility, or, for example, triple bottom line (TBL) approaches could incorporate animals
• Non-Western and Indigenous ethical perspectives on multispecies organizations: Exploring how Indigenous and non-Western philosophies can inform business-ethics approaches to animals
• Animals as workers: Investigating ethical concerns regarding animals used as workers in diverse settings, from agriculture to entertainment
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the role of animals: Extending DEI discussions to consider nonhuman animals in business contexts
• Multispecies inclusivity: Analyzing how businesses can integrate multispecies perspectives into ethical and operational frameworks
• Animal tourism: Addressing ethical challenges and exploitation in wildlife tourism, zoos, and entertainment industries
• Technological innovations and their impact on animals: Examining cultivated animal products, alternative proteins, AI, and digitalization in relation to animals
• Farmed animals and emerging business models: Investigating ethical issues in new farming methods such as precision and regenerative agriculture
• Hard-to-access animal-use industries: Exploring ethical concerns in medical research, pharmaceuticals, and laboratory testing

Timeline

• August 31, 2026: Full paper submission deadline