Can altruistic leadership prevent knowledge-hiding behaviour? Testing dual mediation mechanisms

Impostor leader and knowledge hiding: Attachment avoidance as underlying mechanism

Impostorism and knowledge-hiding behaviors negatively impact employees and organizational performance. This study examines the association between impostor leaders and knowledge hiding (evasive hiding, playing dumb, and rationalized hiding). Attachment avoidance is discussed as a mediator between impostor leaders and knowledge-hiding. For quantitative analyses, this study collected the data from 429 individuals with two time lags by sharing the survey instrument link on different organizations' randomly selected official media pages. After obtaining approval from the administrators of these pages, leaders and subordinates from these organizations were asked to participate in the study. The partial least squares structural equation modeling method is employed with Smartpls-4 software for data analyses. The findings indicate that impostor leaders promote knowledge hiding in subordinates. However, impostor leaders highly promote rationalized hiding behavior in subordinates. Attachment avoidance mediates the relationship between the impostor leader and knowledge-hiding behaviors. However, the highest mediation relationship exists between an impostor leader and playing dumb behavior in subordinates. This study strengthens the generalizability of the social exchange theory. The implications mentioned in this study are beneficial in understanding and dealing with the Impostorism and knowledge-hiding phenomena.

Does humble leadership mitigate employees’ knowledge-hiding behaviour? The mediating role of employees’ self-efficacy and trust in their leader

Purpose

The concept of knowledge-hiding starkly contradicts the notions with which it is closely associated, such as knowledge-hoarding and knowledge-sharing. The understanding of the effect of humble leadership on follower knowledge-hiding behaviour is particularly limited, as it is significantly underdeveloped owing to its distinct nature. Ergo, this paper aims to explore the role of humble leadership and its ability to mitigate employee knowledge-hiding behaviour. Moreover, this study aims to investigate the mediating effect of employee self-efficacy and the trust that they have in their leader, based on the relationship between humble leadership behaviour and knowledge-hiding in Jordanian health-care organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a quantitative method, and 260 employees of Jordan’s health-care organisations completed an online self-report questionnaire. Further to this, structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised correlations.

Findings

According to the findings of this study, the leaders who exhibited humble behaviour mitigated their employees’ tendencies to engage in the two dimensions of knowledge-hiding (evasive hiding and playing dumb); however, they increased the tendency to practice rationalised hiding. Furthermore, the self-efficacy of employees and trust in their leader mediated the relationship between humble leadership and employees’ knowledge-hiding behaviour.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by proposing and empirically demonstrating the impact of humble leadership across all three dimensions of knowledge-hiding behaviour, which in turn facilitates new discoveries in a developing country setting. This research expands and sheds light on the theory of humble leadership by proposing a motivational aspect in the negative relation between humble leadership and employees’ knowledge-hiding behaviour: employees’ self-efficacy and trust in their leader.

Knowledge hiding in teachers of moral education degree programs in Pakistan: The role of servant leadership, psychological ownership, and perceived coworker support

The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of servant leadership on teachers of moral education degree programs in Pakistan. By utilizing social learning, we propose that servant leadership and perceived coworker support can reduce the knowledge hiding by enhancing the sense of organization-based psychological ownership. The findings of time-lagged and multi-source data indicate that servant leadership has a negative relationship with knowledge hiding. Our results also indicate that psychological ownership mediates the effects of servant leadership on knowledge hiding. Moreover, a higher level of perceived coworker support enhances the sense of psychological ownership which helps to reduce knowledge hiding. This research extends strong support for the proposition that servant leaders who adopt an employee-centered management approach, stressing personal integrity and care for employees significantly affect employee attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, this study suggests that managers should demonstrate care toward their subordinates which helps them to reduce negative behaviors (e.g., knowledge hiding).

Preventing Knowledge Hiding Behaviors Through Workplace Friendship and Altruistic Leadership, and Mediating Role of Positive Emotions

Studies related to knowledge hiding prevention are limited and need attention. Hence, the present study attempts to measure the direct impact of workplace friendship and altruistic leadership on preventing the knowledge hiding behavior; and also, in the presence of positive emotions. The study has also checked the mediating role of positive emotions in these relationships. The target population of the study is the employees working in the government sector (sample size of 496). The present study has employed quantitative research techniques for testing the hypotheses. Smart-PLS 3 software has been employed to run the partial least square structural equation modeling. Findings of the study have given major indications about the positive role of workplace friendship and altruistic leadership in preventing the hiding of knowledge among employees. It has also been revealed that positive emotions play a significant role in augmenting the relationship of workplace friendship and altruistic leadership with knowledge hiding behavior. This study adds a significant contribution to the body of knowledge by measuring the mediating role of positive emotions in decreasing the knowledge hiding behavior in the presence of workplace friendship and altruistic leadership.

The effect of loving-kindness meditation on employees’ mindfulness, affect, altruism and knowledge hiding

Background

This study investigated the effects of the loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on employees’ mindfulness, affect, altruism and knowledge hiding.

Methods

In total, 100 employees were recruited from a knowledge-based enterprise in China and randomly divided into the LKM training group (n = 50) and the control group (n = 50). The LKM training group underwent LKM training for 8 weeks, while the control group did not. Seven main variables (mindfulness, altruism positive affect, negative affect, playing dumb, rationalized hiding, and evasive hiding) were measured both before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the LKM training intervention.

