Innovation processes have the potential to develop companies and increase their competitiveness in an increasingly globalized market. The objective of this paper is to research the process of innovation and to present its features and elements, to distinguish and describe different models of the innovation process. The methodology of this study consisted first in the analysis of the specialized literature in the economic and managerial fields and the definition of the key concepts necessary for research on innovation processes and structures. Then the components of the innovation process are analyzed. In the next step we identified the innovation process characteristics. The results reveal the main models of the innovation process and their characteristics. It is presented the linear models “Technology push” and “Technology pull”. Next the coupled model demonstrates its complexity in comparison with the previous ones. Then the network models and open innovation models are established. Conclusion present the main characteristics of the explored innovation models that allow their suitability according to the specifics of the company.