Breaking the cycle: mitigating job insecurity-induced knowledge hiding through social support

Purpose Although job insecurity remains prevalent in the post-pandemic workplace and can hinder innovation by disrupting knowledge transfer in organizations, the link between job insecurity and knowledge hiding (KH) remains underexplored. Grounded on the conservation of resources theory, this study examines the relationship between job insecurity and KH. Additionally, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of social support. Design/methodology/approach Based on survey data collected from 504 Chinese employees, the authors combined necessary condition analysis (NCA) and multiple regression analysis (MRA) to test the hypotheses. Findings The NCA results supported the necessary roles of job insecurity. Notably, emotional exhaustion and KH are constrained by job insecurity. The MRA results further showed that job insecurity could lead to KH due to increased emotional exhaustion, and social support can potentially mitigate these effects. Practical implications The results highlight the value of social support in helping employees cope with emotional exhaustion caused by job insecurity. Organizations should therefore recognize these detrimental effects, equip employees with resources to manage emotional distress and foster a psychologically safe culture. These approaches help curb KH while fostering both knowledge sharing culture and innovation across the organization. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to investigate the psychological mechanisms through which job insecurity influences KH. It demonstrates that employees experiencing job insecurity are more prone to emotional exhaustion and, consequently, more likely to engage in KH. Finally, the study identifies social support as a mitigating factor against the effect of emotional exhaustion on KH.