To read this content please select one of the options below:

How strategic knowledge hiding drives competitive individuals to establish research superiority: a case in UK Business Schools

Ashmiza Mahamed Ismail (Faculty of Business and Law, British University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
Christine Elizabeth Welch (Portsmouth Business School, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK)

Journal of Knowledge Management

ISSN: 1367-3270

Article publication date: 1 March 2023

Issue publication date: 22 November 2023

329

Abstract

Purpose

Why and when people working in organisations hide their knowledge has received considerable academic attention. However, little attention has been paid to knowledge hiding in academia itself, even though universities are known as places where knowledge is shared. This study aims to consider the dilemma faced by academics when undertaking research work: should they share or hide what they are doing?

Design/methodology/approach

Using empirical evidence drawn from 20 academics in a number of UK Business Schools, the authors carried out in-depth interviews to investigate the effects of strategic knowledge hiding (SKH) on research knowledge work. The authors argue that SKH can drive competitive individuals to establish research superiority.

Findings

The findings revealed that most respondents have, for strategic reasons, hidden their tacit and/or explicit knowledge from others during ongoing research processes, but have, at the same time, purposefully sought for knowledge from targeted colleagues.

Originality/value

The findings extend the previous literature by revealing not only the distinctive individual antecedents of SKH but also its positive outcomes. The findings illustrate a pioneering contribution of a systematic model of SKH among university business school academics.

Keywords

Citation

Mahamed Ismail, A. and Welch, C.E. (2023), "How strategic knowledge hiding drives competitive individuals to establish research superiority: a case in UK Business Schools", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 27 No. 10, pp. 2708-2728. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-07-2022-0551

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles