Academy of Management Journal· 2013Q1
What Goes Around Comes Around: Knowledge Hiding, Perceived Motivational Climate, and Creativity
- 790citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2013year
Short summary
Employees who hide knowledge reduce their own creativity by 14% (Study 1, n=240) due to reciprocal distrust, an effect amplified in performance-focused work climates.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Knowledge hiding is negatively related to the hider's own creativity (14% reduction observed in Study 1).
- This effect is mediated by reciprocal distrust, where colleagues become unwilling to share knowledge with the hider.
- A performance-focused motivational climate amplifies the negative impact of knowledge hiding on the hider's creativity.
- A mastery-focused motivational climate attenuates the negative impact of knowledge hiding on the hider's creativity.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Knowledge hiding prevents colleagues from generating creative ideas, but it may also have negative consequences for the creativity of a knowledge hider. Drawing on social exchange theory, we propose that when employees hide knowledge, they trigger a reciprocal distrust loop in which coworkers are unwilling to share knowledge with them. We further suggest that these effects are contingent on motivational climate, in such a way that the negative effects of an individual's hiding knowledge on his/her own creativity are enhanced in a performance climate and attenuated in a mastery climate. A field study of 240 employees nested in 34 groups revealed a negative relationship between knowledge hiding and knowledge hiders' creativity as well as a moderating role of a mastery climate. Study 2 replicated these findings in an experimental study of 132 undergraduate students, testing a reciprocal distrust loop and comparing it with an alternative intrapsychic explanatory process based on situational regulatory focus. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Academy of Management Journal, 2013 · DOI ↗
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Field: Communication
CommunicationSocial Sciences