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The term of lateral thinking in Oxford dictionary is seeking to solve problems by unorthodox or apparently illogical methods. On the hypercompetitive markets agile, value-oriented, inspiring, collaborative, appreciative leaders are needed. These AVICA-type leaders have the ability to catalyze and develop adaptive processes. They are receptive to innovation and also open to the creative thoughts of others. The leader himself is also a lateral innovator and unfolds the creativity of the employees in business life and the students in higher education. The educators, in a lateral approach, are leaders, but can also be Renaissance-type people, polyhistors, homo ludens. Creativity researchers generally agree that educators’ view on creativity determines the way in which they deal with developing students’ mindset. In our research, we evaluate how important students consider the knowledge of lateral innovation to their related subjects, the development of their innovative way of thinking and how they perceive the activities of the lecturers in this direction. The other question is whether educators see lateral approach as an important value creation process. The ultimate goal of the research is to explore the factors that contribute to the implementation of the lateral mindset for the sustainable competitiveness of higher education in economics.

Both explicitly and implicitly, the central role of my writing is given to social trust, especially to its role in sustainable social futuring as a form of agile society in the twenty-first century. I consider the characterisation of trust a crucial notion as a theoretical frame of my paper. In the first part of my writing, I plan to introduce trust as social capital opposed to financial capital and other forms of human capital, its role in agile society building, focussing on its function as a social connective tissue. The theoretical part will be followed by a retrospection to the twentieth century Industry 4.0 peculiarities as a way that leads societal actors to the creation of Society 5.0 on a scientific, technological and political level. I intend to prove or confute statements regarding the relationship between social trust and the space for inclusive and sustainable social futuring, and Industry 4.0 peculiarities and inventions as a way of creating Society 5.0 and generating greater trust towards it. Finally, I plan to draw conclusions of the lessons of social futuring activities as a tool of creating agile society. I find this paper an especially important one in addressing the challenges of social trust building, of finding the appropriate steps towards the creation of an agile and responsive society and in describing the characterisations of Society 5.0.