Social innovations are increasingly recognised as important approaches for addressing complex societal and environmental challenges. However, despite their transformative potential, many social innovations struggle to scale their impact. This study sets out to examine how institutional environments shape the scaling of social innovations, by conducting a multiple-case study within a context of reusable packaging systems operating as mission-driven companies in Germany and Hungary. Drawing on Neo-Institutional Theory (Scott, 2014) and the social innovation scaling framework introduced by Moore et al. (2015), the study investigates: (1) what barriers and enablers arise from regulative, normative and cognitive institutions for social innovation, and (2) how actors navigate these challenges when scaling social innovations. 

The findings of this study suggest that institutions can act both as enabling or constraining mechanisms in the scaling of social innovations. Regulative institutions can create opportunities for scaling up through favourable regulations but also create barriers through regulatory ambiguity and weak implementation. Normative institutions influence scaling out and scaling deep by shaping societal legitimacy, visibility, and public acceptance. Cognitive institutions primarily affect scaling deep processes through behavioural routines, perceptions of convenience, and resistance to change, while also influencing scaling out through shifting mindsets and behaviour. Across both contexts actors navigated institutional challenges through institutional entrepreneurship, legitimacy creation, network building, and educational efforts. Overall, the study argues that scaling social innovation depends not only on organizational growth, but also on the ability of actors to navigate and gradually reshape institutional environments.