Unlocking the Secrets: Digging the Mystery of Rationalized Knowledge Hiding in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)

Abstract

Purpose – Knowledge hiding has become a buzzword in developing countries, with the help of behavioral reasoning theory the key purpose of current research is to explore ‘reasons for’ behind the adoption of Rationalized Knowledge Hiding behavior by the top-level faculty members of higher education institutions. Study Design/Methodology/Approach–Six in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with the sample purposefully selected from one of the largest universities of lower south Punjab, Pakistan, to identify the top-level faculty member’s intentions behind the rationalized knowledge hiding. Findings - Based on thematic content analysis, the findings of current research revealed five majors ‘reasons for’ top-level individuals’ rationalized knowledge hiding in higher education institutions. Practical Implications – Higher education institutions can use this qualitative research’s findings to understand the major reasons “for” top-level individuals’ rationalized knowledge hiding from their coworkers. Moreover, this study provides some constructive guidelines to higher education institutions and senior faculty members which can provide a brief understanding of rationalized knowledge hiding. Study limitations – One of the major limitations is that the results of the research are not to be generalized to a large population. Second, this study utilized the purposeful convenient sampling method, so the research only gives highlights of rationalized knowledge hiding acceptance among academic faculty at the top level. Third, this study solely looks at behavioral patterns in the context of the south Punjab culture in Pakistan. Originality/Novelty – To the best of the author's knowledge, no prior study has used a qualitative analysis to examine rationalized knowledge-hiding behavior in the setting of higher education institutions. In addition, this qualitative research revealed five major reasons “for” top-down rationalized knowledge hiding in HEIs by senior faculty and it is a great contribution to knowledge management literature.