Perception of organizational politics and innovative behavior in the workplace: The roles of knowledge-sharing hostility and mindfulness

Perceptions of organizational politics and innovation have been widely studied. However, their relationship is not well understood. Drawing on the social exchange and conservation of resources theories, this study examined their relationship and explored the mediating role of knowledge-sharing hostility and the moderating role of mindfulness. Data were collected through a time-lagged and multi-source survey that included 239 employees and their supervisors. Hierarchical multiple regression and bootstrap analyses were performed to test our hypotheses. The results showed that knowledge-sharing hostility mediated the relationship between the perception of organizational politics and innovative behavior. Moreover, mindfulness moderated both processes with which perception of organizational politics directly and, through knowledge-sharing hostility, indirectly related to innovative behavior. Managers are advised to formulate and adhere to clear regulations and policies to reduce their perception of organizational politics. They can also offer mindfulness training programs to buffer the detrimental effect of the perception of organizational politics.