When and Why do Employees Hide Knowledge from Co-Workers? A Multilevel Moderated-Mediation Model

Based on the social learning and cognitive theories, this study examines a multilevel moderated-mediation model that tests the direct relation between perceived organizational politics (POP: level-1) and employee knowledge hiding from coworkers (EKHC: level-1) is mediated by moral disengagement (MD: level-1). The mediation effect is then further moderated by supervisor knowledge hiding from employee (SKHE: level-2). We obtained multi-sourced, multi-timed, and multilevel data of 294 employees, nested within 80 supervisors. Data were analyzed by applying multilevel structural equation modeling (ML-SEM) using Mplus, which highlighted that POP first led to moral disengagement, which, in turn, led to EKHC. The mediation effect was then further positively moderated by SKHE. This is the first empirical study that examines both EKHC and SKHE together in a single research model and provides a thorough understanding of why, how, and when POP leads to EKHC.