Intentional information withholding in cooperative groups

Kileigh B. Smith and Kathryn Coll

Chapter 13 in Research Handbook on Group Decision Making, 2026, pp 245-270 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Organizational groups rely on individual members’ information to make optimal decisions, yet members sometimes intentionally withhold valuable information despite knowing it would help the group succeed. This counterproductive behavior misaligns with expectations for cooperation and produces negative outcomes, including decreased performance, inhibited creativity, and reduced trust. In this chapter, we integrate theories of collective information processing (Motivated Information Processing in Groups and the Collective Information Search and Distribution model) to illuminate how individual motives shape decisions to withhold. Drawing on existing literature, we examine how proself motives and group characteristics (e.g., incivility, low psychological safety) foster withholding. We also present an exploratory study that identifies a novel prosocial motive for intentional information withholding. Overall, this chapter synthesizes and extends current understanding of this behavior and offers a framework to guide future research on the complex motives and conditions underlying information withholding in groups.

Keywords: Information withholding; Knowledge hiding; Group decision making; MIP-G; CISD model; Psychological safety; Incivility; Prosocial motives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035331239
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