Purpose Current management literature and practice focus on top–down knowledge hiding. However, there remains a lack of sufficient empirical research on the antecedents of top–down knowledge hiding. Drawing on leader identity theory, this study aims to develop a model to investigate the effects of leader identity on top–down knowledge hiding and how hierarchy of authority moderates these effects. Design/methodology/approach This study tests the model using two multi-wave surveys (Study 1: n = 562 full-time UK managers; Study 2: n = 95 leaders paired with employees in China). Findings The results show the paradoxical role that leader identity plays in predicting leader knowledge hiding. Specifically, leader identity positively predicts top–down knowledge hiding via felt need for control over the group and negatively predicts top–down knowledge hiding via felt obligation to the group. Moreover, hierarchy of authority moderates the relationship between leader identity and felt need for control over the group such that the positive effect of leader identity on felt need for control over the group is stronger for groups with a higher hierarchy of authority. Originality/value Drawing on leader identity theory, this study theorizes and empirically tests dual pathways through which leader identity influences top–down knowledge hiding. It extends the literature by incorporating leaders’ complex role beliefs and by introducing hierarchy of authority as a key boundary condition, offering insights for organizational knowledge management.
Ouyang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.