Abstract: Digital transformation can effectively promote technological innovation and high-quality development of high-tech firms. However, under the background of digital economy, how to optimize knowledge chain management and identify market environment to promote the innovation quality of high-tech firms remains to be answered. Based on the complex systems view and combined with fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), this paper takes 409 Chinese A-share listed high-tech firms as research samples, and explores the mechanism of how knowledge chain management and market environment synergistically influence high-tech firms in the digital economy from the perspective of configuration. The research finds that (1) neither knowledge chain management factor nor market environment alone constitutes the necessary conditions for high (non-high) quality innovation, but strengthening knowledge acquisition and improving knowledge creation play a more universal role in producing high quality innovation. (2) High quality innovation is driven through four paths, namely, knowledge acquired upstream and innovated downstream, internal synergy along the entire knowledge chain, knowledge integration in a market of non-high complexity, and knowledge application external synergy in a dual market environment. Among them, internal synergy along the entire knowledge chain is the most common, indicating that the internal synergy of all elements of knowledge chain management plays a key role in improving innovation quality, with other paths as an alternative attempt to explore multiple knowledge chain management modes in different external market environments. (3) There are five inhibitory paths leading to non-high quality innovation, which collectively show that the lack of knowledge creation will lead to non-high quality innovation. This research enriches and expands the knowledge chain management theory, and provides theoretical basis and practical support for high-tech firms to improve innovation quality through optimal knowledge chain management in the uncertain external market environment.

Key words: digital economy, knowledge chain management, market environment, high-tech firms, innovation auality