Florian Offergelt and Laura Venz
Knowledge hiding, intentionally withholding work-relevant information, is detrimental to organizations, yet practiced by supervisors and employees. Based on social learning and…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge hiding, intentionally withholding work-relevant information, is detrimental to organizations, yet practiced by supervisors and employees. Based on social learning and social exchange theories, this study aims to uncover the effects of supervisor knowledge hiding, abusive supervision and employee political skill on employee knowledge hiding behaviors, namely, evasive hiding, playing dumb and rationalized hiding. We compare the two destructive supervisor behaviors in their predictive values toward employee knowledge hiding and examine the role of employee political skill in mitigating their effects.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on survey data collected from 598 German-speaking employees, we used path analysis to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The two destructive supervisor behaviors and employee political skill predicted employee evasive hiding and playing dumb; supervisor knowledge hiding additionally predicted employee rationalized hiding. The predictive value of supervisor knowledge hiding was 2.5 times larger than that of abusive supervision and political skill. The effects of destructive supervisor behaviors were weaker for more politically skilled employees.
Originality/value
We examine two destructive supervisor behaviors conjointly and show the differences between them regarding their predictive value toward employee knowledge hiding. Furthermore, we investigate the role of political skill in knowledge hiding.
Details
Keywords
Amitabh Anand, Florian Offergelt and Payal Anand
Because of its impact on organisational growth, innovation and employee performance, knowledge hiding (KH) as a construct has gained increased attention from scholars and…
Abstract
Purpose
Because 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/approach
In 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.
Findings
The 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/value
This 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.
Details
Keywords
Amitabh Anand, Upasna A. Agarwal and Florian Offergelt
The purpose of this study is to examine if individual cynicism mediates the relationship between workplace incivility (WI) and knowledge hiding (KH). Additionally, it is examined…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine if individual cynicism mediates the relationship between workplace incivility (WI) and knowledge hiding (KH). Additionally, it is examined whether ethical leadership has a moderating role regarding the effect of WI on KH.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted two multi-wave studies, each with two times of data collection. Study 1 included data from 390 members of 30 teams from knowledge-intensive organizations. In study 2, data was collected from 437 software professionals working in diverse organizations.
Findings
Results showed that cynicism mediated the impact of WI on KH. Furthermore, the positive direct and indirect effect of WI on KH was shown to be moderated by perceived ethical leadership such that high ethical leadership mitigates the effects.
Originality/value
This study extends the research on knowledge management by explaining a new mechanism and framework in which KH can occur and provides important practical recommendations for human resource managers to contribute to the overall organization's success.