SpringerLink
Log in

Mediating Role of Knowledge Hiding Behaviors Between Cronyism and Job Performance: An Evidence from Public Sector Universities

  • Published:
Journal of the Knowledge Economy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Knowledge hiding is a negative workplace phenomenon that needs to be controlled for effective organizational functioning. Therefore, researchers are increasingly trying to identify its antecedents and outcomes in organizational settings. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of cronyism on job performance. Besides, evaluate the mediating role of different dimensions of knowledge hiding behaviors (evasive hiding, playing dumb, and rationalized hiding) between cronyism and job performance. These data were collected in three-time lags through a self-administered questionnaire from 299 research-oriented academic staff from public sector universities of Pakistan. A partial least squares-structural equation modeling approach was used for data analysis. The results confirm the significant negative association between cronyism and job performance. The evasive hiding and playing dumb partially mediate the negative impact of cronyism on job performance. However, rationalized hiding behavior controls the negative impact of cronyism and positively impacts job performance. The implications of the findings of this study are beneficial to the workplaces where knowledge creation and sharing activities are regularly performed, i.e., universities. The management of these institutions should control organizational workplace cronyism to discourage knowledge hiding behavior and improve the job performance of employees.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Canada)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abubakar, A. M., Behravesh, E., Rezapouraghdam, H., & Yildiz, S. B. (2019). Applying artificial intelligence technique to predict knowledge hiding behavior. International Journal of Information Management, 49(1), 45–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agarwal, U. A., Avey, J., & Wu, K. (2022). How and when abusive supervision influences knowledge hiding behavior: Evidence from India. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(1), 209–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akram, T., Lei, S., Haider, M. J., & Hussain, S. T. (2020). The impact of organizational justice on employee innovative work behavior: Mediating role of knowledge sharing. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 5(2), 117–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aligica, P. D., & Tarko, V. (2014). Crony capitalism: Rent seeking, institutions and ideology. Kyklos, 67(2), 156–176.

  • Alnaimi, A. M. M., & Rjoub, H. (2021). Perceived organizational support, psychological entitlement, and extra-role behavior: The mediating role of knowledge hiding behavior. Journal of Management & Organization, 27(3), 507–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, T. G., Nimanandh, K., Htun, K. T., & Kantabutra, S. (2019). Responsible cronyism in transition: Understanding changing attitudes to business corruption in Myanmar. Asia Pacific Business Review, 25(4), 554–570. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602381.2019.1589767

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arasli, H., Arici, H. E., & Çakmakoğlu Arici, N. (2019). Workplace favouritism, psychological contract violation and turnover intention: Moderating roles of authentic leadership and job insecurity climate. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 33(3), 197–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/2397002219839896

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arasli, H., & Tumer, M. (2008). Nepotism, favoritism and cronyism: A study of their effects on job stress and job satisfaction in the banking industry of North Cyprus. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 36(9), 1237–1250. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2008.36.9.1237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bari, M. W., Abrar, M., Shaheen, S., Bashir, M., & Fanchen, M. (2019). Knowledge hiding behaviors and team creativity: The contingent role of perceived mastery motivational climate. SAGE Open, 9(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019876297

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bari, M. W., Ghaffar, M., & Ahmad, B. (2020). Knowledge-hiding behaviors and employees’ silence: Mediating role of psychological contract breach. Journal of Knowledge Management, 1(1), 1–37. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-02-2020-0149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilal, A. R., Fatima, T., & Imran, M. K. (2020). Shutting eyes to merit! the curse of cronyism in Pakistani small and medium scale business. South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, 7(1), 61–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P. (1964). Power and exchange in social life. John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogilović, S., Černe, M., & Škerlavaj, M. (2017). Hiding behind a mask? Cultural intelligence, knowledge hiding, and individual and team creativity. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 26(5), 710–723. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2017.1337747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burmeister, A., Fasbender, U., & Gerpott, F. H. (2019). Consequences of knowledge hiding: The differential compensatory effects of guilt and shame. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 92(2), 281–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butt, A. S., & Ahmad, A. B. (2020). Strategies to mitigate knowledge hiding behavior: Building theories from multiple case studies. Management Decision, 59(6), 1291–1311. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-01-2020-0038

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaker, N. N., Nowlin, E. L., Walker, D., & Anaza, N. A. (2021). Defending the frontier: Examining the impact of internal salesperson evasive knowledge hiding on perceptions of external customer outcomes. European Journal of Marketing, 55(3), 671–699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clercq, D. D., Fatima, T., & Jahanzeb, S. (2021). Organizational injustice and knowledge hiding: The roles of organizational dis-identification and benevolence. Management Decision, 59(2), 446–462. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-05-2019-0581

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, C. E., Kelloway, E. K., Mary, S., & Scotia, N. (1994). Predictors of employees’ perceptions of knowledge sharing cultures. Journal of Leadership & Organization Development, 294–301. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730310485815

  • Connelly, C. E., & Zweig, D. (2015). How perpetrators and targets construe knowledge hiding in organizations. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24(3), 479–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2014.931325

