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How does organisational mission affect the development of social entrepreneurship and social innovation? Based on the theoretical perspective of social innovation, the aim of this paper is to empirically analyse the impact of the organisation’s dual mission (social and economic) on social entrepreneurship and social innovation, as well as to discover the effect of the latter on the performance of organisations.

Using data from 213 social economy firms, the authors conduct an empirical test of hypotheses using structural equation modelling.

The empirical study shows that an organisation’s dual mission (social and economic) has a positive effect on social entrepreneurship. However, the results suggest that the creation of social innovations is based more on social dimensions than on the economic interest of companies. The results also confirm that companies willing to embark on social projects can develop new products or services that address social needs.

The findings not only supply empirical evidence that helps clarify the effects of economic and social missions on organisational performance but they also offer guidance to companies on the role of social innovation in strengthening organisations.

Open innovation is an issue that has aroused great interest in recent years. The need to create an environment that facilitates the creation of ideas is essential for the implementation of a series of changes in organizational practices and routines that lead to the launch of new products. However, due to the more behavioral nature and the lesser externalization of these changes introduced in the company's internal processes, how this process occurs has not been studied in depth. The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of an open innovation climate on both incremental and radical product innovation. Moreover, it specifically analyzes the mediating role played by hidden innovation in this relationship.

The methodology used in this study was based on a survey of 213 Spanish SMEs, subsequently applying the structural equation methodology to contrast the results.

The results indicate that open innovation climate offers significant competitive advantages to SMEs. First, the open innovation climate in SMEs favorably influences product innovation (both incremental and radical). Secondly, it is observed that hidden innovations are essential to obtain product innovations. Finally, evidence of the mediating effect of hidden innovation has been obtained.

Although the literature often focuses on visible innovation, materialized in product development, this study demonstrates the importance of other types of innovations that are necessary to launch new products. This is especially relevant for SMEs that, with limited resources, must be creative enough to involve their personnel in introducing changes that will lead to new products. This paper attempts to strengthen the previous literature on hidden innovation by contributing to the understanding of how SMEs improve their innovative processes. However, the study has the limitations derived from using a single informant to obtain data, using subjective-type scales and being a cross-sectional research.

Managers of SMEs involved in innovation processes should favor the creation of an open innovation climate and invest in organizational innovation. Governments should promote policies to support hidden and open innovation.

The main interest of this work is based on the importance of hidden innovation for the development of innovations. This study shows how organizations must make a series of organizational changes prior to the implementation of more visible innovations materialized in products. For this task, the creation of a favorable climate for the development of new ideas becomes a fundamental task. On the other hand, this study has focused on SMEs, which tend to have fewer means for the development of the right conditions for innovation and are often more neglected by scientific research.