Knowledge-hiding Behavior Research Articles

Negative Work Attitudes and Task Performance: Mediating Role of Knowledge Hiding and Moderating Role of Servant Leadership.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global crisis that particularly hit employment globally. Due to the economic crisis, many small businesses attempted to minimise their expenses by either closing or downsizing. During such organisational situations, the employees face negative workplace attitudes that lead to knowledge hiding and affect team performance. This study examines negative attitudes and their effect on team performance. Further, this study examines the mediating effect of knowledge hiding and moderating the role of servant leadership. Through a multi-time data collection approach, the authors obtained 363 responses from the education sector in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. PROCESS Hayes model 1 and 4 were used for mediation and moderation analysis. Results show that job insecurity, cynicism, and role stress are significant forces behind knowledge-hiding behaviour. Furthermore, the knowledge hiding behaviour adversely affects task performance. Servant leadership shows a buffering effect on knowledge hiding behaviour caused by negative workplace attitudes. This is one of the first studies in the South Asian environment to examine the association between employees’ negative attitudes and task performance using knowledge hiding as a mediator and servant leadership as a moderator in the COVID-19 scenario. Lastly, the paper concludes with a consideration of its theoretical, practical implication and future direction.

Linking dark triad traits, psychological entitlement, and knowledge hiding behavior

This research attempts to empirically examine the role of dark personalities (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) on academics’ knowledge hiding behavior (KHB) with the mediating effect of psychological entitlement. The data were conveniently collected using Google Form from the faculty members serving in 5 public universities of Bangladesh. This study employed PLS-SEM estimation to test the hypotheses on a sample of 219. The results of this study revealed a significant direct influence of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism on KHB. Moreover, psychological entitlement mediated the relationship between the dark triad traits and KHB. This research contributes to the literature by revealing how dark triad traits influence academics’ KHB via psychological entitlement. The practical implications for the concerned authorities, limitations, and avenues for future research are also highlighted.

Ethical Leadership and Knowledge Hiding behavior: Mechanism Moral Identity

Referring to the theory of social exchange, this study examined the direct and indirect relationship between ethical leadership and knowledge hiding behavior through the mechanisms of moral identity. This study uses a quantitative method using 64 respondents permanent lecturers in education institution of Persada Bunda. The results show that ethical leadership is negatively associated with knowledge hiding behavior either directly or through the mechanisms of moral identity. It also shows that ethical leadership has a positive relationship with moral identity, while moral identity has a negative relationship with knowledge hiding behavior. The findings also outline the moral identity mediate the influence of ethical leadership on knowledge hiding behavior. It also explained that ethical leaders with high personality, honesty, morality. and high reliability and understand their impact on employees, can be role models in behavior and form employee moral self-construction such as moral identity.

Impact of Interpersonal Competition on Knowledge Hiding Behavior Among the Employees: Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement and Work Overload.

The knowledge hiding behavior (KHB) can obstruct the stream of information to decrease the creativity in the organization. This study examines the effect of interpersonal competition on KHB, moral disengagement (MD), and work overload (WO). Moreover, this study also examines the impact of MD and WO on KHB. Also, the study examines the mediating role of MD and WO between interpersonal competition and KHB. The study was carried out by quantitative methodology, and 361 employees were engaged to fill the questionnaires employed in manufacturing companies from China. A convenient sampling technique had used for data collection. The findings of this study indicate that interpersonal competition positively and significantly affects KHB, MD, and WO. Moreover, this study established that MD and WO positively and significantly impact KHB. According to the results, MD WO significantly mediates interpersonal competition and KHB. This research is valuable for government, policymakers, and executives of manufacturing companies to establish the appropriate strategies for employees and provide a sustainable environment. This research also offers new visions to managers to know the current events and predict the possible causes that lead to the KHB and what is the possible strategies to eliminate this kind of behavior.

A review of knowledge hiding in team: evaluation of critical research streams

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to systematically review knowledge hiding (KH) behaviors in the team context. KH behavior is regarded as unethical and antisocial behavior, detrimental to team development and performance. The nature of its existence should not be allowed in team activities.Design/methodology/approachApplying a systematic literature review, this study investigated 39 related quantitative studies on KH behavior of employees in team and group contexts. This study discusses the fundamental concept of KH, analyzes current research findings, identifies relevant gaps in the team and group context and sheds light on future direction.FindingsFindings observed that the KH phenomena had gained the interest of scholars since the year 2010. Five main research streams identified in this systematic review are role of leadership, team creativity and innovation, underlying theory, multilevel modeling and KH scale.Research limitations/implicationsThe value of this paper is subjected to the specific notion of KH in team background where knowledge sharing should have been promoted instead of KH. This systematic review serves as insight and recognition on the importance of mitigating KH in team. Existing current literature, future research work and trends of KH in the organization may benefit from this new and anticipated behavior within the knowledge management field.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is the first to review KH behavior in the team context.

