The article examines the innovation activity of Polish industrial enterprises and probes whether and to what extent their eagerness to innovate depends on who owns them. Specifically, the author seeks to establish, first, whether enterprises with different ownership structures pursue different forms of innovation activity; second, whether such differences mean that innovation policy in Poland should be modified; and, third, whether or not industrial enterprises in Poland behave in the same way as their counterparts in highly developed economies. According to the author, most transition economies suffer from a shortage of capital that makes it difficult for them to accelerate economic growth in the long term. Foreign companies, however, can exert a tangible impact on economic processes, including innovation in industry, through foreign direct investment. The methodological part of the study includes a probit model based on probability theory. The research shows that the key to accelerating the development of innovation in Poland is to stimulate this activity in foreign-owned companies. Domestic enterprises display a low level of risk acceptance and tend to focus on passive channels of technology transfer, according to Świadek. In a new trend, however, innovation activity in Poland is increasingly moving from foreign-owned enterprises to those with mixed ownership, the author says.