Consequences of Supervisor Knowledge Hiding in Organizations: A Multilevel Mediation Analysis

Drawing on the theoretical framework of social cognitive theory, our study explores the multilevel mediation model in which moral disengagement (level-1) mediates the direct relationships between knowledge hiding by supervisors from subordinates (KHSS: level-2) and supervisor directed organizational citizenship behavior (SOCB: level-1) and supervisor directed silence (SS: level-1). Drawing on multi-sourced, multi-timed, and multilevel data of 306 subordinates nested within 83 supervisors, multilevel structural equation modeling (ML-SEM) was used to test the proposed model. The results demonstrate that KHSS, first, fosters subordinates’ moral disengagement, which in turn reduces their SOCB and enhances their SS. Our findings offer several useful theoretical and managerial implications of the negative consequences of supervisor knowledge hiding in organizations. As one of the first studies to provide empirical evidence for the existence of supervisor knowledge hiding (i.e. KHSS), this research highlights the consequences of KHSS on subordinates’ moral disengagement, SOCB, and SS.     

The Cultural Underpinnings of Subjectivity and Inter-Subjectivity: A Discussion of “Trump Cards and Klein Bottles: On the Collective of the Individual”

In “Trump Cards and Klein Bottles: On the Collective of the Individual,” Dr. González (this issue) argues for the centrality of dynamic and shifting group identifications in shaping our subjectivity and our inter-subjective linking from moment to moment. My commentary about this paper is organized around the themes of cultural dislocation and cultural displacement, experiences related to large-group identifications and identity. These constructs, cultural dislocation and displacement, can deepen our understanding of how inter/intra-group tensions (historic and current) can play a determinative role in shaping individual subjectivity and inter-subjective linking. They complement and amplify claims regarding the centrality of our group identifications on ego functions. They also point toward the determinative impact of context and clashing cultural systems on our object relations and unconscious fantasies. Studying the links between individuals, collectives, and the cultural systems that structure them will deepen our theories and extend our relevance.