How Does Self-Sacrificial Leadership Affect Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Hiding?: Organization's Cultural Prospective

Grounded in Social-Exchange Theory, the current study examines the association of self-sacrificial leadership with employees' knowledge sharing and knowledge-hiding behavior. Moreover, the mediatory role of employees' trust and intrinsic motivation was also investigated. The current study focused on self-sacrificial leadership outcomes while exploring underlying mechanisms to achieve those outcomes, specifically in SMEs in Indonesia. Using a longitudinal field survey, data were collected from 457 employees working at different levels in small and medium enterprises in Medan city, Indonesia. The results showed that self-sacrificial leadership was positively and significantly associated with the employees' knowledge-sharing behavior, while self-sacrificial leadership was negatively associated with employees' knowledge-hiding behavior. The results also revealed the interplay of employees' trust and intrinsic motivation between the link of self-sacrificial leadership and employees' knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding behaviors. Thus, it shows an exchange process of converting self-scarifying leaders' efforts into building trust among employees and intrinsically motivating them to share knowledge among peers and demotivate them from hiding knowledge.

How abusive supervision affect knowledge hiding? The mediating role of employee silence and moderating role of psychological ownership

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how abusive supervisor affects knowledge hiding (KH). Specifically, this study investigates employee silence as a mediating mechanism between abusive supervision and employees’ KH. Further, psychological ownership is examined as a buffer between abusive supervision and employee silence.Design/methodology/approachKH has become a major issue for both manufacturing and service sectors. Therefore, this study collected data from 322 employees working in manufacturing and service sectors through “Google Forms” during COVID-19. The respondents were contacted through LinkedIn platform between January and July 2021.FindingsThis study noted that when employees working in high-power distance cultures perceive their leaders/supervisors as abusive, they avoid confrontation and engage in silent behavior, which positively affects their KH behavior. However, employees with a high level of psychological ownership are less likely to respond to their abusive supervisors through silence because such employees feel a greater sense of belongingness and prefer to benefit their organization.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used a cross-sectional design that restricts causality. However, the findings of this study suggest management to focus on leadership style to minimize KH at the workplace.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the underlying mechanism (employee silence) and boundary condition (psychological ownership) to explain the association between abusive supervision and KH.

The impact of organizational ostracism on knowledge hiding: analysing the sequential mediating role of efficacy needs and psychological distress

PurposeDrawing on the conservation of resources theory and need-threat model, this study aims to analyse the mediating role of efficacy needs (EN) and psychological distress (PD) on the relationship between workplace ostracism (WO) and knowledge hiding (KH) behaviour of employees.Design/methodology/approachTime-lagged data were collected from 225 employees working in the mobile telecommunication sector through online survey instruments prepared in light of past literature. SmartPLS3 was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe results obtained confirm the initial hypothesis that there exists a positive relationship between WO and KH. Furthermore, the results also established the sequential mediating roles of EN and PD between WO and KH behaviour of employees.Originality/valueThis study adds to the literature suggesting that WO represents a real threat to companies that aim to foster knowledge-sharing behaviours. Moreover, it reveals that EN and PD are two underlying mechanisms behind the baseline relationship.

Knowledge hiding behavior in higher education institutions: a scientometric analysis and systematic literature review approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to systematically review knowledge hiding (KH) behavior in higher education institutions (HEIs). KH is regarded as an unethical and antisocial behavior by many scholars, which should not be prevalent in HEIs.Design/methodology/approachA two-phase analysis through quantitative scientometric analysis and qualitative systematic literature review method through the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) model was applied. In phase 1,174 articles were analyzed using the VOSviewer through co-word and co-citation analyses. In Phase 2, 20 related studies on KH in HEIs were qualitatively analyzed on the fundamental concept of KH. The main themes were determined based on current research findings, through the identification of relevant gaps in the context of higher education.FindingsIn Phase 1, co-word and co-citation analyses resulted in six and three clusters, respectively. Subsequently, in Phase 2, five themes were discovered: terminology of KH, scale of KH, cultural and geographical context, KH among academics and students and relevant theories. Further, discussion on the institutional factors of individuals, organizations, technology and culture is presented.Practical implicationsThis review lays out a practical guide to facilitate HEIs in managing KH behavior among academics, employees, and students. Strategies can be planned and implemented to foster and inculcate knowledge sharing behavior to circulate knowledge while at the same time diminishing KH behavior in HEIs.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to review KH behavior in the context of HEIs through quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Interpersonal Conflict and Knowledge-Hiding Behavior: Mediating Role of Perceived Competition

