Workplace incivility and knowledge hiding behavior: does personality matter?

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between workplace incivility and knowledge hiding, and role of personality disposition (neuroticism) in moderating such relationships. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 108 employees nested in 18 teams from private sectors via survey questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression models were used to test the hypotheses. Findings The findings show that the higher the level of workplace incivility experienced by the team members, the higher the tendency for them to hide knowledge and this relationship is moderated by neuroticism. Specifically, the relationship was found to be stronger for those employees high in neuroticism compared to those low in neuroticism. Practical implications The study offers important implication in term of knowledge hiding prevention or reduction. The behavior can be reduced by creating awareness among employees on the importance of civility at work via campaign, realistic job preview and leading by example. To manage the effect of neuroticism, managers need to identify those high in the trait and provide them with training on how to better regulate and manage negative emotions in the workplace. Originality/value The study contributes to the research on knowledge hiding behavior by advancing the understanding of organizational and personal factors that can influence knowledge hiding among employees working in team. It is the first to propose and empirically validate the predictive effect of workplace incivility on knowledge hiding. It also addresses the usefulness of examining personality disposition in understanding the relationship between workplace incivility and knowledge hiding behavior.