ABSTRACT
The sustainability of regional development can be explored from several different angles. In this chapter, the capacity to cope with change is stressed and therefore, as is argued in more detail below, strategic leadership is seen as a central force in the efforts of many regions to adapt to a changing environment, not like drift-wood in a stream, but with purpose. This chapter approaches sustainable regional development by examining conceptually the answers to ‘what roles does strategic leadership play in strategic adaptation?’ and ‘what is the interplay like between strategic intent and emergent development from the leadership point of view?’ Therefore, the practical and philosophical focus of this project is the link between emergence and intention for sustainable regional development, specifically as it relates to the development of such innovation-oriented entities that continuously need to reinvent themselves.
