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Management control for innovation: a review and research directions
(Emerald, 2026-04-29) Akroyd, Chris; Barros, Rúben Silva; Lövstål, Eva; Pan Fagerlin, Wen; Wu, Julia Yonghua
Purpose: Research on management control for innovation has shifted from viewing control as primarily constraining to recognizing that control can also enable innovation. However, common ways of classifying control such as mechanisms, tools or types of use can understate what makes management control in innovation settings distinctive. This paper aims to propose a vocabulary to support richer explanations of how management control both constrains and enables innovation over time. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the management control literature and the papers in this Special Issue, the authors develop a vocabulary that foregrounds six dimensions of management control that become especially salient in innovation contexts. These dimensions are Temporal, Reflexive, Adaptive, Performative, Pluralist and Strategic (TRAPPS). Findings: The TRAPPS vocabulary highlights six dimensions of management control that become especially salient in innovation settings. While innovation unfolds across multiple time horizons and phases (Temporal), it also involves learning about and reconsidering the effects of control (Reflexive) and sometimes requires reconfiguration as innovation paths shift (Adaptive). It is further shaped by sociomaterial arrangements that make some possibilities visible and actionable while pushing others into the background (Performative). It is influenced by multiple stakeholders and competing evaluative criteria (Pluralist) and by priorities and resource commitments that set direction (Strategic). The TRAPPS vocabulary therefore helps to show how different papers in the Special Issue foreground different dimensions and, in turn, reveals openings for future research Originality/value: The TRAPPS vocabulary of six dimensions can be used independently or alongside more general management control frameworks. In doing so, these dimensions highlight questions that may be overlooked when controls are treated as stable tools or mechanisms and provide a vocabulary for understanding management control for innovation.
Changing representations of indigenous identity through the language of picturebooks
(2026-02-03) Barbour, Julie
How do picturebook writers express Indigenous identities? How can picturebooks support readers to develop their understandings of Indigenous languages and cultures? In this lecture, we will focus on picturebooks published by Indigenous publisher HUIA, focusing on representations of te reo Māori (the Indigenous Māori language). In addition to identifying words and phrases from te reo Māori, we will consider how writers position those words in text to support reader comprehension, and how illustrators contribute to and enhance our understandings of cultural meanings. Unfolding research in this area points to shifting methods in writing that enhance the reader's access to new knowledge.
Investigating gamma power as a neural marker of mindfulness-related change
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Panzer, Erik; Doborjeh, Zohreh
Background: Mindfulness training has been shown to influence both psychological well-being and brain function. Neurophysiological studies using electroencephalography (EEG) have found that mindfulness practice can alter brain oscillations, particularly within frequency bands linked to attention, awareness, and emotional regulation. Despite growing evidence that mindfulness affects brain dynamics, the specific impact of mindfulness training on resting-state gamma activity and how such changes relate to psychological outcomes and facets of mindfulness remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the neurophysiological effects of mindfulness training, with a focus on gamma-band EEG activity and its association with psychological functioning. Method: This study used a longitudinal design with two groups (mindfulness training vs control). Resting-state EEG and self-report measures; Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) was collected at baseline (T1) and after a 6-week training period (T2). The primary focus was on gamma-band activity across five brain regions, (frontal, frontocentral, temporal, centroparietal, and occipitoparietal) and their relationship with mindfulness outcomes. Results: At T2, gamma power in frontal regions negatively correlated with the “Acting with Awareness” facet of mindfulness. Regression analyses showed that EEG activity, particularly Left Frontal Lower Gamma at T2 predicted mindfulness scores, explaining an additional 47.2% of the variance beyond baseline levels. Higher gamma power was associated with lower self-reported awareness, suggesting mindfulness training reduced neural activation in regions linked to automatic processing. These effects were not present in the control group. Conclusion: These findings indicate that mindfulness practice is associated with changes in gamma-band neural oscillations, which may reflect enhanced attentional control and reduced cognitive interference, key mechanisms underlying mental health resilience. By identifying gamma-band EEG markers predictive of mindfulness improvements, this study provides a foundation for developing personalized, brain-informed interventions that can be integrated into clinical settings to support stress reduction, emotional regulation, and overall mental well-being.
