The insidious hostility: the impact of workplace ostracism on knowledge behaviour, exploring the role of organisational politics and political savvy

Purpose Drawing on the attribution theory, this study aims to explore how workplace ostracism impacts employees’ knowledge-sharing and knowledge-hoarding behaviour by influencing their perception of organisational politics as a mediator. It also examines the role of political skill in this relationship, albeit as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 575 respondents working in the Indian IT sector, using standardised questionnaires, and analysed with IBM SPSS AMOS-24. Findings Broadly, the results indicate a positive relationship between workplace ostracism and perceived organisational politics, which negatively affects knowledge sharing, and positively impacts knowledge-hoarding behaviour. Mediation analysis reveals that perceived organisational politics partially mediates the relationship between workplace ostracism and knowledge behaviour. Political skill significantly moderates the association between ostracism experience and perception of organisational politics; however, it does not moderate the indirect effect of workplace ostracism on knowledge sharing and knowledge hoarding as hypothesised. Originality/value This study examines a novel interplay of workplace ostracism, perceived organisational politics and knowledge behaviour, while integrating the attribution theory, and considering political skill as a moderator. The findings shed light on when and why workplace ostracism leads to counterproductive knowledge behaviour.