Effects of Corporate Purpose on Organizational Innovation: An Explanatory Mixed-Methods Analysis

Abstract Purpose The current study has two primary goals: first, to examine the influence of corporate purpose on organizational innovation and second, to analyze the sequential mediation effect of both a people-centric approach and infrastructure between corporate purpose and organizational innovation. Design/Methodology A sequential explanatory mixed-method design was used in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and PROCESS macro were applied based on 188 online questionnaires completed by employees of a leading Portuguese publishing company, followed by a thematic analysis of 37 structured interviews. Results The quantitative findings indicate that corporate purpose has a positive impact on organizational innovation and that both the people-centric approach and organizational infrastructure serve as significant mediators in the relationship between corporate purpose and organizational innovation. Moreover, the people-centric approach and organizational infrastructure sequentially mediate the relationship between corporate purpose and organizational innovation. The qualitative data corroborate and deepen these findings, revealing the crucial role of a people-centric approach and organizational infrastructure as mediators in corporate purpose to cope with organizational innovation. Conclusions Our study provides theoretical and practical implications for practitioners, researchers, and business leaders to better understand the relationship between these concepts and opportunities for further research.