Public service motivation, context and knowledge hiding behavior in public organizations

Purpose Public sector organizations are mainly knowledge-intensive organizations where effective knowledge management is required for organizational effectiveness. Despite public managers’ efforts to encourage employees to share knowledge, knowledge hiding has become a phenomenon in many organizations. This article proposes and empirically tests a model of knowledge hiding behavior in public organizations. Design/methodology/approach Relationships among public service motivation (PSM), internal organizational context, knowledge hiding behavior and employee extra-role behavior, individual creativity, job satisfaction and turnover intention were examined based on a two-wave field study of 220 employees in four public organizations in China. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model of the study. Findings Results show that PSM and knowledge sharing culture are negatively while formalization and centralization are positively associated with employees’ knowledge hiding behavior. Knowledge hiding, in turn, significantly predicts employees’ extra-role behavior, job satisfaction and employee creativity. Originality/value By integrating both individual and organizational factors, this study offers a general perspective on knowledge hiding research in general and more particularly, helps to understand the factors that increase or limit knowledge hiding behavior in public organizations.