Consequences of top-down knowledge hiding in firms: A pilot study

While knowledge hiding has been the subject of some research in the management discipline, extant literature is scant on the consequences of top-down knowledge hiding in firms. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the individual-level consequences of top-down knowledge hiding in firms. Based on an initial pilot study, the preliminary findings unveil three types of individual-level consequences of top-down knowledge such as loss of personal reputation of knowledge seeker, lack of creativity and lack of productivity. This paper discusses its initial contribution to knowledge hiding literature and concludes by discussing its limitations and scope for future research.