Unveiling the impacts of explicit vs. tacit knowledge hiding on innovation quality: The moderating role of knowledge flow within a firm

PurposeDrawing on the theory of belongingness, this study scrutinizes the impact of linguistic ostracism on knowledge sharing, knowledge hiding and knowledge hoarding and the moderating role of cultural intelligence (CQ) in a diverse and multi-cultural work setting.Design/methodology/approachA two-phase sampling of judgmental and random sampling techniques was used to recruit local and foreign workers in the Jordanian service industry. The present study empirically analyzes the sample of 394 employees' responses by applying variance-based structural equation modeling (VB-SEM).FindingsVB-SEM results indicate that linguistic ostracism lessens knowledge sharing behavior and heightens knowledge hiding and hoarding. CQ moderates two of the said associations, specifically by buffering the causal link between linguistic ostracism and knowledge hiding, as well as linguistic ostracism and knowledge hoarding. Consequently, CQ did not moderate the causal link between linguistic ostracism and knowledge sharing.Practical implicationsThe study's findings can help managers and decision-makers in such workplaces better understand the deleterious effects of linguistic ostracism and how CQ functions as a buffer. The study concludes with theoretical and managerial implications.Originality/valueVery few investigations have been conducted to determine the consequences of linguistic ostracism in today's multi-cultural and diverse work environment. This paper is among the first to unveil the association of linguistic ostracism and CQ with various knowledge management (KM) concepts.

Download Full-text

The death of distance, revisited: disseminative capacity and knowledge transfer

Multinational Business Review ◽

10.1108/mbr-11-2020-0210 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Chansoo Park

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Transfer ◽

Tacit Knowledge ◽

Explicit Knowledge ◽

Psychic Distance ◽

Content Type ◽

Tacit Knowledge Transfer ◽

The Relationship ◽

Moderating Role ◽

Foreign Parent

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess how the transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge is affected by the knowledge disseminative capacity of a foreign parent firm, with an emphasis on the moderating role of psychic distance, by developing and testing a theoretical model of international joint venture (IJV) learning. Design/methodology/approach The author tested the hypotheses with survey data collected from 199 IJVs in South Korea, estimating a structural equation model using AMOS 23.0. Findings The authors found that the capacity of the foreign parent to disseminate knowledge to the IJV has a greater impact on explicit knowledge transfer than tacit knowledge transfer. He also found that the relationship between disseminative capacity and explicit knowledge transfer is significantly moderated by psychic distance, but the relationship between disseminative capacity and tacit knowledge transfer is not. Originality/value The results are critical for IJVs and parent firms seeking to improve knowledge transfer, as they establish the importance of parent firms’ disseminative capacities and the moderating role of psychic distance in the process of both tacit and explicit knowledge transfer. This research addresses the research gap regarding disseminative capacity by providing empirical evidence.

Download Full-text

Organizational injustice and knowledge hiding: the roles of organizational dis-identification and benevolence

Management Decision ◽

10.1108/md-05-2019-0581 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Sadia Jahanzeb ◽

Dirk De Clercq ◽

Tasneem Fatima

Keyword(s):

Well Being ◽

Content Type ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Knowledge Hiding ◽

The Relationship ◽

Sense Of Obligation ◽

Moderating Role ◽

Practical Implications ◽

Organizational Injustice

PurposeWith a basis in social identity and equity theories, this study investigates the relationship between employees' perceptions of organizational injustice and their knowledge hiding, along with the mediating role of organizational dis-identification and the potential moderating role of benevolence.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses were tested with three-wave survey data collected from employees in Pakistani organizations.FindingsThe experience of organizational injustice enhances knowledge hiding because employees psychologically disconnect from their organization. This mediation by organizational dis-identification is buffered by benevolence or tolerance for inequity, which reduces employees' likelihood of reacting negatively to the unfavourable experience of injustice.Practical implicationsFor practitioners, this study identifies organizational dis-identification as a key mechanism through which employees' perceptions of organizational injustice spur their propensity to conceal knowledge, and it reveals how this process might be mitigated by a sense of obligation to contribute or “give” to organizational well-being.Originality/valueThis study establishes a more complete understanding of the connection between employees' perceptions of organizational injustice and their knowledge hiding, with particular attention devoted to hitherto unspecified factors that explain or influence this process.

