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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1516815

Knowledge Hiding and Social Exchange Theory: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Zijun Zhang Zijun Zhang 1Yoshi Takahashi Yoshi Takahashi 1*Roksana Binte Rezwan Roksana Binte Rezwan 2
  • 1 Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
  • 2 Tokyo International University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The literature on the antecedents and consequences of knowledge hiding remains fragmented, limiting its practical applications. Social exchange theory (SET), one of the most widely adopted sociological frameworks, offers unique insights into the dynamics of knowledge hiding.. This study synthesizes the application of SET in analyzing the nomological framework of knowledge hiding through a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. A meta-analysis was conducted based on the random-effects model and the meta-analytic structural equation modeling method, incorporating 66 primary studies with a total of 20,603 participants. Additionally, we examined the mediating role of knowledge hiding by linking key antecedents and consequences. Moreover, an exploratory analysis was conducted to investigate the moderating effects of national culture and research methodology, providing evidence to justify the true heterogeneity in the pairwise relationships between knowledge hiding and its antecedents. The research results generally support most pairwise relationships between knowledge hiding and its correlates, which were theoretically developed based on SET.. This study is the first attempt to explore the explanatory power of SET in analyzing the knowledge-hiding phenomenon, and whether the establishment of a knowledge exchange loop contributes to a deeper understanding of this dyadic construct.

    Keywords: social exchange theory1, norms of reciprocity2, Knowledge Management3, knowledge hiding4, Meta-analysis5, Literature review6

    Received: 25 Oct 2024; Accepted: 11 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Takahashi and Rezwan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yoshi Takahashi, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.