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This study aims to investigate the negative interpersonal antecedents, emotional mediators and boundary conditions of knowledge sabotage behavior.

The authors collected data from 275 Chinese employees using convenience sampling and snowball sampling across three stages. Subsequently, the authors used both hierarchical regression and bootstrap methods to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results confirmed that workplace ostracism has positive effects on employee knowledge sabotage behavior both directly and via employee anger. In addition, the authors found that employee bottom-line mentality (BLM) moderates not only the direct effect of workplace ostracism on employee anger but also the indirect effect of employee anger in this context. Employee conscientiousness moderates only the direct effect of workplace ostracism on employee anger and does not moderate the indirect effect.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study not only explores the influence of workplace ostracism on employee knowledge sabotage behavior for the first time but also elucidates the underlying emotional mechanisms (anger) and boundary conditions (employee BLM and conscientiousness) by which workplace ostracism influences employee knowledge sabotage behavior, thus deepening the understanding of how knowledge sabotage emerges in organizations.

The purpose of this Real Impact Research Article is to empirically explore one of the most controversial and elusive concepts in knowledge management research – practical wisdom. It develops a 10-dimensional practical wisdom construct and tests it within the nomological network of counterproductive and productive knowledge behavior.

A survey instrument was created based on the extant literature. A model was developed and tested by means of Partial Least Squares with data obtained from 200 experienced employees recruited from CloudResearch Connect crowdsourcing platform.

Practical wisdom is a multidimensional construct that may be operationalized and measured like other well-established knowledge management concepts. Practical wisdom guides employee counterproductive and productive knowledge behavior: it suppresses knowledge sabotage and knowledge hiding (whether general, evasive, playing dumb, rationalized or bullying) and promotes knowledge sharing. While all proposed dimensions contribute to employee practical wisdom, particularly salient are subject matter expertise, moral purpose in decision-making, self-reflection in the workplace and external reflection in the workplace. Unexpectedly, practical wisdom facilitates knowledge hoarding instead of reducing it.

Managers should realize that possessing practical wisdom is not limited to a group of select, high-level executives. Organizations may administer the practical wisdom questionnaire presented in this study to their workers to identify those who score the lowest, and invest in employee training programs that focus on the development of those attributes pertaining to the practical wisdom dimensions.

The concept of practical wisdom is a controversial topic that has both detractors and supporters. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first large-scale empirical study of practical wisdom in the knowledge management domain.

Based on social cognitive theory, this study aims to explore the influence of supervisor bottom-line mentality (SBLM) on employee knowledge behavior (knowledge territorial behavior and knowledge sabotage behavior). The study first investigates the role of an ethical decision-making mechanism (moral disengagement) in mediating this relationship. In addition, it considers the possible boundary conditions to supplement research on the influence of SBLM in the knowledge management field.

The authors collected 256 data points from employees across three stages using convenience sampling. The authors then tested the proposed hypothesis using hierarchical regression and bootstrap methods.

The results demonstrated that SBLM promotes employees’ moral disengagement, leading to more knowledge territorial behavior and knowledge sabotage behavior. Furthermore, high power distance orientation among employees exacerbates the ill effects of SBLM according to the first stage of a moderated mediation model. Employees with such an orientation are more likely to respond to a SBLM by exhibiting a higher level of moral disengagement, thus increasing their knowledge territorial behavior and knowledge sabotage behavior.

Research on the influence of SBLM in the knowledge management field is limited. This study not only clarifies the relationships between SBLM and two types of knowledge behavior (knowledge territorial behavior and knowledge sabotage behavior) but also enriches the research on the antecedents of these two types of knowledge behavior.

As a counterproductive interpersonal work behavior, knowledge hiding inhibits team creativity, hampers collaboration and ultimately has a detrimental impact on organizational performance. Drawing upon the impression management perspective. This study aims to investigate how and when employees’ political skill affects their knowledge-hiding behavior in real work contexts.

The authors tested the hypotheses using data gathered from 266 employees in China using a time-lagged research design.

The results indicate that political skill positively influences knowledge hiding through the supplication strategy. Moreover, the positive effect of political skill on this strategy is stronger under higher levels of competition.