The breakfast effect revisited: Evaluating the influence of a recent meal on canine (Canis familiaris) performance in a scent detection task
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Yee, Journie; Edwards, Timothy L.
Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) are known for their excellent sense of smell, which is widely used to assist humans with important tasks. Despite this, there is limited research on how a dog's hunger state might influence their performance in scent-detection tasks. Previous research suggests that dogs demonstrate higher accuracy in search tasks when tested within 30 minutes of breakfast consumption. However, the underlying mechanisms are not clear, and whether similar effects might also occur in scent-detection tasks is unknown. One possible explanation is the glucose effect, which suggests that a recent meal improves cognitive performance. Alternatively, motivating operations (MO) theory suggests that feeding state modifies the dogs’ behaviour by changing the reinforcing effectiveness of food. Under this framework, recent food consumption is an abolishing operation (AO) that decreases the value of reinforcement and narrows stimulus control, while not eating recently is an establishing operation (EO), that increases the value of reinforcement and broadens response bias. This study evaluated scent-detection performance using an alternating-treatments design across breakfast (AO) and non-breakfast EO conditions. To prevent ceiling and floor effects, task difficulty was adjusted by increasing the formal similarity between target (discriminative stimulus; Sᴰ) and non-target odours across experimental phases. We hypothesised that the dogs would perform more accurately on the scent-detection task on breakfast days, as the absence of breakfast may increase the likelihood of false alarm indications, thereby reducing accuracy. Results showed that hit rates remained high, 89% across all phases in both conditions, and across individual sessions, ranging from 87%-93% for breakfast and 82% 94% for non-breakfast conditions. While correct-rejection rates were significantly higher on breakfast days (p = .016). This suggests that the AO narrowed stimulus control, whereas the EO broadened generalisation. A measure of log d and correct rejection rates improved significantly over time (p = .025; p = .014), suggesting that, cumulative food reinforcement (AO) throughout the day refined discrimination. These findings suggest that a recent meal functions as a MO which influence the precision of stimulus control, instead of, or possibly in addition to, a glucose effect.
Navigating national priorities, regionalism and internationalisation in National Universities of Moana Oceania
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Levy, Benjamin; Ellis, Sonja; Aporosa, S 'Apo'; Fa'avae, David Taufui Mikato
This thesis explores how national universities in Moana Oceania navigate national priorities, regionalism, and internationalisation. Focussing on five institutions - the National University of Samoa, Tonga National University, Solomon Islands National University, National University of Vanuatu and Fiji National University - the study is guided by the primary question: How are national priorities centred in national universities of Moana Oceania? Two secondary questions explore the impacts of regionalism and internationalisation on achieving these priorities. The research is framed through social constructionism alongside the Moana Oceania concepts of motutapu and wansolwara, which centre on relationality, the sacredness of place, and shared oceanic connectivity as foundations for knowledge-making and exchange. Methodologically, the study employs critical (Indigenous) ethnography and multiple descriptive case studies, drawing on talanoa, tok stori, and storian as culturally grounded, responsive, and relational knowledge-sharing, supported by collaborative sensemaking and critical policy analysis. The findings revealed three interrelated insights. First, national universities consistently positioned themselves as sites of nation-building and moral leadership, where higher education is inseparable from cultural identity, linguistic and epistemic continuity, and service to communities and the nation. Second, regionalism is experienced as both an anchor and a source of tension. Regional frameworks and institutions can provide solidarity, standards and voice, but often appear distant from the specificity of national contexts and priorities when driven by external agendas. Third, internationalisation is characterised by uneven power relations, donor dependency and epistemic asymmetry, but has the potential to be re-imagined as knowledge diplomacy when partnerships are relational rather than transactional, grounded in Indigenous leadership, reciprocity and equitable agency. Across the five case studies, centring Indigenous worldviews enabled a shift from peripheral adaptation to epistemic sovereignty and leadership in redefining what relevant higher education looks like in and for Moana Oceania. Conceptually, the thesis explores the idea of a ‘relational university’, elaborating on how national universities are being re-envisioned as institutions whose purposes, partnerships, and governance are anchored in Indigenous ethics of relationality, responsibility, and collective wellbeing, with practical and policy implications for regional cooperation and more equitable international engagement.