Reward interdependence and project professionals' knowledge hiding: the moderating role of knowledge attributes

Purpose Based on interdependence theory, the authors investigated the effect of reward interdependence (RI) on project professionals' knowledge hiding and examined the moderating role of knowledge tacitness (KT) and complexity, in the context of new product development (NPD) teams. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a time-lagged study in the context of NPD teams and collected data from a sample of 231 NPD professionals in China. Findings The study's findings indicate that RI was negatively associated with knowledge hiding. Knowledge tacitness negatively moderated the relation between RI and knowledge hiding. In contrast, the moderating effect of knowledge complexity (KC) was not significant. Practical implications To reduce NPD professionals' knowledge hiding, organizations should not only design incentive plans that cultivate interpersonal relatedness but also address the drawbacks (decreased effectiveness of group rewards) resulting from KT. Originality/value The authors' paper provides novel insights into the inconsistent understanding of organizational rewards' effectiveness in managing knowledge withholding by demonstrating the differentiated effects of individual and group rewards on knowledge hiding as well as the differential contingent roles of knowledge attributes.