A cross-sectional design and the use of self-report questionnaires are the limitations of this study.

The authors contribute to the literature on the emergence of knowledge hiding by identifying an impression management perspective. The authors also contribute to the literature on political skill by exploring the potential negative effects of political skill in the interpersonal interaction. Moreover, the authors enrich the understanding of the literature in competitive climate by introducing the impression management theory and exploring its influence on knowledge floating.

In the knowledge management (KM) literature, there are umpteen discussions on knowledge sharing; however, the scholarly community still faces a dearth of literature on knowledge hiding behavior (KHB) and its determinants. The current study aims to examine the direct effect of dark triad (DT) personality dimensions (machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy) on KHB dimensions (rationalized hiding, evasive hiding and playing dumb). Drawing on social control theory, this study also explores the moderating effect of workplace spirituality (WS) on the direct relationship between DT and KHB.

Using purposive sampling, 281 matched-pair datasets from faculty members working with higher education institutions (HEI) in India have been obtained. The direct relationship has been tested through regression analysis and moderation analysis has been performed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

The study has successfully mapped DT dimensions with KHB dimensions, and it is observed that machiavellians mostly use evasive hiding, narcissists believe in rationalized hiding and paying dumb is mostly used by psychopaths. Workplace spirituality (WS) weakens the direct relationship between DT and KHB.

HEIs are advised to foster a climate conducive to WS by getting faculty to realize that their job is something larger than themselves through developing a sense of community among faculty members.

This empirical study extends the KM literature and expands the scope of bridging the gaps on KHB. It is one of the few studies to examine the impact of DT on KHB with WS as a moderator in HEIs.

This study investigates the validity of Ferreira et al.’s (2020) Organizational Bullshit Perception Scale by examining its distinctiveness from similar constructs (perceptions of organizational politics, organizational cynicism, procedural justice) and its predictive validity through its relations with important organizational attitudes (organizational identification) and behaviors (counterproductive work behavior and organizational citizenship behavior). This study also examines the moderating effects of honesty–humility on the relations between organizational bullshit perception and the outcomes of counterproductive work behavior, organizational citizenship behavior and organizational identification. Finally, this study examines the incremental validity of organizational bullshit perception in predicting counterproductive work behavior, organizational citizenship behavior and organizational identification above and beyond similar constructs in an exploratory fashion.

Survey data were collected from a sample of working adults online via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform across two waves (final N = 323 for wave 1 and 174 for wave 2), one month apart.

The results indicate that organizational bullshit perception, as measured by Ferreira et al.’s (2020) scale, represents a distinct construct that has statistically significant relations with counterproductive work behavior, organizational citizenship behavior and organizational identification, even after controlling for procedural justice, organizational cynicism and perceptions of organizational politics. The results, however, showed no support for honesty–humility as a moderator.

These findings suggest that organizations can benefit from assessing and working to alleviate their employees’ perceptions of organizational bullshit. This construct predicts behaviors and attitudes important for organizational functioning.

This study adds to Ferreira et al.’s (2020) original work by demonstrating organizational bullshit perception’s distinctiveness from existing constructs in the literature and its implications for organizations and their employees.

Drawing upon psychological ownership theory, the aim of this study was to uncover the coexisting mediating effects of knowledge sharing and hiding on the relationship between employees’ organizational psychological ownership (OPO) and their innovative work behavior (IWB). The moderating role of organizational context in these mediating relationships was further examined to determine the moderated mediation paths.

This study mainly used a survey-based research method and collected data from 512 professionals from both public and private organizations in Pakistan to test our proposed hypotheses.

The results showed that coexisting knowledge sharing and hiding mediated the relationship between employees’ OPO and IWB. Furthermore, organizational context moderated the mediated relationships, providing support for the moderated mediation framework.

The results highlight the significance of fostering employees’ OPO to enhance their IWB by promoting knowledge sharing and preventing knowledge hiding. This study also urges managers to consider the contingency effect of organizational contexts when promoting employees’ IWB in emerging economies.

