This paper examines the issue of sustainable development of the region in relation to innovation. Sustainability has been discussed at various levels. This paper shows that when approaching the issue of sustainability from a managerial perspective, it is promising to study the issue on a regional basis. Theoretical examination was conducted by integrating the idea of collective impact into Kanai's (2012) model of regional innovation, which holds the key to sustainable development. Through this examination, it became clear that an entrepreneurial platform capable of involving people from diverse sectors and developing effective interactions plays an important function in approaching the ambiguous and complex issue of regional sustainability. The role of entrepreneurial platforms (Entrepreneurship II) in regional innovation can be thought of as a mechanism that brings together diverse dispersed knowledge, increases the potential for new combinations through new interpretations, and promotes innovation (Entrepreneurship I). In other words, by autonomous interaction among diverse actors through dialogue and practice, platform creates new practical knowledge as a base for innovation and stimulates entrepreneurship by reducing ambiguity and uncertainty. It functions as a mechanism to promote innovation by attracting potential entrepreneurs interested in the agenda and making entrepreneurs visible, thereby increasing the potential for resource mobilization.

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In these chaotic times, there is an urgent need for human resources who can set up and solve social problems. One of the candidates for this job may be a Kosen (College of Technology) student (or Kosen graduate). From the age of 15, Kosen students spend five years studying specialized and general education, including practical training, in order to become engineers. For a long time, Kosen students have been regarded as “human resources who support the manufacturing industry,” but recently, expectations for Kosen students as entrepreneurs have been increasing. The practical educational system and educational environment of Kosen, centering on PBL and internships, have something in common with entrepreneurial education. In fact, there have been many cases of Kosen students starting their own businesses while still in school or after graduation. The government and economic organizations have begun to support Kosen, recognizing the potential of Kosen students. In addition, alumni of Kosen have formed a nationwide network of Kosen called the “Kosen-kai (Association of Kosen students)” to expand their own networks and to foster the development of future generations. These changes will promote the emergence of startups from Kosen.

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The purpose of this paper is to examine the process by which an incumbent firm with overwhelming competitive power is overtaken by a latecomer, considering the effects of competition among incumbents. If a latecomer improves its competitive position when the incumbent exists alone, then the problem is primarily due to problems within the incumbent firm. Studies on the timing of entry have shown that incumbents are unable to respond adequately to latecomers due to factors such as differences in the quality and quantity of resources and lack of organizational responsiveness. However, when there is competition among incumbents in a product market, competitive relationships among incumbents also affect their ability to respond to latecomers. This is because incumbents need to respond to competition from latecomers and other incumbents. This study examines the above issues through a case study analysis of the Chinese share cycle industry. In this industry, Ofo and Mobike, which had dominated the market, lost their position to the latecomer Hellobike in less than two years. In addition to the factors that have been pointed out in previous studies, there is a competitive behavior among incumbents behind this reversal. Faced with a tradeoff between responding to latecomers and responding to other incumbents, incumbents, even if they were willing to respond to the threat of latecomers, choose the latter for fear of losing their current market position to other incumbents. Incumbents become strongly bound to each other's competitive behavior through previous competition.

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Craft businesses present a growth opportunity with an alternative value proposition and are expected to contribute to society by creating employment opportunities and promoting local economies. In order for start-ups in this sub-category to realize growth, it is important to have insight on the characteristics of entrepreneurship that lead to growth while maintaining the identity as a craft business, the choice of equity-based crowdfunding as a method for scale-up and the new governance structures to be formed, and the potential as well as the challenges of the choice. This study aims to gain such insights from the case study of BrewDog, a UK-based craft beer start-up that has achieved outstanding growth utilizing equity-based crowdfunding (CF). The case shows that decision-making and entrepreneurial behavior under uncertainty in its start-up phase can be characterized as the practice of effectuation, a nonpredictive decision-making logic. Also, in scale-up, it is shown that effectual entrepreneurs shape their businesses through relationship building with involved parties. While the potential of equity-based CF to utilize relationships with customers in craft businesses is presented, the formation of new corporate governance structure with multiple stakeholders, including investment funds, in the later stages of growth, is argued as well as its function and challenges. Under the new governance structure, entrepreneurs can use corporate governance techniques that utilize checks and balances between multiple stakeholders to secure management control while maintaining the identity of the craft business. The customers, who join the stakeholders as shareholders through CF, act as anchors for maintaining the identity.

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