Introduction: With the increasing development of technology, the global economy has shifted its approach from the traditional economy to a knowledge-based economy based on science and technology. The high profitability of these companies and the necessity of effective activity in the field of resistance economy have made the position of knowledge-based companies, as the driving engine of economy at the level of the country, very important. Due to the importance of knowledge-based companies in the Iran's economy, evaluating the strategic performance of these companies has become very important. In the dynamic and turbulent environment that is full of changes in which knowledge-based companies operate, these companies must have superior performance and stabilize their position in order to compete with their competitors. One of the most important elements that has a fundamental impact on the strategic performance of an organization is the company's ability to create, develop and use its (internal and external) relationships to obtain the required resources and continuous improvement in performance indicators, i.e. networking capability. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between networking ability and strategic performance of the organization, emphasizing the mediating role of strategic flexibility and also moderating organizational ambivalence in knowledge-based companies in the field of information technology.
  Methodology: In terms of purpose, this research is applied and has a quantitative approach, in terms of the nature of the method and data collection, it is descriptive-survey and in terms of time, it is a cross-sectional research. In this research, the library method has been used in order to collect theoretical topics and develop the conceptual model of the research. Also, a field study and data collection has been done through a questionnaire. The target community of this research is knowledge-based companies active in the field of information technology and e-commerce located in Pardis Science and Technology Park, Tarbiat Modares University and Shahid Beheshti University. The number of these companies is 50, based on simple random sampling, 44 companies were selected as samples and the data required for the research was collected from them. Convergent and divergent validity methods were used to check construct validity. The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach's alpha measurement method and compound reliability. Cronbach's alpha values of all variables are higher than 0.7, so the questionnaire has the required reliability. In this research, the method of data analysis is descriptive statistics and inferential statistics by analyzing the relationships between variables through correlation matrix, structural equation test and model fit test, and Smart pls3  was used to perform inferential statistical analysis and Spss24 was used for descriptive statistical analysis.
  Results and Discussion: The results of this test show that the field of fintech and banking information technology has the most frequency among the studied organizations. Also, the findings show that most of the studied companies are between 5 and 10 years old. The results of the K-S test showed that the data of this research are not normal. Also, the data of this research have convergent and divergent validity. The overall fit index of the model (GOF) also shows a number of 0.625. This value shows the very appropriate power of the model in predicting the endogenous current variable of the model. Finally, the results of the hypothesis test are as follows: the significance statistic between networking ability and strategic performance is equal to 2.520, which is greater than 1.96 and indicates the significance of the relationship between these two variables at the 95% confidence level. The significance statistic between networking capability and strategic flexibility is equal to 185/402, which is greater than 1/96 and indicates the significance of the relationship between these two variables. The significance statistic between strategic flexibility and strategic performance is equal to 3.158, which is greater than 1.96 and indicates the significance of the relationship between these two variables. The significance statistic between the moderator variable of organizational ambidexterity and strategic performance is equal to 0.925, which is smaller than 1.96 and indicates the non-significance of the relationship between these two variables at the 95% confidence level. Therefore, the organizational ambidexterity variable cannot have a significant effect as a moderator in the relationship between networking capability and strategic performance. Sobel's test was used to check the mediator variable. According to the results of this test, the value of Z-value or the Sobel test statistic is equal to 2.932, which is higher than 1.96. Therefore, strategic flexibility plays a mediating role in the relationship between networking capability and strategic performance.
Conclusion: The results have significant implications for policymakers and managers of knowledge-based companies in the field of information technology that are operating in Iran. This study shows that knowledge-based IT companies should focus on strategic and long-term performance instead of pursuing financial performance goals. Achieving strategic performance is possible when managers consider long-term performance dimensions such as the company's ability to achieve strategic goals, long-term profitability, stable market share, long-term growth in sales and revenue. On the other hand, in order to create flexibility in strategies and improve business performance strategically, managers should focus on networking capabilities that help explain when and how companies find and exploit synergies. Networking capability enhances organizational creativity by integrating and creating synergies through combined knowledge. These mutual efforts make senior management more flexible in identifying future opportunities that are more innovative, aligned, and desirable. Therefore, management in practice should emphasize the development of networking capability in order to achieve strategic flexibility. The results of this study suggest that managers should coordinate with all stakeholders to identify the dynamic behavior of the environment in order to make the necessary changes in organizational strategies to achieve performance, and create a sustainable strategy. Achieving strategic performance is a difficult goal, and network capability may lead knowledge-based firms to strategic performance, but this mechanism may be more appropriate when management focuses on implementing flexible strategies.