Purpose This study aims to examine how and when teleworking influences employee online knowledge hiding (OKH) from the perspective of conservation of resources (COR) theory. Specifically, the authors investigate the mediating roles of role ambiguity and affect-based trust, as well as the moderating role of sensation seeking. The findings aim to deepen the understanding of the dark side of teleworking in online knowledge management contexts. Design/methodology/approach A three-wave survey with one-month intervals was conducted among employees from knowledge-intensive enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta region of China. In Time 1, participants reported teleworking, sensation seeking, and demographic variables. One month later, Time 2 measured role ambiguity and affect-based trust. After another month, Time 3 assessed employee OKH. Finally, 305 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping methods. Findings The results indicate that teleworking positively predicts employee OKH. Affect-based trust mediates the relationship between teleworking and OKH, whereas the mediating effect of role ambiguity is not supported. In addition, sensation seeking moderates the relationship between teleworking and affect-based trust, such that the negative effect of teleworking on affect-based trust is stronger among employees with high levels of sensation seeking. Furthermore, sensation seeking moderates the indirect effect of teleworking on OKH via affect-based trust. Originality/value This study contributes to the teleworking and knowledge management literature by revealing the dark side of teleworking in online contexts. Drawing on COR theory, the authors provide a comparative examination of cognitive and affective resource-loss mechanisms underlying OKH. In particular, the findings highlight the dominant role of affective resource depletion in explaining employee OKH and identify sensation seeking as an important boundary condition shaping employees’ responses to teleworking.
Liu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.