Knowledge hiding as a barrier to thriving: The mediating role of psychological safety and moderating role of organizational cynicism

Abstract

Summary Research demonstrates that knowledge hiding has a detrimental effect on the knowledge hider himself or herself. Extending this area, the present research examines how and when knowledge hiders struggle to thrive at work. Integrating self‐perception theory and the socially embedded model of thriving, we propose that knowledge hiding negatively influences employees' thriving through psychological safety, and this influence is contingent on organizational cynicism. In Study 1a, a cross‐sectional survey of 214 Chinese participants from a general working population supported the mediating role of psychological safety in the knowledge hiding and thriving relationship. Study 1b verified this result using two‐wave data collected from 392 working adults in a panel that recruited participants mainly in Europe and North America. In addition to confirming the mediation with a two‐wave field survey conducted among 205 employees in three Chinese organizations, Study 2 supported the moderating role of organizational cynicism. Specifically, the negative effect of knowledge hiding on psychological safety was greater under higher levels of organizational cynicism, as was the indirect effect of knowledge hiding on thriving via psychological safety. These findings contribute to both the knowledge hiding and the thriving literature and provide practical implications for both the manager and the employee.

Thriving at work: A meta‐analysis

“…For example, work engagement has been posited both as an antecedent (e.g., Milosevec et al, ) and as an outcome of thriving at work (e.g., Abid et al, ) in the extant literature. Only three of the studies included in the current meta‐analysis assessed thriving at two measurement points (Jiang, Hu, Wang, & Jiang, ; Niessen et al, ; Porath et al, ). To better understand the causal direction of effects, researchers should conduct intervention studies and use longitudinal research designs.…”

Understanding knowledge hiding in organizations

“…Jiang, Hu, Wang, and Jiang () contribute to our understanding of the implications of knowledge hiding for the person who hides. Specifically, they use self‐perception theory and the socially embedded model of thriving to explain the roles of psychological safety and organizational cynicism in the relationship between an employee's knowledge hiding and his or her thriving as an employee.…”

“…By examining both knowledge hiding and sharing simultaneously, the authors challenge our understanding of the differences between the two constructs and of what drives them. Jiang, Hu, Wang, and Jiang (2019) and expect knowledge hiding. Furthermore, they examine the association between leader-signaled knowledge hiding and several employee outcomes, mediated by subordinate knowledge hiding (distinctly for playing dumb, evasive hiding, and rationalized hiding).…”

Leader-member exchange and subjective well-being: the moderating role of metacognitive cultural intelligence

“…In order to ensure the data were of quality and accuracy, we followed best practices to screen respondents' questionnaires and answers to ensure that only the surveys without ambiguous data entry were included (Jiang et al, 2019). The sample demographics were: 57.4% were female, average age was 43.7 (SD = 12.5).…”