Purpose

Based on the conservation of resources theory, this study aims to investigate if the fear of career harm influences employees’ knowledge-hoarding behavior. The study further examines felt violation as the predictor of employees’ fear of career harm. The study also explores leader-member exchange as a boundary factor influencing the effect of felt violation on employees’ fear of career harm.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected in three waves from 402 professionals working in the information technology industry in Bengaluru, popularly known as the Silicon Valley of India.

Findings

The findings indicate fear of career harm as a critical predictor of employees’ knowledge-hoarding behavior. Moreover, felt violation indirectly impacts knowledge-hoarding behavior by enhancing employees’ fear of career harm. The adverse effect of felt violation was found to be stronger for employees with poor-quality relationships with their leaders.

Practical implications

The study carries important managerial implications as it uncovers the antecedents of knowledge hoarding. First, the human resource department can devise specific guidelines to ensure that the employees are treated the way they were promised. They can also organize training opportunities and mentoring so that the employees’ performance and growth do not get hampered, even if there is a violation. Moreover, such cases should be addressed in an adequate and expedited manner. More significantly, leaders can compensate for the failure of organizational-level levers by developing quality relationships with their subordinates.

Originality/value

The study advances the existing literature on knowledge hoarding by establishing a novel antecedent. Furthermore, it identifies how the employee-leader relationship’s quality can mitigate the adverse effect of felt violation.

中文翻译：

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“一分耕耘，一分收获”：利用三波研究揭示知识囤积行为的决定因素

目的

本研究基于资源守恒理论，旨在探讨对职业伤害的恐惧是否会影响员工的知识囤积行为。该研究进一步检验了感觉侵犯作为员工对职业伤害的恐惧的预测因素。该研究还探讨了领导者与成员之间的交流作为一个边界因素，影响感觉侵犯对员工对职业伤害的恐惧的影响。

设计/方法论/途径

这些数据分三批从班加罗尔（俗称印度硅谷）信息技术行业工作的 402 名专业人士那里收集。

发现

研究结果表明，对职业伤害的恐惧是员工知识囤积行为的一个关键预测因素。此外，感受到的侵犯会增强员工对职业伤害的恐惧，从而间接影响知识囤积行为。研究发现，对于与领导者关系较差的员工来说，感受到违规行为的负面影响更大。

实际影响

这项研究具有重要的管理意义，因为它揭示了知识囤积的前因。首先，人力资源部门可以制定具体的指导方针，以确保员工得到他们所承诺的待遇。他们还可以组织培训机会和指导，这样即使存在违规行为，员工的绩效和成长也不会受到阻碍。此外，此类案件应得到充分、迅速的处理。更重要的是，领导者可以通过与下属建立良好的关系来弥补组织层面杠杆的失败。

原创性/价值

该研究通过建立一个新颖的前因，推进了有关知识囤积的现有文献。此外，它还确定了员工与领导者关系的质量如何减轻感受到的违规行为的不利影响。