Results

The LKM intervention significantly increased participants’ altruism, and significantly reduced negative affect, playing dumb and evasive hiding, but did not significantly improve mindfulness, positive affect, and rationalized hiding.

Conclusions

LKM significantly improved employees’ altruism, and significantly reduce their negative affect, but did not significantly improve their mindfulness and positive affect. For knowledge hiding, LKM significantly reduced playing dumb and evasive hiding, but had no significant effect on rationalized hiding. These results further elucidate the psychological effects of LKM and suggest the possibility of reducing knowledge hiding in the workplace.

Trial registration

ChiCTR2200057460. Registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR), 13 March 2022—Retrospectively registered.

I cannot be creative due to my exploitative leader! A moderated mediation interplay of leader–member exchange quality and knowledge hiding

Purpose

With an emphasis on displaced aggression theory and social exchange theory, this study aims to investigate the harmful effects of exploitative leadership (EL) on employee creativity (EC) through the mediating role of knowledge hiding (KH). Moreover, this study examines the boundary effects of leader–member exchange (LMX) to explore conditions under which KH is more or less likely to occur.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed time-lagged (i.e. three-wave), multisource (i.e. self-rated and peer-rated) research design to collect data from employees working in Pakistani service sector organizations. The study analyzed 323 responses using SMART PLS (v 3.3.3) to assess the measurement model and the structural model.

Findings

The findings reveal that EL is positively related to KH and negatively related to EC. The results also show partial mediating role of KH in the indirect relationship between EL and EC. Besides, the study also found that LMX moderates the positive relationship between EL and KH, and the negative relationship between EL and EC.

Practical implications

The study divulges interesting findings that subordinates at high-quality LMX relationships (i.e. in-group members) are more susceptible to the harmful effects of supervisory unjust treatment than at low-quality LMX relationships (i.e. out-group members). Thus, occurrence context of KH, i.e. EL should be minimized through appropriate organizational interventions.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the leadership and knowledge management literature by testing a hitherto unexplored moderated mediation model.

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.

Abusive Supervision and Its Impact on Knowledge Hiding Behavior Among Sales Force

The purpose of this study is to test the relationship between abusive supervision and employee's knowledge hiding behavior (evasive hiding, playing dumb, rationalized hiding) among sales force of insurance companies in Pakistan. The paper also strives to theoretically discuss and then seek empirical evidence to the mediational paths of psychological contract breach that explain the focal relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge hiding. To test the proposed hypotheses, the study draws cross-sectional data from sales force of insurance companies working in Pakistan. Data were collected through structured questionnaire and using convenient sampling technique. The final sample of 340 valid and complete responses analyzed using structured equation modeling (partial least square) approach. Results showed that abusive supervision is positively related to employee's knowledge hiding behaviors. Also, mediating variable psychological contract breach partially mediates the abusive supervision-knowledge hiding behavior linkage. Current study has tested the positive relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge hiding behaviors unlike most of the previous investigations that have focused on knowledge sharing behavior. The study also empirically investigated the mediational route of psychological contract breach, that explains the blame attributed by the beleaguered employee that led to covert retaliatory behavior, such as knowledge hiding. This paper contributes to knowledge hiding literature which is an important part of knowledge management from the perspective of abusive supervision based on both reactance theory and SET theory.

Knowledge Hiding: Current Research Status and Future Research Directions

This article provides a review of scientific articles addressing the topic of knowledge hiding in organizations. Based on a descriptive analysis, bibliometric analysis, and content analysis of a sample of 81 articles published in the academic journals in the Web of Science from 2012 to 2020, we identify the main areas and current dynamics of knowledge hiding research. Our results show that the central research themes of knowledge hiding include five clusters: concept and dimensions, antecedents, consequences, theories, and influence mechanisms. Based on our findings, we suggest future research should further develop the concept and dimensions of knowledge hiding; probe deeper into the consequences of knowledge hiding; explore multilateral, cross-level, and collective knowledge hiding; employ innovative theoretical perspectives and research methods to study knowledge hiding; and address how cultural and other contextual factors may shape the knowledge hiding behavior.

The Psychology behind Knowledge Hiding in an Organization

This study aimed to understand the psychological process behind employees’ knowledge hiding (KH) behaviors in organizations. KH is an intentional act of concealing knowledge when it is requested by a colleague and can lead to counterproductive consequences for the organization. Therefore, this study synthesized previous studies (n = 88) on KH through a systematic literature review. We used the cognitive–motivational–relational (CMR) theory of emotion to create a framework for the studies’ findings. Based on the framework, the psychological process behind KH has two stages—personal goal generation and the knowledge-request event appraisal process, each of which contains its own CMR process. In the first stage, an individual’s internal and external attributes related to the organization shape their personal goals. In the second stage, an individual appraises the features of a knowledge-request event in terms of both their personal goal and the internal and external attributes that created the goal. If the knowledge request is appraised as harmful for the personal goal, emotion arises and leads to the manifestation of KH. This study contributes to the knowledge management literature as, to our knowledge, it is the first to propose a CMR theory-based framework to understand the overall psychological process behind KH.