The effect of servant leadership on knowledge hiding behavior: The mediating role of meaningful work

Knowledge hiding behavior in organizations vary according to whether individuals intentionally hide or not. However, there is surprisingly little research to what degree this behavior is influenced by employees' perceptions of meaning and leadership. This study, based on Social Learning Theory (SLT), examines the impact of servant leadership on knowledge hiding behavior in the workplace through meaningful work perception. This paper consists of a survey study that examines the relationship between servant leadership, knowledge hiding (evasive hiding, playing dumb, and rationalized hiding), and meaningful work using a sample of 605 employees. The results show that, first, servant leadership is negatively related only to the playing dumb sub-dimension of knowledge hiding. Second, meaningful work has a full mediating effect between evasive hiding and servant leadership, and playing dumb and servant leadership. This paper is the first study examining the relationship between servant leadership and knowledge hiding, as well as the mediating role of meaningful work in this. This study offers several insights for policymakers and managers.