How to build a reasonable incentive mechanism to promote exploratory innovation in state-owned enterprises in the mixed ownership reform? This is a hot issue of public concern demanded by the national innovation-driven development strategy. This paper studies state-owned companies listed between 2012 and 2018

and investigates the logical relationship between the salary and equity incentive for key people in these companies

i.e.

chairman and general manager and exploratory innovation. From the perspective of mixed ownership reform of state-owned enterprises

this paper compares and analyzes the particularity of the influence of incentive mechanism for key people in state-owned enterprises undergoing profound mixed ownership reform on exploratory innovation. From the perspective of classified governance of state-owned enterprises

this paper further analyzes differences in the influence of incentive mechanism for key people in state-owned enterprises with different functions and different factor densities on exploratory innovation. The results show that: (1) At present

salary incentive for the chairman of state-owned enterprises significantly affects the output of exploratory innovation of state-owned enterprises

and equity incentive for the general manager is beneficial to promote the output of exploratory innovation; (2) Compared with general state-owned enterprises

salary incentive for the chairman of state-owned enterprises undergoing profound mixed ownership reform can significantly promote exploratory innovation

while the effect of salary incentive for the general manager is not significant

but equity incentive for the general manager can significantly promote exploratory innovation; (3) Compared with high-tech enterprises

salary incentive for the chairman of non-high-tech enterprises has a restraining effect on exploratory innovation activities

while the effect of salary incentive for the general manager is still not significant; however

compared with non-high-tech enterprises

equity incentive for the general manager of high-tech enterprises can significantly promote exploratory innovation.