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, C. E., Zweig, D., Webster, J., & Trougakos, J. P. (2012). Knowledge hiding in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(1), 64–88. https://doi.org/10.1002/job

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Clercq, D., Fatima, T., & Jahanzeb, S. (2022). The link between interpersonal conflict and knowledge hiding: Mediated by relatedness need frustration, moderated by narcissistic rivalry. International Journal of Conflict Management, 33(3), 494–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dillman, D. A. (2011). Mail and Internet surveys: The tailored design method–2007 update with new Internet, visual, and mixed-mode guide. John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donate, M. J., & Guadamillas, F. (2015). An empirical study on the relationships between knowledge management, knowledge-oriented human resource practices and innovation. Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 13(2), 134–148. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2013.36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El-Kassar, A.-N., Dagher, G. K., Lythreatis, S., & Azakir, M. (2022). Antecedents and consequences of knowledge hiding: The roles of HR practices, organizational support for creativity, creativity, innovative work behavior, and task performance. Journal of Business Research, 140(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, D. J., Hair, J. F., & Smith, K. J. (2023). Psychological distress, burnout, and business student turnover: The role of resilience as a co** mechanism. Research in Higher Education, 64(2), 228–259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09704-9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garg, N. (2020). Promoting organizational performance in Indian insurance industry: The roles of workplace spirituality and organizational citizenship behaviour. Global Business Review, 21(3), 834–849. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150918778983

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Ghani, U., Zhai, X., Spector, J. M., Chen, N.-S., Lin, L., Ding, D., & Usman, M. (2020). Knowledge hiding in higher education: Role of interactional justice and professional commitment. Higher Education, 79(1), 325–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J. (1987). A taxonomy of organizational justice theories. Academy of Management Review, 12(1), 9–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L., & Kuppelwieser, V. G. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): An emerging tool in business research. European Business Review, 26(2), 106–121. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-10-2013-0128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Mena, J. A. (2012). An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling in marketing research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40(3), 414–433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0261-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019a). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hair Jr, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., Sarstedt, M. (2016). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.

  • HEC. (2020). Recognised universities and degree awarding institutions. Higher Education Commision.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernaus, T., Cerne, M., Connelly, C., Vokic, N. P., & Miha, Š. (2019). Evasive Knowledge Hiding in Academia : When Competitive Individuals are Asked to Collaborate., 23(4), 597–618. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-11-2017-0531

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernaus, T., Dragičević, N., & Sitar, A. S. (2023). Evasive (knowledge) hiding and task performance: The moderating role of accumulative job resources. Personnel Review, 12(2), 1–17.

  • Ipe, M. (2003). Knowledge sharing in organizations: A conceptual framework. Human Resource Development Review, 2(4), 337–359. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484303257985

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iqbal, A., Latif, F., Marimon, F., Sahibzada, U. F., & Hussain, S. (2019). From knowledge management to organizational performance: Modelling the mediating role of innovation and intellectual capital in higher education. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 32(1), 36–59. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-04-2018-0083

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iqbal, Q., & Ahmad, N. H. (2020). Workplace spirituality and nepotism-favouritism in selected ASEAN countries: The role of gender as moderator. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 14(1), 31–49. https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-01-2018-0019

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Islam, T., & Chaudhary, A. (2022). Impact of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding: The mediating role of emotional exhaustion and moderating role of workplace friendship. Kybernetes, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-06-2022-0842

  • Jawahar, I. M., Bilal, A. R., Fatima, T., & Mohammed, Z. J. (2021). Does organizational cronyism undermine social capital? Testing the mediating role of workplace ostracism and the moderating role of workplace incivility. Career Development International, 26(5), 657–677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khatri, N., & Tsang, E. W. K. (2016). Antecedents and consequences of cronyism in organizations. Crony Capitalism in India: Establishing Robust Counteractive Institutional Frameworks (pp. 9–31). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Khatri, N., Tsang, E. W. K., & Begley, T. M. (2006). Cronyism: A cross-cultural analysis. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(1), 61–75. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khoreva, V., & Wechtler, H. (2020). Exploring the consequences of knowledge hiding: An agency theory perspective. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 35(2), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-11-2018-0514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koay, K. Y., & Lim, P. K. (2023). Abusive supervision and knowledge hiding: The moderated mediation role of overall justice and gender. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 42(2), 16–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolthoff, E., Erakovich, R., & Lasthuizen, K. (2010). Comparative analysis of ethical leadership and ethical culture in local government: The USA, The Netherlands, Montenegro and Serbia. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 23(7), 596–612. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513551011078879

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar Das, A., & Chakraborty, S. (2018). Knowledge withholding within an organization the psychological resistance to knowledge sharing linking with territoriality. Journal on Innovation and Sustainability, 9(3), 94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar Jha, J., & Varkkey, B. (2018). Are you a cistern or a channel? Exploring factors triggering knowledge-hiding behavior at the workplace: evidence from the Indian R&D professionals. Journal of Knowledge Management, 22(4), 824–849. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-02-2017-0048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung, T. K. P., & Barnes, B. R. (2019). Ethical cronyism : An insider approach for building guanxi and leveraging business performance in China. Asia Pacific Business Review, 00(00), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602381.2019.1654215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martins, L. (2020). Does corruption boost or harm firms’ performance in develo** and emerging economies ? A firm-level study. 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.12966

