This study investigates the connection between workplace incivility (WI) and knowledge-hiding behavior (KHB) using knowledge from social learning theory. Drawing on a survey of 388 employees across various Indian organizations, analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the study confirms that WI significantly increases KHB (β = 0.510, p < .01). It also reveals that psychological contract breach (PCB) mediates this relationship (VAF = 0.323), while ethical leadership (EL) plays a buffering role, weakening the adverse impact of WI on KHB. Results demonstrate that WI causes a rise in KHB, since employees facing incivility tend to withhold information exchanges because of work-related stress. PCB also supports the finding because expectations not met by employers or employees can lead to employees hiding important information from them. It was found that EL plays a moderating role, as moral leaders reduce the harmful impact of WI by strengthening fairness, transparency and trust.

Social learning theory, toxic work culture, trust and transparency, organizational behavior, knowledge management

Afshan, G., Serrano-Archimi, C., & Lacroux, A. (2021). Raising voice: Effect of psychological contract breach on employee voice through organizational cynicism. Human Systems Management, 40(6), 857–869. https://doi.org/10.3233/hsm-201108

Agarwal, U. A., Singh, S. K., & Cooke, F. L. (2024). Does co-worker incivility increase perceived knowledge hiding? The mediating role of work engagement and turnover intentions and the moderating Role of cynicism. British Journal of Management, 35(3), 1281–1295. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12759

Ahmed, M. A. O., & Zhang, J. (2024). Investigating the effect of psychological contract breach on counterproductive work behavior: The mediating role of organizational cynicism. Human Systems Management, 43(3), 263–280. https://doi.org/10.3233/hsm-230010

Almeida, J. G., Hartog, D. N. D., De Hoogh, A. H., Franco, V. R., & Porto, J. B. (2022). Harmful leader behaviors: Toward an increased understanding of how different forms of unethical leader behavior can harm subordinates. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(1), 215–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04864-7

Anand, A., Agarwal, U. A., & Offergelt, F. (2023). Why should I let them know? Effects of workplace incivility and cynicism on employee knowledge hiding behavior under the control of ethical leadership. International Journal of Manpower, 44(2), 247–266. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijm-04-2021-0248

Anand, A., Centobelli, P., & Cerchione, R. (2020). Why should I share knowledge with others? A review-based framework on events leading to knowledge hiding. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 33(2), 379–399. https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm-06-2019-0174

Andersson, L. M., & Pearson, C. M. (1999). Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 452–471. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1999.2202131

Anser, M. K., Ali, M., Usman, M., Rana, M. L. T., & Yousaf, Z. (2020). Ethical leadership and knowledge hiding: An intervening and interactional analysis. The Service Industries Journal, 41(5–6), 307–329. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2020.1739657

Antunes, H. D. J. G., & Pinheiro, P. G. (2020). Linking knowledge management, organizational learning and memory. Journal of Innovation and Knowledge, 5(2), 140–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2019.04.002

Arshad, R., & Ismail, I. R. (2018). Workplace incivility and knowledge hiding behavior: Does personality matter? Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 5(3), 278–288. https://doi.org/10.1108/joepp-06-2018-0041

Avolio, B. J., Yammarino, F. J., & Bass, B. M. (1991). Identifying common methods variance with data collected from a single source: An unresolved sticky issue. Journal of Management, 17(3), 571–587. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700303

Bandura, A., & Adams, N. E. (1977). Analysis of self-efficacy theory of behavioral change. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1(4), 287–310. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01663995

Bari, M. W., Ghaffar, M., & Ahmad, B. (2020). Knowledge-hiding behaviors and employees’ silence: Mediating role of psychological contract breach. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(9), 2171–2194. https://doi.org/10.1108/jkm-02-2020-0149

Bari, M. W., Khan, Q., & Waqas, A. (2023). Person related workplace bullying and knowledge hiding behaviors: Relational psychological contract breach as an underlying mechanism. Journal of Knowledge Management, 27(5), 1299–1318. https://doi.org/10.1108/jkm-10-2021-0766

Baskerville, R., & Dulipovici, A. (2006). The theoretical foundations of knowledge management. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 4(2), 83–105. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500090

Bedi, A., Alpaslan, C. M., & Green, S. (2016). A meta-analytic review of ethical leadership outcomes and moderators. Journal of Business Ethics, 139, 517–536. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2625-1

Bijalwan, P., Gupta, A., Johri, A., & Asif, M. (2024). The mediating role of workplace incivility on the relationship between organizational culture and employee productivity: A systematic review. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1), 2382894. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2382894

Bouckenooghe, D., Zafar, A., & Raja, U. (2015). How ethical leadership shapes employees’ job performance: The mediating roles of goal congruence and psychological capital. Journal of Business Ethics, 129, 251–264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2162-3\

Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.004

Butt, A. S., Ahmad, A. B., & Shah, S. H. H. (2023). Role of personal relationships in mitigating knowledge hiding behaviour in firms: A dyadic perspective. VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, 53(4), 766–784. https://doi.org/10.1108/vjikms-01-2021-0009