The background of this research is based on the importance of measuring the conflicts that occur in a company caused by the behavior of hiding knowledge. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of the relationship between interpersonal conflict and knowledge-hiding behavior by mediating perceived competition. In some pharmaceutical companies, there are often visible or invisible interpersonal conflicts which are caused by hiding knowledge between co-workers, of course this will become a medium for perceived competitive behavior and result in interpersonal conflict. With the results of the existing research, it is hoped that it will become a picture for superiors to see the need to be open to each other to provide information about existing knowledge so that it does not result in interpersonal conflict.

Knowledge hiding as a coping response to the supervisors’ dark triad of personality: A protection motivation theory perspective

In the current era of a knowledge-based economy, where the main driver is knowledge transfer, knowledge hiding among employees has become a stumbling block. Drawing on the protection motivation theory, we provide another explanation for employees’ engagement with knowledge-hiding behavior. Specifically, we argue that knowledge hiding is a preventive coping mechanism against the threat induced by supervisors’ dark triad of personality traits. We also introduced mattering and job security as cognitive mediations between the supervisor’s dark triad of personality traits and subordinates’ knowledge-hiding behavior. Our results indicate that the supervisor’s dark personality traits enhance subordinates’ knowledge-hiding behavior, mediated by low mattering perception and threatened job security. We also provide a list of knowledge-hiding antecedents studied over the past ten years. Theoretical and practical contributions along with future research directions are also presented.

Antecedents of Knowledge Hiding and Their Impact on Organizational Performance

Research on knowledge management has rapidly increased in the last decade, leaving a huge gap on how, why, and what triggers knowledge hiding in inter-organizational setups. Furthermore, the fostering factors for knowledge sharing have also remained unexplored because the employees in an organization are unwilling to share their knowledge with others for several reasons. The current study has attempted to explore the reasons that make employees hide their knowledge from other employees in order to excel. The individual factors considered in this study that make employees hide their knowledge are the lack of rewards for knowledge sharing, internal competition, and psychological entitlement. Furthermore, the interesting consequent factor of knowledge hiding in this study was found to be significant. The moderating role of employees’ social status has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between knowledge-hiding behavior and organizational performance. The population of the study was the managerial employees of financial institutions of China and the sample size taken in his study was 446 via convenient sampling technique. The independent factors in this study found significant results of knowledge-hiding behavior, thus approving the mediating role of knowledge hiding in the organizational performance of the financial institutions of China. The software used in this study for the data analysis was smart PLS and the technique used was partial least square SEM for the measurement of the hypothesis of the study. The study’s findings also have certain implications for policymaking in financial institutions that may hinder knowledge hiding practices and support the uninterrupted flow of knowledge among employees.

The Empirical Investigation Between Ethical Leadership and Knowledge-Hiding Behavior in Financial Service Sector: A Moderated-Mediated Model

This study aimed to investigate the impact of ethical leadership on knowledge-hiding behavior of the employees working in the financial services sector under the mediating role of meaningful at work and moderating role of ethical climate. For this purpose, data were collected from two hundred and fifteen employees of financial services providing organizations. The already-established scales were followed to develop an instrument that was used to obtain responses from the respondents. Collected data were analyzed by applying the structural equation modeling through Smart PLS and Process Macro. The results indicate that ethical leadership and meaningful work (MW) reduce knowledge-hiding behavior of employees at work, while ethical leadership positively impacts the influential work of employees at the workplace. Further, the relationship between ethical leadership and knowledge-hiding behavior is partially mediated by MW. Similarly, ethical climate moderated the relationship between ethical leadership and knowledge-hiding behavior. This research makes valuable contributions to the existing literature on leadership and knowledge management. From a practical point of view, this study stresses that managers at work should promote ethical leadership styles to promote MW, which will reduce knowledge hiding. Thus, in this way, it will enhance the innovation and creativity within organizational circuits. The limitations and future directions of this study are also listed.

