How do front-line employees make decisions on whether to hide their knowledge from co-workers in hospitality firms?

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore the psychological process by which front-line employees (FLEs) in hospitality firms make decisions on hiding knowledge. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative methodology was used, with triangulated data collection from six different types of hospitality firms. By using the thematic analysis approach, a conceptual framework consisting of seven main themes was constructed to reflect the replicable logic of an individual’s knowledge exchange decision-making in various situations. Findings This study proposes a theoretical framework describing how hotel employees evaluate the cost and benefit of knowledge exchange implicitly. Using this framework, this paper illustrates the strategies that FLEs use to make a bounded-rational decision on knowledge exchange in situations characterized by time constraints and limited information. Practical implications Hotel managers can use the psychological process presented in this paper to better understand how FLEs make knowledge-hiding decisions in the workplace. Furthermore, specific measures are suggested to reduce FLEs’ knowledge-hiding behaviors in each stage of their knowledge exchange decision process. Originality/value This paper uncovers the psychological process of individuals’ decision-making regarding hiding knowledge from others in the hotel context, thus increasing the understanding of the rationale of FLEs’ knowledge hiding behaviors from the perspective of bounded-rational decision theory.

Leader knowledge hiding, feedback avoidance and hotel employee outcomes: a moderated mediation model

“…However, there are limited studies about leaders who frequently hide knowledge in the workplace (Butt and Ahmad, 2019;Offergelt et al, 2019;Peng et al, 2019). This is also evident in less than a handful of empirical pieces on knowledge hiding behavior in the extant hospitality and tourism research (Lin et al, 2020;Rao et al, 2021;Zhao et al, 2016). Realizing such a potential area for inquiry, our paper tests the influence of LKH behavior on hotel employees' creativity and job performance.…”

“…Our paper investigating the aforesaid linkages is relevant and significant for at least three reasons. First, knowledge hiding is prevalent in many industries including the hospitality industry (Anser et al, 2021;Rao et al, 2021;Zhao et al, 2016). For example, a Chinese study reported that 46% of the individuals in the workplace engaged in different kinds of knowledge hiding behaviors (Peng, 2013).…”

“…Knowledge sharing is among the critical tools that enable employees to fulfill their daily tasks and display creative behaviors (Lim and Ok, 2021;Rao et al, 2021). Despite this realization, leaders and/or employees at the bottom line display knowledge hiding behaviors that produce knowledge gaps, result in distrust among the members of the company and damage workplace relationships (Hernaus et al, 2019).…”

Frontline employee-driven change in hospitality firms: an analysis of receptionists’ personality on implemented suggestions

“…However, other authors disagree (Tedone and Bruk-Lee, 2021), arguing that conscientious individuals could avoid speaking out on work-related aspects, as they are likely to evaluate the risks involved. This could be related to knowledge hiding (Rao et al, 2021), caused by a lack of impulsiveness (Wang et al, 2020). In addition, conscientious employees have a certain orientation to be practical and proactive, so they may try to solve a given problem or situation themselves before sharing it with their supervisors, thus avoiding employee voice behaviour.…”

“…Thus, individuals who exhibit a low level of conscientiousness or a lack of direction could have more diverse thoughts and take risks, which would foster the contribution of original and valid suggestions for implementation. Highly conscientious employees' underlying lack of impulsiveness (Wang et al, 2020) could be also a reason for knowledge hiding (Rao et al, 2021) since they are in a position to have a longer period of time to analyse the potential rewards of knowledge disclosure.…”