Download Full-text

The curvilinear relationship between knowledge leadership and knowledge hiding

Leadership & Organization Development Journal ◽

10.1108/lodj-10-2018-0362 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (6) ◽

pp. 669-683 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Qing Xia ◽

Shumin Yan ◽

Yuliang Zhang ◽

Baizhu Chen

Keyword(s):

Collective Identity ◽

Psychological Ownership ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Curvilinear Relationship ◽

Content Type ◽

Level Of Knowledge ◽

Knowledge Leadership ◽

Knowledge Hiding ◽

Moderating Role

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the curvilinear relationship between knowledge leadership and knowledge hiding and the moderating role of psychological ownership on influencing the curvilinear relationship. Design/methodology/approach In total, 403 data were collected from participants in a high-technology company via a two-wave survey. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Findings Results revealed an inverted U-shaped relationship between knowledge leadership and knowledge hiding. The employees exhibited more knowledge hiding in a moderate level of knowledge leadership than in lower and higher levels of knowledge leadership. Moreover, psychological ownership significantly moderated the curvilinear relationship such that the inverted U-shaped relationship was more pronounced among employees with high psychological ownership. Practical implications Employees’ reaction to knowledge leadership may vary from different levels of knowledge leadership. Moreover, organizations should boost employees’ psychological ownership especially for the collective identity that helps them own knowledge as “ours.” Originality/value This study extends both the leadership and knowledge management behavior literatures.

Download Full-text

Perceived organizational politics, knowledge hiding and diminished promotability: how do harmony motives matter?

Journal of Knowledge Management ◽

10.1108/jkm-03-2021-0231 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Dirk De Clercq ◽

Yunita Sofyan ◽

Yufan Shang ◽

Luis Espinal Romani

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Organizational Politics ◽

Work Relationships ◽

Additional Contribution ◽

Organizational Decision Making ◽

Content Type ◽

Covert Response ◽

Knowledge Hiding ◽

Moderating Role

Purpose This study aims to investigate an underexplored behavioral factor, knowledge hiding, that connects employees’ perceptions of organizational politics (POP) with their diminished promotability, while also considering the moderating role of employees’ harmony motives in this process. Design/methodology/approach The research hypotheses are tested with multisource, three-round data collected among employees and their supervisors. Findings Employees’ beliefs about self-serving organizational decision-making increase their propensity to hide knowledge, which, in turn, diminishes their promotability. This intermediate role of knowledge hiding is more prominent when their disintegration avoidance motive is strong but less prominent when their harmony enhancement motive is strong. Practical implications A refusal to share knowledge with organizational colleagues, as a covert response to POP, can create a negative cycle for employees. They are frustrated with decision-making practices that are predicated on favoritism, but by choosing seemingly subtle ways to respond, they compromise their own promotion prospects. To avoid this escalation, employees should adopt an active instead of passive approach toward maintaining harmony in their work relationships. Originality/value This research contributes to extant research by detailing a hitherto overlooked reason that employees’ frustrations with dysfunctional politics may escalate into an enhanced probability to miss out on promotion opportunities. They respond to this situation by engaging in knowledge hiding. As an additional contribution, this study details how the likelihood of this response depends on employees’ harmony motives.

Download Full-text

Impacts of cooperative and competitive personalities on tacit knowledge sharing among Chinese employees

Journal of Knowledge Management ◽

10.1108/jkm-09-2020-0713 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Ying Zhang ◽

Haoyu Chen ◽

Ersi Liu ◽

Yunwu He ◽

Edwin Cheng

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Tacit Knowledge ◽

Organizational Support ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Future Research ◽

Content Type ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Tacit Knowledge Sharing ◽

Moderating Role

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of cooperative and competitive personalities on tacit knowledge sharing (TKS) by exploring the mediating role of organizational identification (OI) and the moderating role of perceived organizational support (POS) among Chinese employees. Design/methodology/approach Conducting a network survey of ordinary employees from Chinese listed companies (2019) as the research objects, the authors collect 298 valid samples for research. The authors apply confirmatory factor analysis to test the reliability and validity of the constructs, structural equation modeling to verify the direct effect and the PROCESS macro to test the mediating and moderating effects. Findings The results show that there is a positive relationship between cooperative personality (COP) and TKS, and there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between competitive personality (CMP) and TKS. OI plays a mediating role between COP and TKS, while POS plays a negative moderating role between COP and TKS. Research limitations/implications This paper only takes Chinese employees as the research sample, and future research can make a cross-cultural comparison between the impacts of cooperative and competitive personalities on employees’ behaviors. Practical implications The results of this study suggest that enterprises should actively cultivate the COP of employees, and managers should refrain from intervening in the behaviors of employees with COP. At the same time, for employees with CMP, managers should guide them to control their competitive tendency at a reasonable level. The conclusions of this paper also suggest that managers should pay attention to the cultivation of employees’ OI. Originality/value This study plugs the gap in research on the impacts of cooperative and competitive personalities on TKS. It makes a contribution to the research development of COP and CMP and their influence mechanisms on employees’ behaviors. In addition, the negative moderating effect of POS on COP–TKS link verifies the correctness of Y theory. Studying the relationships among personality traits (cooperative and competitive personalities), cognition (OI) and behaviors (TKS), this paper makes a contribution to such a research stream.

Download Full-text