  • Meng, Y., & Bari, M. W. (2019). Design perceptions for 3D printed accessories of digital devices and consumer-based brand equity. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02800

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, F. (2001). Developments in work psychology: Emerging issues and future trends. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74(1), 381–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, J. L. (2015). Cronyism and nepotism are bad for everyone: The research evidence. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8(1), 41–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ravasi, D., & Schultz, M. (2006). Responding to organizational identity threats: Exploring the role of organizational culture. Academy of Management Journal, 49(3), 433–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riaz, A., & u Zaman, S. (2018). Impact of ethical leadership on organizational cronyism through mediating role of ethical culture and moderating role of leader member exchange. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Science, 12(3), 831–850.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B., Ehrhart, M. G., & Macey, W. H. (2013). Organizational climate and culture. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 361–388.

    Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scullen, S. E., Mount, M. K., & Goff, M. (2000). Understanding the latent structure of job performance ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(6), 956.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Serenko, A., & Bontis, N. (2016). Understanding counterproductive knowledge behavior: Antecedents and consequences of intra-organizational knowledge hiding. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(6), 1199–1224. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-05-2016-0203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaheen, S., Bari, M. W., Hameed, F., & Anwar, M. M. (2019). Organizational cronyism as an antecedent of ingratiation: Mediating role of relational psychological contract. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01609

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaheen, S., Bashir, S., & Khan, A. K. (2017). Examining organizational cronyism as an antecedent of workplace deviance in public sector organizations. Public Personnel Management, 46(3), 308–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026017716655

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, J., Verbeke, W., & Rhoads, G. K. (1996). Do organizational practices matter in role stress processes? A study of direct and moderating effects for marketing-oriented boundary spanners. Journal of Marketing, 60(3), 69–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. K. (2019). Territoriality, task performance, and workplace deviance: Empirical evidence on role of knowledge hiding. Journal of Business Research, 97(2), 10–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siu, O. L. (2003). Job stress and job performance among employees in Hong Kong: The role of Chinese work values and organizational commitment. International Journal of Psychology, 38(6), 337–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207590344000024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E. (2006). Method variance in organizational research: Truth or urban legend? Organizational Research Methods, 9(2), 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428105284955

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tehseen, S., Ramayah, T., & Sajilan, S. (2017). Testing and controlling for common method variance: A review of available methods. Journal of Management Sciences, 4(2), 142–168. https://doi.org/10.20547/jms.2014.1704202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, Z., Tang, C., Akram, F., Khan, M. L., & Chuadhry, M. A. (2022). Negative work attitudes and task performance: Mediating role of knowledge hiding and moderating role of servant leadership. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 963696.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tsang, E. W. K., & Khatri, N. (2003). Antecedents and consequences of cronyism in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 43(4), 289–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turan, A. (2015). Does the perception of organizational cronyism leads to career satisfaction or frustration with work? The mitigating role of organizational commitment. Research in Applied Economics, 7(3), 14. https://doi.org/10.5296/rae.v7i3.8164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turhan, M. (2014). Organizational cronyism: A scale development and validation from the perspective of teachers. Journal of Business Ethics, 123(2), 295–308. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1839-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Dijk, H., Kooij, D., Karanika-Murray, M., De Vos, A., & Meyer, B. (2020). Meritocracy a myth? A multilevel perspective of how social inequality accumulates through work. Organizational Psychology Review, 10(3–4), 240–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venz, L., & Nesher Shoshan, H. (2022). Be smart, play dumb? A transactional perspective on day-specific knowledge hiding, interpersonal conflict, and psychological strain. Human Relations, 75(1), 113–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726721990438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weir, D., & Hutchings, K. (2005). Cultural embeddedness and contextual constraints: Knowledge sharing in Chinese and Arab cultures. Knowledge and Process Management, 12(2), 89–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • **ao, M., & Cooke, F. L. (2018). Why and when knowledge hiding in the workplace is harmful: A review of the literature and directions for future research in the Chinese context. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 57(4), 470–502. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • **ong, C., Chang, V., Scuotto, V., Shi, Y., & Paoloni, N. (2021). The social-psychological approach in understanding knowledge hiding within international R&D teams: An inductive analysis. Journal of Business Research, 128(1), 799–811.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J., & Gill, C. (2018). Leader – follower guanxi : An invisible hand of cronyism in Chinese management. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 27, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12191

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Humanities, Shunde Polytechnic, Foshan, China

    Ting Xu

  2. Public Administration, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Bashir Ahmed

  3. Lyallpur Business School, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Muhammad Waseem Bari & Muhammad Akmal

Authors
  1. Ting Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bashir Ahmed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Muhammad Waseem Bari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Muhammad Akmal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muhammad Waseem Bari.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 34 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xu, T., Ahmed, B., Bari, M.W. et al. Mediating Role of Knowledge Hiding Behaviors Between Cronyism and Job Performance: An Evidence from Public Sector Universities. J Knowl Econ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01834-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01834-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation