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The objective of this research is to analyse how risk-taking, commitment to learning, and innovation capability — in SMEs — can favour inbound and outbound open innovation practices, and if open innovation practices help their performance. To test the hypotheses simultaneously, partial least squares analysis (PLS-SEM) was used along with the empirical data obtained from 194 interviews with Chilean’s executives of manufacturing SMEs between 10 and 250 employees. The results obtained show that commitment to learning and risk-taking have a positive effect on innovation capability. Our study has shown how innovation capability has a significant and positive influence on inbound and outbound practices. In the field of performance, our research has verified that inbound practices have a positive influence on the performance of the SME. Finally, it shows managers the way to select open innovation practices that most benefit the strategic objectives of the SME.

Creativity and innovation are considered critical factors in promoting the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises. The directors of these companies seek to know how to transform the results of creativity into innovation. Therefore, there is a growing interest in looking more deeply into the elements that affect creativity and innovation. This study analyses the following aspects: (a) The effect of the creative process on product and process innovation, (b) the role of knowledge management (KM) in the creative process, and (c) the role of industrial clusters in KM and the creative process. The research model is validated using Partial Least Squares data from industrial SMEs in Chile. The findings demonstrate the influence of industrial clusters on KM and the creative process and the impact of knowledge creation on the creative process. Our results enable a broader understanding of SMEs’ creativity and innovation model.

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