Workplace Ostracism and Knowledge Hiding: The Mediating Role of Job Tension

Sidra Riaz, Yusen Xu and Shahid Hussain
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Sidra Riaz: Faculty of Management and Economics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Yusen Xu: Faculty of Management and Economics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Shahid Hussain: Department of Mathematics, COMSATS University Islamabad, Attock Campus 43600, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 20, 1-16

Abstract: This study examined the impact of workplace ostracism on employees’ knowledge hiding behavior. Based on the conservation of resource theory, this study seeks to identify the effects of job tension as a mediator and the moderating effect of employee loyalty. Using a time-lagged research design, we collected the data from 392 employees of the textile industry. Results indicate that workplace ostracism positively influences the knowledge hiding behavior such as evasive hiding and playing dumb, whereas it is not significantly related with rationalized hiding. More specifically, workplace ostracism increases the feeling of job tension, while job tension mediates the relationship between workplace ostracism and knowledge hiding. In addition, we found that workplace ostracism demolished the benefits of employee loyalty, as high workplace ostracism more strongly influences the feeling of job tension. We also discussed the theoretical and practical implications.

Keywords: workplace ostracism; knowledge hiding; evasive hiding; playing dumb; rationalized hiding; job tension; employee loyalty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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