Be smart, play dumb? A transactional perspective on day-specific knowledge hiding, interpersonal conflict, and psychological strain
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In: Human Relations , Vol. 75, No. 1, 01.01.2022, p. 113 – 138.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Be smart, play dumb? A transactional perspective on day-specific knowledge hiding, interpersonal conflict, and psychological strain
AU - Venz, Laura
AU - Nesher Shoshan, Hadar
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2022/1/1
Y1 - 2022/1/1
N2 - Research on knowledge hiding, the intentional attempt to withhold knowledge that others have requested, strikingly shows its detrimental consequences. But, if it has only negative effects, why do employees hide knowledge in their everyday work at all? With this diary study, we address this question, shedding light on the instrumentality of knowledge hiding. Specifically, placing it within the transactional stress model, we argue that deceptive knowledge hiding (playing dumb and evasive hiding) may function as coping, relating negatively to psychological strain responses to experienced interpersonal conflict. Accordingly, we tested evasive hiding and playing dumb as mediators of the day-specific relationship between conflict and end-of-work exhaustion and negative affect. Based on data of 101 employees who reported on 615 workdays, results of multilevel path analyses showed relationship conflict positively related to evasive hiding and playing dumb. Playing dumb was negatively related to end-of-work psychological strain responses, resulting in inconsistent mediation. Evasive hiding was unrelated to psychological strain. Showing the potential intrapersonal benefits of playing dumb, this article helps to better understand the occurrence of enacted ‘negative’ interpersonal work behaviors, yielding important implications for research and practice.
AB - Research on knowledge hiding, the intentional attempt to withhold knowledge that others have requested, strikingly shows its detrimental consequences. But, if it has only negative effects, why do employees hide knowledge in their everyday work at all? With this diary study, we address this question, shedding light on the instrumentality of knowledge hiding. Specifically, placing it within the transactional stress model, we argue that deceptive knowledge hiding (playing dumb and evasive hiding) may function as coping, relating negatively to psychological strain responses to experienced interpersonal conflict. Accordingly, we tested evasive hiding and playing dumb as mediators of the day-specific relationship between conflict and end-of-work exhaustion and negative affect. Based on data of 101 employees who reported on 615 workdays, results of multilevel path analyses showed relationship conflict positively related to evasive hiding and playing dumb. Playing dumb was negatively related to end-of-work psychological strain responses, resulting in inconsistent mediation. Evasive hiding was unrelated to psychological strain. Showing the potential intrapersonal benefits of playing dumb, this article helps to better understand the occurrence of enacted ‘negative’ interpersonal work behaviors, yielding important implications for research and practice.
KW - coping
KW - diary study
KW - exhaustion
KW - incivility spiral
KW - knowledge hiding
KW - negative affect
KW - relationship conflict
KW - strain
KW - Management studies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100749001&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/f276df11-745f-3338-a589-0a1cfa693889/
U2 - 10.1177/0018726721990438
DO - 10.1177/0018726721990438
M3 - Journal articles
VL - 75
SP - 113
EP - 138
JO - Human Relations
JF - Human Relations
SN - 0018-7267
IS - 1
ER -