Abusive supervision and its relationship with knowledge hiding: the mediating role of distrust

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge hiding. The study also examines the mediating role of distrust in the relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge hiding. Design/methodology/approach The procedure used in the study is a systematic literature review covering abusive supervision, knowledge hiding, distrust from 1994 to 2021. The studies were explored using the keyword search such as, “abusive supervision,” “knowledge hiding” and “distrust” from the selected databases including Emerald, ScienceDirect, EbscoHost and Google Scholar. Findings The study found that abusive supervision is positively related to knowledge hiding and distrust mediates the relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge hiding. The study also proposes procrastination as one of the dimensions of knowledge hiding. Originality/value The study is an attempt to uncover a series of relationships between abusive supervision, knowledge hiding and distrust, which may enhance academic discussion and also offer clarity to the conceptualization of these two fields.