Are there any antecedents of top-down knowledge hiding in firms? Evidence from the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of top-down knowledge hiding in buying and supplying firms. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a multiple case study methodology by considering four UAE-based firms and further employing 20 semi-structured interviews with managers of buying and supplying firms having a local and foreign nationality. Findings Based on the qualitative interviews, senior managers were found to be intentionally hiding knowledge from their managers based on five individual, three interpersonal and two firm-level reasons. Research limitations/implications This study has some limitations. First, the results of this study are not generalizable to a broader population. Second, this study explores behavioural patterns with respect to United Arab Emirates culture only. Practical implications Firms can use the findings of this study to understand what really motivates senior managers to intentionally hide knowledge from their subordinates. Also, this study provides some constructive guidelines to firms/senior management, which can discourage the culture of knowledge hiding in firms. Originality/value This study contributes to knowledge management literature by revealing multi-level and multi-faceted antecedents of top-down knowledge hiding in buying and supplying firms in the supply chain context.

Knowledge hiding in a buyer‐supplier relationship: A pilot study

“…Few studies inspect the determinants and effects of knowledge hiding within the context of the supply chain domain. For instance, Butt and Ahmad (2019) conducted a study on the antecedents of top‐down knowledge in buying and supplying firms connected in a supply chain. They further developed a model depicting antecedents at three levels including individual, interpersonal, and firm level and argued that knowledge hiding can leave supplying firms in isolation and complete vulnerability.…”

“…Although supply chain management scholars have explored the role of knowledge hiding in the supply chain management literature in past few years (Samuel et al 2011; Salazar, 2017; Rasheed et al, 2010; Butt and Ahmad, 2019; Butt, 2019), they have ignored that knowledge hiding can adversely affect the business relationship between them. Upon pursuing this goal, the goal of this pilot study was to explore how knowledge hiding might affect a business relationship between managers of buying and supplying firms in the supply chain.…”

“…Connelly et al (2012, p. 65) define knowledge hiding as “an intentional attempt by an individual to withhold or conceal knowledge that has been requested by another person.” Extant literature on the potential antecedents of knowledge hiding in a business discipline argues that managers hide knowledge for various reasons. This can range from having personal motives such as receiving promotions based on the knowledge they hold, securing their jobs, and remaining indispensable in the firms (Butt and Ahmad, 2019). However, these studies also contend that managers do not only hide knowledge for personal motives but sometimes, additional factors such as organizational norms and reciprocity encourage them to engage in knowledge hiding.…”

“…Although knowledge hiding literature is now enriched with studies focusing on the antecedents as well as the consequences of knowledge hiding (Connelly et al, 2012; Connelly et al, 2017; Černe et al 2014: Butt and Ahmad, 2019; Butt, 2019a,b,c; Connelley et al, 2019; Cheng et al, 2008; Samuel et al, 2011; Fang, 2017; Rashed et al 2010; Shih et al, 2012: Andreeva and Kianto, 2012; Fong, 2018), they do not tell us how a present of knowledge hiding between managers of buying and supplying firms harm the business relationship between the firms they work for. Consequently, a pilot study endeavored to unleash the potential effects of knowledge hiding with the domain of a buyer–supplier relationship was undertaken.…”

The Effect of Leader Knowledge Hiding on Employee Voice Behavior—The Role of Leader-Member Exchange and Knowledge Distance

“…The current research on the phenomenon of knowledge hiding on the one hand, mainly focused on the individual knowledge hiding micro-level discussion, but knowledge hiding not only between employees, several studies show that like employees produce emotional attachment to the organization, they may give their attention on the focus of the organization, such as leader (Becker, 1992;Clugston, Howell, & Dorfman, 2000;Gregersen, 1993;Stinglhamber, Bentein, & Vandenberghe, 2002), leadership and subordinate's interaction are also the important channel which the flow of information and knowledge hiding of management is widespread (Černe et al, 2014;Connelly & Zweig, 2015;Connelly et al, 2012;Peng, 2013), Therefore, the double-effect mechanism of knowledge hiding between leaders and ordinary employees needs further exploration and analysis (Arain, Bhatti, Ashraf, & Fang, 2018;Butt & Ahmad, 2019;Fong & Slotta, 2018). On the other hand, there's a lot of research on antecedent variables of knowledge hiding, previous research has shown that employees between knowledge hidden hazards, such as creative destruction (Černe et al, 2014; Černe et al, 2017), inhibit the spread of new knowledge and development (Černe et al, 2014), and increase turnover intention (Connelly et al, 2012), etc.…”