Unlocking the potential: Exploring the interplay of humble leadership, self-efficacy, and negative gossip in overcoming knowledge hiding

Purpose Knowledge hiding has become a great challenge for organizations. Therefore, this study aims to understand how humble leadership affects knowledge hiding. Specifically, this study aims to explore the mediating role of self-efficacy between humble leadership and knowledge-hiding and the moderating role of negative workplace gossip between humble leadership and self-efficacy. Design/methodology/approach As 63% of Pakistani employees are involved in knowledge-hiding, data were collected from 329 employees working in various organizations on a convenience basis using a questionnaire-based survey. Considering the potential problem of common method bias, the data were collected on two separate occasions. This study applied structural equation modeling for the analysis using AMOS software. Findings This study noted that when working with humble leaders, employees are less inclined to conceal their knowledge, and this relationship is mediated by self-efficacy. In addition, this study noted that individuals high in perceived negative gossip exhibit low self-efficacy even in the presence of humble leadership. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional time-lagged data of the study may restrict causality. Nevertheless, the findings contribute to the social learning theory by offering a more intricate comprehension of how knowledge-hiding can be tackled in the workplace. Further, this study suggests that humble leadership can be an effective strategy to overcome negative workplace behaviors. Originality/value Extending the existing literature on knowledge-hiding and drawing upon social learning theory, this study highlighted the role of humble leadership. The study not only reveals self-efficacy as a mediating mechanism between humble leadership and knowledge-hiding but also explores how negative gossip serves as a boundary condition to harm self-efficacy in the presence of humble leadership.