Tit for Tat: Abusive Supervision and Knowledge Hiding-The Role of Psychological Contract Breach and Psychological Ownership

Usman Ghani, Timothy Teo, Yan Li, Muhammad Usman, Zia Ul Islam, Habib Gul, Rana Muhammad Naeem, Humera Bahadar, Jing Yuan and Xuesong Zhai
Additional contact information
Usman Ghani: College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China
Timothy Teo: School of Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch 6150, Western Australia
Yan Li: College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China
Muhammad Usman: Department of Management Sciences, Preston University, Kohat 26000, Pakistan
Zia Ul Islam: School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Habib Gul: Business School, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100875, China
Rana Muhammad Naeem: School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Humera Bahadar: Department of Management Sciences, Hazara University, Mansehra 21120, Pakistan
Jing Yuan: School of Foreign Study, Anhui Sanlian University, Hefei 230026, China
Xuesong Zhai: College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: The extant literature has focused on individuals’ knowledge-sharing behavior and its driving factors, which stimulate the knowledge transmission and exchange in organizations. However, little research has focused on factors that inhibit knowledge sharing and encourage individuals to hide their knowledge. Therefore, based on social exchange and displaced aggression theories, the study proposed and checked a model that examined the effect of abusive supervision on knowledge hiding (KH) via a psychological contract breach (PCB). The Psychological ownership was regarded as a boundary condition on abusive supervision and KH relationship. Using a time-lagged method, we recruited 344 full-time employees enrolled in an executive development program in a large university in China. The findings show that PCB mediates the association between abusive supervision and KH. Similarly, psychological ownership moderates the association between abusive supervision and KH. Employees with high psychological ownership minimized the effect of abusive supervision on KH. Based on study findings, contributions to theory and practice, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Keywords: knowledge hiding; abusive supervision; psychological contract breach; psychological ownership (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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