Self-serving Leadership and Employee Knowledge Hiding: A Dual-pathway Model

Article

Zhang, Y., Zhang, L., Zhang, J., Wang, J. and Akhtar, M. N. 2024. Self-serving Leadership and Employee Knowledge Hiding: A Dual-pathway Model. Management Decision. In Press. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-05-2023-0831
AuthorsZhang, Y., Zhang, L., Zhang, J., Wang, J. and Akhtar, M. N.
Abstract

Purpose
Drawing upon the cognitive-affective processing system (CAPS) framework, the current study proposes a dual-pathway model that suggests self-serving leadership has a positive influence on employee knowledge hiding. The study also examines the mediating effects of relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion, as well as the moderating effect of political skill, to provide a comprehensive understanding of these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach
This study employed two-wave time-lagged survey data collected from 644 employees in 118 teams within a company based in Shenzhen, China. Moreover, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships.

Findings
The results indicated that self-serving leadership positively influenced employee knowledge hiding, and this relationship was mediated by relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion. Additionally, political skill was found to negatively moderate both the direct relationship between self-serving leadership and relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion, and the indirect path from self-serving leadership to employee knowledge hiding through relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion.

Originality/value
This study makes a unique contribution to the knowledge management literature in several ways. First, it introduces self-serving leadership as a predictor of employee knowledge hiding, expanding the current understanding of this phenomenon. Second, it offers a novel conceptualization, suggesting that employees coping with self-serving leadership may experience relative deprivation and emotional exhaustion, and these factors can predict their engagement in knowledge hiding. Third, the research findings on the moderating role of political skill push the boundaries of the knowledge-hiding literature, providing new insights into the conditions under which this behavior occurs.

KeywordsSelf-serving leadership; Relative deprivation; Emotional exhaustion; Political skill; Knowledge hiding
JournalManagement Decision
Journal citationIn Press
ISSN0025-1747
1758-6070
Year2024
PublisherEmerald Publishing Limited
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Anyone
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-05-2023-0831
Publication dates
Online14 Aug 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted26 Jul 2024
Deposited20 Aug 2024
FunderNational Natural Science Foundation of China
Copyright holder© 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited
Additional information

Zhang, Y., Zhang, L., Zhang, J., Wang, J. and Akhtar, M.N. (2024), "Self-serving leadership and employee knowledge hiding: a dual-pathway model", Management Decision, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-05-2023-0831

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