Knowledge-based psychological ownership and knowledge hiding: The roles of loss of knowledge power and emotional intelligence

Individuals’ knowledge activity is essential for knowledge circulation in organizations. To examine the relationship between knowledge-based psychological ownership and knowledge hiding, we conducted a three-wave online survey with 310 knowledge workers in China. We used the bootstrapping method for mediation effects analysis and found that loss of knowledge power mediated the effect of knowledge-based psychological ownership on knowledge hiding. The results of a conditional process analysis further indicate that emotional intelligence attenuated the indirect impact of knowledge-based psychological ownership on knowledge hiding through the mediator of loss of knowledge power. Our findings enhance understanding of why workers refuse to share their knowledge, and how to decrease knowledge-hiding behaviors in organizations by developing employees’ emotional competency.