Knowledge hiding – a systematic review and research agenda

Abstract

PurposeBecause of its impact on organisational growth, innovation and employee performance, knowledge hiding (KH) as a construct has gained increased attention from scholars and practitioners in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic review of the existing literature on KH and take the stock of the current literature, identify research streams and offer recommendations on areas where KH may be investigated further.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors used systematic review methods to investigate the current state of KH research, and using thematic coding, the authors identified the current research streams and offer directions for future research.FindingsThe review of literature identified geographic representation of KH research, methodological approaches to explore KH and the prominent theories adopted to investigate KH, and through research synthesis, the antecedents and moderators/mediators of KH were identified. Subsequently, the authors also found seven research streams where KH has been predominantly studied. Finally, the authors provide suggestions of where the future research in KH might be headed.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the few to offer systematic review of KH literature and identify unexplored areas to be investigated in future research – which is the integral part of knowledge management process.