This study aims to explore the impact of employee incentives on innovation in the Chinese inductive manufacturing industry. Using a sample of publicly listed inductive manufacturing companies in China, we construct a panel dataset spanning from 1994 to 2022 and employ a multiple regression model for empirical analysis. Our findings reveal that employee incentive programs have a significant positive effect on the performance of inductive companies in terms of inductive reliability experiments, and the number of patent applications, granted patents, and patent citations over the next two years. Particularly, the positive relationship between employee incentives and innovation is more pronounced in companies with higher ownership concentration. This study provides empirical evidence supporting the crucial role of employee incentives in facilitating corporate innovation in Chinese inductive manufacturing firms. Furthermore, the results provide valuable insights for firms in formulating stock ownership structures and employee incentive plans, as well as policy implications for developing China's high-end manufacturing industries.