You are most welcome to the next multi-campus SBS seminar with a focus is on multispecies perspectives to sustainable organising! In this seminar, we have research presentations from PhD researchers Anna-Mari Rimppi and PhD researcher Mily Vázquez Harkivi. Anna is joining the presentation in person in Vaasa and Mily in Helsinki.

Anna-Mari Rimppi: Animal Participation in Multispecies Service Ecosystems

Animals play important roles in a wide range of services, from assistance and therapy to tourism and leisure, yet service research has predominantly focused on the value they create for humans. This doctoral research explores animal participation in multispecies service ecosystems through three complementary perspectives: value creation in animal-based services, consumers’ animal welfare literacy, and stakeholder relations among animals, customers, and service providers. Drawing on a structured literature review and qualitative interviews with consumers, service providers, and animal welfare experts, the research examines how animal participation is organized, interpreted, and negotiated in different service contexts. By bringing these perspectives together, the research aims to advance understanding of animals as stakeholders and their role in shaping service ecosystems.

Bio: Anna-Mari Rimppi is a doctoral researcher in the Marketing and Consumption Research Group at the University of Vaasa. Her research interests lie at the intersection of consumer culture and service research, focusing on the cultural and ethical dimensions of human–animal relationships in commercial services. An experienced animal trainer, she also serves as the programme director of Tampere University’s behavior analysis-based animal trainer education programme.

Mily Vázquez Harkivi: Biodiversity: Valuable asset, chaotic liability, or pillar of our ecosystems?

I will talk about the complexities of managing biodiversity in organisations. I outline the challenges related to accounting (understood as recording and disclosing information) as a key business function dealing with “the random”. I will explore international frameworks as drivers to balance the business and nature logics.

Bio: Mily Vázquez Harkivi is a first-year doctoral student from the Auditing and Control in Accounting research group in the University of Vaasa. Her research examines sustainability reporting frameworks like CSRD in Finnish MNCs. She has experience in studying CSR, environmental communication, and sustainable business management. In recent years, her work has addressed the EU’s CSRD and the challenges of the double materiality assessment.