Leader knowledge hiding and employee organizational identification in the Egyptian service industry

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between leader-signaled knowledge-hiding behavior (LSKH) and employee organizational identification (OI) with self-interest climate perceptions (SIC) as a mediator. This study also takes into consideration the impact of individual differences (i.e. employee trait of agreeableness) in shaping these relationships.Design/methodology/approachTwo-wave data were collected from a sample of employees working in service industry companies in Egypt (N = 305). The mediation model (model 4) and the moderated mediation model (model 14) were tested using the statistical package for the social sciences PROCESS macro. The indirect effect of LSKH behavior on employee OI was examined using the bootstrapping approach (n = 5,000) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the indices.FindingsFindings show that LSKH behavior has a negative impact on employee OI through SIC perceptions. Additionally, a moderation analysis indicates that the employee trait agreeableness strengthens the negative relationship between SIC and OI as well as the indirect relationship between LSKH behavior and employee OI.Originality/valueWhile previous studies mainly focused on employee knowledge-hiding behavior, this study extends this nascent stream of literature by investigating the impact of this behavior at the leader’s level in the Egyptian cultural context. The results provide insights into the consequences of this type of behavior on important outcomes, namely, SIC and OI.

How Knowledge-Hiding Behavior Among Manufacturing Professionals Influences Functional Interdependence and Turnover Intention.

Objectives: Knowledge hiding is inappropriate behavior of employees at the workplace that makes the entire organization suffer a subtle yet significant loss. Lack of sharing makes the journey of learning an arduous process. This, in turn, gives rise to a series of uncivil behaviors, hence resulting in a decrease of functional interdependence (FI). The cascading result toll is a turnover intention (TI), resting only after turnover—an actual separation from the employer. Statistical analysis of the empirical data collected depicts the intensity of influence of FI and TI as a result of the knowledge-hiding behavior.Methods: Three hundred sixty-three executives employed in three public and two private manufacturing organizations in eastern India were the respondents in our study. To analyze the difference in variables of the study, a t-test was carried out. The statistical findings suggest no significant difference among study variables. This specifies that, despite a considerable difference in levels of management, there was no significant difference in perceiving workplace incivility, knowledge-hiding behavior, FI, and TI items of our instruments.Results: Correlation findings show a negative association between workplace incivility and functional interdependence (r = −0.37 when the value of p is <0.01) and a positive association among workplace incivility and turnover intention (r = 0.32 when the value of p is <0.01). The condensed effect of workplace incivility (β = −0.59 when the value of p is <0.001) along with an important presence of knowledge-hiding behavior (β = −0.68 when the value of p is <0.01) when the dependent variable is FI indicates that knowledge-hiding behavior is mediating a partial association among workplace incivility and FI. Similarly, the effect of workplace incivility (β = 0.43 when the value of p is <0.01) is decreased when the impact of knowledge-hiding behavior (β = 0.66 when the value of p is <0.001) was sizeable with TI being the dependent variable.Conclusion: The effect of knowledge hiding is inversely proportional to FI, whereas sharing has a direct relation with TI. An exhaustive data sample and a rigorous statistical analysis may give a clear picture of the amount of impact of TI and FI due to the lack of knowledge sharing and/or knowledge hiding.

Workplace inclusion–exclusion and knowledge-hiding behaviour of minority members

ABSTRACT The increased mobility of people has resulted in an increasingly culturally diverse workforce. Organisations aim to ensure that all employees – regardless of race, ethnicity and religion – receive equal treatment. However, these ideas are often disconnected from reality. This paper attempts to bridge the knowledge management and diversity literature to examine knowledge hiding by minority members that occurs due to differences in demographic characteristics. Semi-structured interviews and deductive thematic analysis reveal that minority members engage in knowledge-hiding behaviour due to exclusion experienced in the workplace. They also use knowledge hiding as an inclusion strategy. We contribute to knowledge management research and practice by studying knowledge hiding in the context of a diverse workforce, showing that it occurs due to perceived exclusion. We also show it takes place to improve inclusion and assimilation of minority members. Additionally, we identify a new facet of knowledge-hiding characteristic for cross-cultural collaboration: adjustable hiding.

