Knowledge hiding behaviors as moderator between machiavellianism, professional envy and research productivity: Empirical evidence from emerging economy

Abstract

Working in a toxic environment makes it harder to be productive. This study examines the direct impact of Machiavellianism and professional envy on research productivity (individual and group) with the moderating role of knowledge-hiding behaviors. For this purpose, through convenience sampling, an online survey through Google Docs was conducted, and 221 permanent faculty members from private sector higher education institutions participated. The impact of moderating variables between predictors and criterion variables was tested through PROCESS-macro. The findings of this study revealed that Machiavellianism and professional envy have a significant negative influence on individuals and as well group-based research productivity. In contrast, knowledge hiding behaviors of faculty members moderate the relationships between Machiavellianism, professional envy, and individual and group-based research productivity.