The influence of employees’ regulatory focus on knowledge hiding behavior

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Knowledge sharing is a prerequisite for organizational success, while knowledge hiding is often detrimental to organizational development. OBJECTIVE: Drawing upon regulatory focus theory and interactionism, this research aims to investigate how regulatory focus influences employees’ knowledge hiding and the moderating role of cooperative climate. METHODS: Data were collected through a time-lagged survey of 320 full-time employees enrolled in a professional training program at a Chinese university. Confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive analysis, hierarchical regression analyses, and bootstrap analysis were some of the analytical techniques used. RESULTS: The results indicate that promotion focus has a positive impact on knowledge hiding, whereas prevention focus is negative to knowledge hiding. Furthermore, cooperative climate moderates the influence of regulatory focus on knowledge hiding. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to our understanding of the important role of employees’ regulatory focus on knowledge hiding behavior in the workplace.