A knowledge hiding approach to cope with COVID-19: A Comparison between Spain and China

Although it is not clear what positive and negative effects knowledge hiding may have on citizens, some Governments have tried to address the crisis caused by COVID-19 through hiding or distorting information available to citizens. This study suggests that the presence of realized absorptive capacity (RACAP) allows citizens to stop the spreading of fake news about COVID 19. The paper focuses on RACAP as a method to counteract the potential negative effects of knowledge hiding and thus increase citizen engagement. To do so, this study analyses data collected from 251 citizens of two countries: Spain and China. Results provides evidence that while Spaniards have the feeling that a lot of information has been hidden from them, Chinese citizens are ultimately much more committed to taking appropriate COVID 19 measures. Despite these differences, in both samples RACAP help to ensure compliance with new legislation and COVID-19-related restrictions.