This study describes how institutions in a developing country, South Africa influence the salient characteristics and patterns of innovation in firms belonging to an emerging versus a mature industry. The patterns and characteristics of innovation in firms belonging to industries in different phases of their life cycles are influenced by various factors. Because of the wide range of factors and often due to the endogenous relationships between them, empirical studies in describing these patterns remain inconclusive. This research describes the patterns and the significant innovation characteristics of the firms through the lens of institutions. Special attention is paid to the institutional frameworks influencing innovation in firms at national and regional levels. These frameworks are often referred to as National and Regional Innovation Systems. The central argument of this study is that these innovation systems are expected to influence the characteristics of innovation in different ways when firms are situated in developed versus the developing countries. In this regard, this study attempts to contribute to the innovation knowledge-base of developing countries. The salient characteristics discussed in this study are types, institutional support (government), centre of knowledge and geographical locations of innovations. Chi-square, t-tests and stepwise logistic regressions were run on the responses of the firms regarding the chosen characteristics. The results suggest that in most cases these characteristics were different in firms belonging to an emerging versus a mature industry. Also the patterns of innovation were mostly dissimilar from the expectations of the studies based in the developed world. A logistic model was built to explain the relationships between the individual characteristics and the firms belonging to the two phases of the industry life cycle. The model, formulated on the salient characteristics of innovation discussed could successfully predict if a firm belonged to a mature industry or not. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted