The Journal of Management and Organization (JMO) is the journal of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management. It is an international journal publishing work of global authors but has a distinct Australian and New Zealand heritage based on cultural and social pursuits. This means it is important to highlight how Australian and New Zealand management research has developed over the years and to acknowledge its uniqueness in global academia. This editorial focuses on JMO 2026 in terms of addressing needs to further ponder how values and context influences management research and practice. The role of research contexts and policy are discussed with the goal of enabling a future research agenda that specifically combines an Australian and New Zealand mindset.