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The Masked Mentor: Unveiling the Impact of Perceived Leader Knowledge Hiding on Employee Behavior

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  • Hafsa Bashir

    (Beijing Institute of Technology)

  • Shaham Saleem

    (Beijing Institute of Technology)

Abstract

This study addresses the scant research on the relationship between the employees’ perceived leader knowledge hiding (PLKH), mattering (feeling valued in the organization), and creativity. It further aims to examine the moderating role of task-related complexity. Based on the social exchange theory, the current study examines how PLKH impacts employees’ creativity directly and indirectly through employee mattering and how task-related complexity plays a role as a moderator. By carrying out a multisource study, 340 responses from supervisors and their immediate subordinates from R&D departments of the manufacturing sector operating in Pakistan (Faisalabad, Lahore, and Rawalpindi) were considered for data collection from July to December 2023. The current study tested the proposed relationships through a partial least squares structural equation modeling technique. The findings show that PLKH negatively correlates with employees’ mattering and creativity. Meanwhile, employees’ low mattering negatively mediates between PLKH and creativity. Moreover, results revealed that task-related complexity is a significant moderator in this study model. These findings enrich the knowledge management literature regarding the negative impact of leaders’ knowledge hiding on employee mattering and creativity. Additionally, the crucial role of task-related complexity in strengthening the negative effect of PLKH on employee creativity is an essential extension of the literature. Implications for organizations and academicians depending on outcomes are suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Hafsa Bashir & Shaham Saleem, 2025. "The Masked Mentor: Unveiling the Impact of Perceived Leader Knowledge Hiding on Employee Behavior," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 10841-10864, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:16:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s13132-024-02258-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-024-02258-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zhao, Hongdan & Zhao, Siyong & Chen, Yuanhua & Yu, Xiaoyu, 2023. "Bystanders’ reactions to leader knowledge hiding: The roles of moral disengagement and moral identity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    2. Kian Yeik Koay & Manjit Singh Sandhu & Fandy Tjiptono & Motoki Watabe, 2022. "Understanding employees’ knowledge hiding behaviour: the moderating role of market culture," Behaviour and Information Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 694-711, March.
    3. Shaham Saleem & Hafsa Bashir, 2024. "Environmental corporate social responsibility and green dynamic capability: The moderating role of slack resources," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3379-3394, July.
    4. Soral, Prakriti & Pati, Surya Prakash & Kakani, Ram Kumar, 2022. "Knowledge hiding as a coping response to the supervisors’ dark triad of personality: A protection motivation theory perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1077-1091.
    5. Donate, Mario J. & González-Mohíno, Miguel & Paolo Appio, Francesco & Bernhard, Fabian, 2022. "Dealing with knowledge hiding to improve innovation capabilities in the hotel industry: The unconventional role of knowledge-oriented leadership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 572-586.
    6. Sarstedt, Marko & Hair, Joseph F. & Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Becker, Jan-Michael & Ringle, Christian M., 2019. "How to specify, estimate, and validate higher-order constructs in PLS-SEM," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 197-211.
    7. Ghulam Ali Arain & Zeeshan Ahmed Bhatti & Naeem Ashraf & Yu-Hui Fang, 2020. "Top-Down Knowledge Hiding in Organizations: An Empirical Study of the Consequences of Supervisor Knowledge Hiding Among Local and Foreign Workers in the Middle East," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 611-625, July.
    8. Hafsa Bashir & Meng Fanchen & Muhammad Waseem Bari, 2024. "Deceptive Knowledge Hiding in Organizations: Psychological Distress as an Underlying Mechanism," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, May.
    9. Hafsa Bashir & Bashir Ahmad & Muhammad Waseem Bari & Qurat Ul Ain Khan, 2021. "The impact of organizational practices on formation and development of psychological contract: expatriates' perception-based view," International Journal of Emerging Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 18(9), pages 2198-2217, August.
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