Abusive Supervision and Its Impact on Knowledge Hiding Behavior Among Sales Force

The purpose of this study is to test the relationship between abusive supervision and employee’s knowledge hiding behavior (evasive hiding, playing dumb, rationalized hiding) among sales force of insurance companies in Pakistan. The paper also strives to theoretically discuss and then seek empirical evidence to the mediational paths of psychological contract breach that explain the focal relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge hiding. To test the proposed hypotheses, the study draws cross-sectional data from sales force of insurance companies working in Pakistan. Data were collected through structured questionnaire and using convenient sampling technique. The final sample of 340 valid and complete responses analyzed using structured equation modeling (partial least square) approach. Results showed that abusive supervision is positively related to employee’s knowledge hiding behaviors. Also, mediating variable psychological contract breach partially mediates the abusive supervision-knowledge hiding behavior linkage. Current study has tested the positive relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge hiding behaviors unlike most of the previous investigations that have focused on knowledge sharing behavior. The study also empirically investigated the mediational route of psychological contract breach, that explains the blame attributed by the beleaguered employee that led to covert retaliatory behavior, such as knowledge hiding. This paper contributes to knowledge hiding literature which is an important part of knowledge management from the perspective of abusive supervision based on both reactance theory and SET theory.