Butt, S., & Yazdani, N. (2021). Influence of workplace incivility on counterproductive work behavior: Mediating role of emotional exhaustion, organizational cynicism and the moderating role of psychological capital. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 15(2), 378–404. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/237082/1/1766511570.pdf

Černe, M., Hernaus, T., Dysvik, A., & Škerlavaj, M. (2017). The role of multilevel synergistic interplay among team mastery climate, knowledge hiding, and job characteristics in stimulating innovative work behavior. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(2), 281–299. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12132

Chi, N.-W., Grandey, A. A., Diamond, J. A., & Krimmel, K. R. (2013). Want a tip? Service performance as a function of emotion regulation and extraversion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1337–1346. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022887

Chin, T., Shi, Y., Arrigo, E., & Palladino, R. (2024). Paradoxical behavior toward innovation: Knowledge sharing, knowledge hiding, and career sustainability interactions. European Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2024.06.005

Connelly, C. E., Černe, M., Dysvik, A., & Škerlavaj, M. (2019). Understanding knowledge hiding in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(7), 779–782. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2407

Connelly, C. E., Zweig, D., Webster, J., & Trougakos, J. P. (2012). Knowledge hiding in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(1), 64–88. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.737

Cortina, L. M., Magley, V. J., Williams, J. H., & Langhout, R. D. (2001). Incivility in the workplace: Incidence and impact. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6(1), 64.

Cortina, L. M., Kabat-Farr, D., Magley, V. J., & Nelson, K. (2017). Researching rudeness: The past, present, and future of the science of incivility. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 299.

Den Hartog, D. N. (2015). Ethical leadership. Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav, 2(1), 409–434. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111237

Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A. G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G* Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149–1160. https://doi.org/10.3758/brm.41.4.1149

Fong, P. S., Men, C., Luo, J., & Jia, R. (2018). Knowledge hiding and team creativity: The contingent role of task interdependence. Management Decision, 56(2), 329–343. https://doi.org/10.1108/md-11-2016-0778

Gagné, M., Tian, A. W., Soo, C., Zhang, B., Ho, K. S. B., & Hosszu, K. (2019). Different motivations for knowledge sharing and hiding: The role of motivating work design. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(7), 783–799. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2364

Ghani, U., Teo, T., Li, Y., Usman, M., Islam, Z. U., Gul, H., Naeem, R. M., Bahadar, H., Yuan, J., & Zhai, X. (2020). Tit for tat: Abusive supervision and knowledge hiding-the role of psychological contract breach and psychological ownership. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(4), 1240. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041240

Gok, K., Sumanth, J. J., Bommer, W. H., Demirtas, O., Arslan, A., Eberhard, J., Ozdemir, A. I., & Yigit, A. (2017). You may not reap what you sow: How employees’ moral awareness minimizes ethical leadership’s positive impact on workplace deviance. Journal of Business Ethics, 146, 257–277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3655-7

Gold, A. H., Malhotra, A., & Segars, A. H. (2001). Knowledge management: An organizational capabilities perspective. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(1), 185–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2001.11045669

Gosselin, T. K., & Ireland, A. M. (2020, June). Addressing incivility and bullying in the practice environment. In Seminars in oncology nursing (Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 151023). WB Saunders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2020.151023

Grandey, A. A. (2000). Emotion regulation in the workplace: A new way to conceptualize emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5(1), 95–110. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.5.1.95

Haar, J., O’Kane, C., & Cunningham, J. A. (2022). Firm-level antecedents and consequences of knowledge hiding climate. Journal of Business Research, 141, 410–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.11.034

Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr-11-2018-0203

Halbesleben, J. R. B., Neveu, J. P., Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., & Westman, M. (2014). Getting to the “COR”: Understanding the role of resources in conservation of resources theory. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1334–1364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314527130

Hassan, S., Kaur, P., Muchiri, M., Ogbonnaya, C., & Dhir, A. (2023). Unethical leadership: Review, synthesis and directions for future research. Journal of Business Ethics, 183(2), 511–550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05081-6

Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8

Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.44.3.513

Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology, 50(3), 337–421. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00062

Hsieh, H. H., Hsu, H. H., Kao, K. Y., & Wang, C. C. (2020). Ethical leadership and employee unethical pro-organizational behavior: A moderated mediation model of moral disengagement and coworker ethical behavior. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 41(6), 799–812. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-10-2019-0464

Irum, A., Ghosh, K., & Pandey, A. (2020). Workplace incivility and knowledge hiding: A research agenda. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 27(3), 958–980. https://doi.org/10.1108/bij-05-2019-0213

Jain, N., Le Sante, D., Viswesvaran, C., & Belwal, R. (2022). Incongruent influences: Joint effects on the job attitudes of employees with psychological contract breach in the MENA region. Review of International Business and Strategy, 32(3), 387–404. https://doi.org/10.1108/ribs-01-2021-0021

Jamal, R., & Siddiqui, D. A. (2020). The effects of workplace incivility on job satisfaction: Mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 10(2), 56. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v10i2.16389

Jena, L. K., & Swain, D. (2021). How knowledge-hiding behavior among manufacturing professionals influences functional interdependence and turnover intention. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 723938. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.723938

