Elongating Nexus Between Workplace Factors and Knowledge Hiding Behavior: Mediating Role of Job Anxiety

Abstract

Purpose

The study objective is to investigate the relationship between workplace ostracism, workplace incivility, and knowledge hiding behavior (evasive hiding, playing dumb, rationalized hiding) while considering the mediating role of job anxiety.

Methods

The study collected data through structured questionnaires from 275 participants (ie, employees) working in the small to medium-sized enterprise of five big cities of Pakistan. The study adopted a structured equation modeling technique for data analysis.

Results

Significantly, the study results suggest a positive effect of workplace ostracism and workplace incivility on employees’ knowledge hiding behavior, and job anxiety significantly mediates the relationship between workplace ostracism, workplace incivility, and knowledge hiding behavior of employees.

Conclusion

The present study highlights the need to examine the personality disposition for understanding the relationship between the variables (eg, workplace ostracism, workplace incivility, knowledge hiding behavior). Employees’ inappropriate behavior had suppressed by initiating a campaign for a realistic job preview, setting an exceptional example. The study significantly contributes to the current literature on knowledge hiding behavior by presenting valuable insight into organizational and individual variables, subsequently influencing the knowledge hiding behavior of individuals. Indeed, this study is the first to investigate the predictive effect of the proposed variables.

Keywords:

• workplace ostracism
• workplace incivility
• job anxiety
• knowledge hiding behavior
• SMEs

Data Sharing Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Ethical Approval

All participants gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study. All procedures performed were by the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standard. The ethical committee approved all the procedures of Department of Commerce & Business, Government College University Faisalabad, Layyah Campus, Pakistan.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the construct program of applied characteristic discipline “Applied Economics” Hunan Province.