How abusive supervision affect knowledge hiding? The mediating role of employee silence and moderating role of psychological ownership

Purpose This study aims to investigate how abusive supervisor affects knowledge hiding (KH). Specifically, this study investigates employee silence as a mediating mechanism between abusive supervision and employees’ KH. Further, psychological ownership is examined as a buffer between abusive supervision and employee silence. Design/methodology/approach KH has become a major issue for both manufacturing and service sectors. Therefore, this study collected data from 322 employees working in manufacturing and service sectors through “Google Forms” during COVID-19. The respondents were contacted through LinkedIn platform between January and July 2021. Findings This study noted that when employees working in high-power distance cultures perceive their leaders/supervisors as abusive, they avoid confrontation and engage in silent behavior, which positively affects their KH behavior. However, employees with a high level of psychological ownership are less likely to respond to their abusive supervisors through silence because such employees feel a greater sense of belongingness and prefer to benefit their organization. Research limitations/implications This study used a cross-sectional design that restricts causality. However, the findings of this study suggest management to focus on leadership style to minimize KH at the workplace. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the underlying mechanism (employee silence) and boundary condition (psychological ownership) to explain the association between abusive supervision and KH.