The results obtained in this study suggest that the knowledge behavior paradox occurs in organizations, and distinct organizational contexts play crucial but differential roles in intervening in the effect of employees’ OPO on their IWB. This study empirically validated this complex mechanism in an important emerging economy in Asia.

Integrating person-job fit theory with the stressor-emotion model of counterproductive work behavior (CWB), the current study aims to examine which behavioral pattern (fight: CWB vs flight: withdrawal) employees are more likely to adopt when they experience perceived overqualification (POQ). We further investigate anger as the underlying emotional mechanism for these relations because anger can be expressed and thus reflected in CWB, or constrained and thus reflected in withdrawal behavior. Furthermore, different stressor-attenuating strategies including relaxation during work breaks and mastery experiences at work are examined as mitigating factors of these relations.

Time-lagged data were collected from 176 full-time employees in China using a field survey research design.

We found that employees who experience POQ are more likely to engage in withdrawal than in CWB. Anger mediated the relations of POQ with both CWB and withdrawal. Relaxation moderated the relation between POQ and anger, as well as the indirect relations of POQ with CWB and withdrawal through anger.

This study enhances understanding of employees’ affective and behavioral reactions to POQ. However, the survey design was not longitudinal and causality cannot be established.

POQ is associated with undesirable employee behaviors and should therefore be avoided by organizations. If POQ is unavoidable, organizations can use job design and offer training to foster relaxation in between tasks among employees.

In the framework of person-job fit theory, our study provides insight about employees’ “fight” or “flight” responses to POQ, and further illustrates the mechanism and the attenuating factors in this processes.

In a rapidly changing career landscape where lifelong job security is no longer guaranteed, this study investigates how audit firms play an important role in shaping their employees’ career perceptions and the subsequent effects on auditor behavior. Specifically, it explores the link between audit firms’ career development initiatives and auditors’ perceptions of external employability – an important determinant of auditor behavior. Using the framework of social exchange theory, the study investigates how perceived external employability affects both relational and operational behaviors of auditors.

The study employs structural equation modeling on survey data from 359 auditors.

The results indicate that when audit firms actively support career development, it positively contributes to auditors’ perceived external employability. A higher perceived external employability, in turn, leads to positive behavioral outcomes among auditors, including stronger relational behaviors (such as professional commitment) and operational behaviors (including heightened professional skepticism and reduced behaviors that could compromise audit quality).

This study uncovers a paradox where perceived external employability, typically viewed as a risk, emerges as a potent driver of desirable auditor behavior. In today’s dynamic career landscape, emphasizing individual-centered and flexible careers, these results highlight the benefits of perceived external employability. Rather than undermining audit services, increased perceived external employability driven by firm investments in auditors’ careers acts as a catalyst for desirable auditor behavior. Organizational support in terms of career development practices creates an environment where auditors are more committed, professionally skeptical and uphold the quality of audit services.

Employees may adopt deceptive knowledge hiding (DKH) due to nonworking time information and communication technology (ICT) demands. Drawing from the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to develop and test a model of deceptive knowledge hiding (DKH) due to nonworking time information and communication technology (ICT) demands.

In total, 300 service employees have joined the three-wave surveys. Path analysis and bootstrapping methods were used to test the theoretical model.

Results suggest that knowledge requests during nonworking time could deplete employees’ resources and increase their tendency to engage in DKH, whereas work recovery and emotional exhaustion mediate this relationship. In addition, employees’ work–family segmentation preferences (WFSP) were found to moderate the direct effects of nonworking time ICT demands on employees’ work recovery and emotional exhaustion and the indirect effects of knowledge requests after working hours on DKH through employees’ work recovery and emotional exhaustion.

First, the findings of this study shed light on the relationship between knowledge requests during employees’ nonworking time and knowledge hiding, suggesting that knowledge hiding could occur beyond working hours. Second, drawing on COR theory, this study explored two joint processes of resource replenishment failure and depletion and how nonworking time ICT demands trigger knowledge hiding. Third, the interaction effect of individuals’ WFSP and nonworking time factors on knowledge hiding deepens the understanding of when nonworking time ICT demands may induce knowledge hiding through various processes.