Navigating Knowledge Boundaries: The Role of Academic Self-Conception in Open Innovation Practices

This study investigates the role of academic self-conception in knowledge-hiding behaviours and their impact on open innovation within academic contexts. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory, we examine how individuals' perceptions of their academic abilities influence their tendencies to engage in various forms of knowledge hiding, including evasive hiding, rationalised hiding, and playing dumb. This research was a quantitative study conducted among 262 Indonesian academicians. The data was collected through an online survey and tested using SEM-PLS. Our findings reveal that academic self-conception positively influences all three types of knowledge-hiding behaviours. Interestingly, while evasive hiding does not significantly impact open innovation, rationalised hiding negatively affects open innovation outcomes, whereas playing dumb positively influences open innovation. These results underscore the importance of understanding individual-level factors, such as academic self-conception, in shaping knowledge-hiding behaviours and their implications for innovation processes within academic settings.