The knowledge hiding loop: exploring the boundary conditions

PurposeUsing norms of reciprocity, this study explores how employees' exposure to workplace ostracism (WO) affects their task performance through the mediating role of knowledge hiding (KH). Moreover, drawing on social identity theory, this research outstretches the boundary conditions of KH, i.e. under which KH is less likely to occur.Design/methodology/approachTime-lagged, multisource data collected from 297 employees in service sector organizations in Pakistan were analyzed using SMARTPLS (v 3.3.3).FindingsThe findings reveal that perception of WO provokes KH behavior in employees, which, in turn, deteriorates their task performance. Results also disclose that moral identification (MI) and organizational identification (OI) buffer against the positive association between WO and KH, such that the ostracism-KH link is weaker at higher levels of MI and OI, and vice versa.Practical implicationsThe study envisages that a KH loop occurs between the knowledge hider and the knowledge seeker, which fosters spirals of conflict that might prevail in organizations over an extended period of time. Therefore, the occurrence context of KH should be mitigated through appropriate managerial interventions. In addition, nurturing self-identities will be beneficial for both employees and organizations.Originality/valueThis is the first study that investigates the relationship between WO and task performance while also considering the mediating role of KH and the moderating roles of MI and OI.

Understanding knowledge hiding in business organizations: A bibliometric analysis of research trends, 1988–2020

This paper investigates how knowledge hiding (KH) contributes to individuals, groups, and the business processes of organizations, with regards to improving employee performance, strategic performance, and the organization’s overall knowledge management system (KMS), as well as the consequences and costs of KH in organizations. 117 English language research articles produced between 1988 and 2020 regarding KH are analyzed, and insights provided into science mapping and performance analysis of KH studies, by drawing evidence from publication activities, prominent themes, citation trends, and collaborations amongst contributors. The findings reveal that KH research has mainly focused on KH behavior, knowledge sharing (KS), and the KMS. Firms with KH practices are responsible for challenging employee creativity, motivation, and workplace environment. This study will help business managers and leaders hone cooperative behavior to achieve an innovative environment and desired goals. Knowledge hiding also has positive implications, where leaders may have to hide confidential information from external elements or internal subordinates to protect the enterprise's sovereignty and integrity.

Understanding knowledge hiding in the context of virtual workplaces

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the implications of virtual work arrangements on employee knowledge hiding (KH) behaviour and the different strategies of KH used by employees in these arrangements.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a grounded theory approach to understanding KH, 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with employees engaged in virtual working setups. The data collected from these informants were then analysed using qualitative methods.FindingsThe study revealed that virtual work arrangements increase employee KH behaviour because of three reasons: ease of hiding, digital burnout and loss of control. Further, the study found that rationalized hiding is the most commonly adopted strategy by employees engaged in virtual work arrangements, while inclinations towards evasive hiding strategy decrease in this arrangement.Originality/valueThis is the first study in knowledge management literature that seeks to explain KH in the virtual work context.

Knowledge hiding in academia: an empirical study of Indian higher education students

Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of knowledge hiding (KH) on academic performance, using three antecedents – relatedness with peers, territoriality of knowledge and performance motivation. It also looked into the moderating role of academic self-efficacy upon student’s KH behavior and academic performance. The research was grounded on the theory of reasoned action. Design/methodology/approachx Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the five hypotheses. The data was collected through a primary survey based on a structured questionnaire with a sample size of 324 students from the Indian higher education institutions. Findings The study found that performance motivation and territoriality are positively associated with KH, which is further positively related to students’ academic performance. Sense of relatedness had no influence upon KH behavior, implying that proximity of social relationships does not predict KH behavior among students. Additionally, it was also observed that while evasive (a situation where the knowledge hider deliberately provides incorrect, partial or misleading information) and rationalized KH (a situation where the knowledge hider tries to provide a rational justification for not sharing the knowledge) had a significant influence on the academic performance of the students, the effect of “playing dumb” was not significant. The study did not reveal any moderating effect of academic self-efficacy on all three forms of KH and academic performance. Practical implications The findings of the study are expected to be valuable for instructors, administrative authorities and policymakers at the higher education level, to create a more conducive teaching and learning environment. Out of the three hiding strategies, students indulge more often in rationalized KH. Based on the outcomes of this research, management may focus toward the creation of an institutional environment conducive toward knowledge sharing interdependency among students. Originality/value One of the novel contributions of this study is that it analyzes Indian higher education, providing a developing country perspective, thereby contributing to the body of knowledge in knowledge management and hiding. The study also intends to understand the interplay of constructs such as KH, territoriality, sense of relatedness and academic performance, which have not been discussed previously within the higher education context, thus making the research work original. The study was done among the students and hence, brings in the academic perspective in the KH literature, which has seen limited research impetus.