Stocks and flows underlying organizations’ knowledge management capability: Synergistic versus contingent complementarities over time

What are the components of a knowledge management (KM) capability and how do they impact firm performance? Based on prior research, we modeled a firm's KM capability in terms of its accumulations of stock – in the areas of human resources, technology infrastructures, and strategic templates – and regulation of flow, via institutionalization and internal and external learning processes. We then considered the extent to which these components complement one another in their impact on two types of firm performance – efficiency, based return on assets, and value creation, assessed as Tobin's q (the ratio of the capital market value of the firm to the replacement value of its assets). We posited differential types of stock-flow complementarities across these two performance outcomes over time – stable, positive effects on firm efficiency, synergistic complementarity, and initially positive, but subsequently negative effects on value creation, contingent complementarity. Data gathered from 218 Korean firms supported this premise. Implications for practice in the evolving fields of organizational capability and complementarities were explored.