Jeong, J., Kim, B. J., & Kim, M. J. (2022). The impact of job insecurity on knowledge-hiding behavior: The mediating role of organizational identification and the buffering role of coaching leadership. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23), 16017. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316017

Kabat-Farr, D., Cortina, L. M., & Marchiondo, L. A. (2018). The emotional aftermath of incivility: Anger, guilt, and the role of organizational commitment. International Journal of Stress Management, 25(2), 109. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000045

Kaur, N., & Kang, L. S. (2022). Perception of organizational politics, knowledge hiding and organizational citizenship behavior: The moderating effect of political skill. Personnel Review, 52(3), 649–670. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-08-2020-0607

Koay, K. Y., Sandhu, M. S., Tjiptono, F., & Watabe, M. (2022). Understanding employees’ knowledge hiding behaviour: The moderating role of market culture. Behaviour and Information Technology, 41(4), 694–711. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929x.2020.
1831073

Kock, N. (2015). Common method bias in PLS-SEM: A full collinearity assessment approach. International Journal of e-Collaboration, 11(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijec.2015100101

Lam, L., Nguyen, P., Le, N., & Tran, K. (2021). The relation among organizational culture, knowledge management, and innovation capability: Its implication for open innovation. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(1), 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc7010066

Liang, H. L. (2022). Façade creation as a mediator of the influence of psychological contract breach on employee behaviors. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 30(4), 614–624. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12379

Liu, F., Lu, Y., & Wang, P. (2020). Why knowledge sharing in scientific research teams is difficult to sustain: An interpretation from the interactive perspective of knowledge hiding behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 537833. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.537833

Liu, W., & Roloff, M. E. (2015). The interpersonal consequences of workplace incivility: The effects on targets and witnesses. Human Communication Research, 41(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12035

Mayer, D. M., Aquino, K., Greenbaum, R. L., & Kuenzi, M. (2012). Who displays ethical leadership, and why does it matter? An examination of antecedents and consequences of ethical leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 151–171. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2008.0276

Men, C., Fong, P. S., Huo, W., Zhong, J., Jia, R., & Luo, J. (2020). Ethical leadership and knowledge hiding: A moderated mediation model of psychological safety and mastery climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 166(3), 461–472.

Miceli, A., Hagen, B., Riccardi, M. P., Sotti, F., & Settembre-Blundo, D. (2021). Thriving, not just surviving in changing times: How sustainability, agility and digitalization intertwine with organizational resilience. Sustainability, 13(4), 2052. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042052

Olsen, J. M., Aschenbrenner, A., Merkel, R., Pehler, S. R., Sargent, L., & Sperstad, R. (2020). A mixed-methods systematic review of interventions to address incivility in nursing. Journal of Nursing Education, 59(6), 319–326. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20200520-04

Robinson, S. L., & Morrison, E. W. (2000). The development of psychological contract breach and violation: A longitudinal study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(5), 525–546. https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1379(200008)21:5

Rupp, D. E., Shao, R., Jones, K. S., & Liao, H. (2008). The utility of a multifoci approach to the study of organizational justice: A meta-analytic investigation into the consideration of targets of justice. Journal of Management, 34(6), 1124–1168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308324623

Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Hair, J. F. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In Handbook of market research (pp. 587–632). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57413-4_15

Serenko, A., & Bontis, N. (2016). Understanding counterproductive knowledge behavior: Antecedents and consequences of intra-organizational knowledge hiding. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(6), 1199–1224. https://doi.org/10.1108/jkm-05-2016-0203

Shahid, H., Chaudhry, S. A., Abbas, F., Ghulam Hassan, S., & Aslam, S. (2023). Do morality-based individual differences and relational climates matter? Ethical leadership and knowledge hiding: a multilevel framework. SAGE Open, 13(4), 21582440231215569.

Suazo, M. M. (2009). The mediating role of psychological contract violation on the relations between psychological contract breach and work-related attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 24(2), 136–160. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940910928856

Van Slyke, C., & Belanger, F. (2020). Explaining the interactions of humans and artifacts in insider security behaviors: The mangle of practice perspective. Computers and Security, 99, 102064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2020.102064

Walsh, B. M., Lee, J., Jensen, J. M., McGonagle, A. K., & Samnani, A. K. (2018). Positive leader behaviors and workplace incivility: The mediating role of perceived norms for respect. Journal of Business and Psychology, 33(4), 495–508.

Wu, Q., Saqib, S., Sun, J., Xiao, Y., & Ma, W. (2022). Incivility and knowledge hiding in academia: Mediating role of interpersonal distrust and rumination. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 769282. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.769282

Xia, B., Wang, X., Li, Q., He, Y., & Wang, W. (2022). How workplace incivility leads to work alienation: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 921161. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.921161

Yao, J., Lim, S., Guo, C. Y., Ou, A., & Ng, J. W. X. (2022). Experienced incivility in the workplace: A meta-analytical review of its construct validity and nomological network. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(2), 193–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000870

Yao, Z., Zhang, X., Luo, J., & Huang, H. (2020). Offense is the best defense: The impact of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(3), 675–695. https://doi.org/10.1108/jkm-12-2019-0755