Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between knowledge-hiding behaviors (evasive hiding, playing dumb and rationalized hiding) and employees’ silence (defensive silence, relational silence and ineffectual silence). Besides, this paper investigates the relation mediated by psychological contract breach. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected with three-time lags (40 days each) through a structured questionnaire from 389 employees of registered software houses in Pakistan. The structural equation modeling (partial least squares) approach is used for data analysis. Findings The findings of this study confirm that knowledge-hiding behaviors have a significant and positive relationship with employees’ silence, and psychological contract breach significantly mediates the relationship between knowledge-hiding behaviors and employees’ silence. Practical implications The implications of this study are very supportive to the knowledge-intensive organizations, i.e. software houses. The management should increase the knowledge sharing and trust culture among employees to discourage the knowledge-hiding behaviors among employees. Moreover, supervisors should develop trust among employees, motivate them to avoid knowledge hiding and encourage the employees to raise their voices against their problems in a formal way. Originality/value The present study highlights the impact of different dimensions of knowledge hiding on employees’ silence and the role of psychological contract breach as a mediator in this scenario.

The present study explains how different factors of knowledge hiding (e.g., evasive, playing dumb, and rationalized) influence on team creativity. Drawn on social exchange theory, the present study theorizes that factors of knowledge hiding have a negative relationship with team creativity, and absorptive capacity mediates this relationship. In addition, the perceived mastery motivational climate (PMMC) as a moderator attenuates the negative relationship between factors of knowledge hiding and team creativity. Study 1, an investigation (through the experience sampling method) from 41 participants of social media, confirms the existence of knowledge hiding practices in Pakistan. Study 2 applied a partial least squares, structural equation modeling approach on randomly selected time lag data of 282 respondents from state-owned universities of Pakistan. Results show that evasive hiding and playing dumb have a significant negative relationship with team creativity; however, rationalized hiding does not affect significantly on team creativity. The absorptive capacity also does not mediate the relationship between factors of knowledge hiding and team creativity. The PMMC attenuates the negative influence of evasive hiding and playing dumb on team creativity; however, the PMMC does not moderate the influence of rationalized hiding on team creativity. The implications and future research directions are discussed in the last section of this study.

The aim of this work focuses on the relationship among the Dark Triad (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism), perceptions of organizational politics, political skills, and counterproductive work behavior. This study empirically tests the mediating role of perceptions of organizational politics in the relationship between the Dark Triad and counterproductive work behavior. Furthermore, the study investigates the moderating role of political skills in strengthening the link between the Dark Triad and the perceptions of organizational politics. A sample of 149 participants was randomly selected. To analyze the data of the present work, we employed a structural equation model using partial least square and PROCESS. From empirical findings, we imply an inference that perception of organizational politics partially mediates the Dark Triad's influence on the counterproductive work behavior. Moreover, the results identify the moderating role of political skills in strengthening the link between the Dark Triad and the perceptions of organizational politics. Empirical findings suggest important policy implications for the hospitality industry.

In a competitive marketplace, retention of talented and younger employees is a challenge for organizations. Thus, it becomes important for organizations to execute employees' development strategies to retain Generation Y employees. The goal of this research is to analyze the effect of talent management (TM) practices i.e. mentoring, strategic leadership, social media, and knowledge sharing on the intention to stay of generation Y employees and strengthening this relationship by investigating the mediating role of competency development. A total of 372 employees of generation Y participated in the study. The data were analyzed through the PLS-SEM model using smartPLS-3 software. Findings reveal that TM practices: mentoring, strategic leadership, social media positively affect the intention to stay of generation Y employees, while knowledge sharing has no significant effect on the intention to stay. Competency Development mediates the relationship between strategic leadership, social media, knowledge sharing and intention to stay. However, competency development does not significantly mediate the relationship between mentoring and intention to stay.

The objective of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effect of management practices (procedural justice, coordination approach, communication system, integration strategy, and coping programs) on merger and acquisition (M&A) performance in the Pakistan banking industry. Psychological contract (PC) acts as a mediator between Management practices and M&A performance. The Present study distributes a structured questionnaire to 700 bank employees of different management cadres. The useful response rate is 76 % (536 employees). It uses PLS-SEM technique for data analysis. Findings: (1) procedural justice is a key strategy which has highly significant direct and indirect effect on M&A performance; however integration strategy and the communication system have an only direct effect. (2) PC performs partial mediation at different levels between management practices and M&A financial and non-financial performance. This study provides an effective solution to solve the soft issues during and post-M&A process. This is one of the few studies which effectively integrate the five constructs into a single framework to study their effects on M&A performance. Limitations and future research directions are presented in the last section of the study.

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Drawn on means-end theory and relationalism, this study investigates the impact of 3D printed branded accessories' design perception on consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). In addition, how experiential value mediates the relationship between product design perception and CBBE. Based on a random sampling approach, the present study collected 535 3D printed branded accessories users' responses through social media (WeChat). The data were analyzed through partial least squares, structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, smart PLS-3. The results reveal that two dimensions of design perception (functional and kinesthetic) have a significant impact on CBBE. However, design perception (visual) has failed to impact significantly on CBBE. The experiential value significantly mediates the relationship between all dimensions (visual, functional, and kinesthetic) of design perception and CBBE. This study concludes that experiential value/user experience is an inevitable mediator between product design perception and CBBE. The implication and limitations of this study are discussed in the last section of this study.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has got a vital position in the perspectives of economic growth and sustainable development of China and Pakistan. Viewing these prospects, the Chinese organizations are taking interest to deal with Pakistani organizations for the reinforcement of the mergers and acquisitions (M&As) deals. But, soft issues (SIs), such as, differences in organizational and national cultures, leadership styles, and human resource (HR) practices, may arise between Sino-Pak business entities which may hamper the successful dealings of M&As. This research investigates the effects of SIs on knowledge and technology sharing and transfer (KTST) and firm performance (FP), leading to industry performance (IP), and KTST effect on FP. Drawing on social exchange theory, psychological contract development and maintenance (PCDM) is investigated as a moderator in this study. The convenience sampling technique and administrative survey approach are applied for data collection. The 550 questionnaires were distributed among the Chinese and Pakistani workers. However, only 435 respondents gave proper feedback. Partial least square, structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), a statistical model through smart PLS-3 is applied to analyze the data. The results elucidate the negative impacts of SIs on KTST and FP while KTST affects positively on FP and FP positively affects IP. The PCDM significantly moderates the effects of SIs on KTST and FP. If the Chinese organizations concentrate upon PCDM, the SIs would be resolved. The productive deals of M&As would be helpful in underpinning the exclusive growth of CPEC projects. The implications and limitations are discussed at the end of this study. Keywords soft issues, knowledge and technology sharing and transfer, firm performance, industry performance, psychological contract, CPEC Research Question 1: What key SIs may arise during cross-border M&As deals, especially among Sino-Pak business organization? Research Question 2: How SIs affect KTST practices and FP, leading to IP, and KTST practices affect FP? Research Question 3: How PCDM moderates the effect of SIs on KTST practices and FP, leading to the IP?