Innovations are one of the main sources of competitive advantage and they are essential for company growth. Companies put great effort in creating improving and introducing innovations. This paper presents a study on innovations in the Thai industry and determines the factors that influence them. The survey was conducted to explore internal and external factors which have impacts on innovation in the manufacturing and service industries. In addition, supply chain collaborations in the industry which drives innovations are also explored. The results were analyzed by using a descriptive statistical method. We find that the keys with regard to internal factors are top management commitment and teamwork, technological synergy, and human strategy. The key external factors consist of customer demand, the attraction of investments, and external training. Information sharing is a key factor in supply chain collaboration activities. © 2011 IEEE.