Psychological contract breach and diminished organisational citizenship behaviour: the mediation of employee knowledge hiding

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between psychological contract breach and diminished organisational citizenship behaviour in Southern Nigeria through the mediation of knowledge hiding. Design/methodology/approach The design was a cross-sectional survey. A structured questionnaire served as the instrument for data collection from the respondents. The authors constructed and validated the research instrument. The authors also tested the instrument's reliability. The study used structural equation modelling to analyse the data with a specific focus on the path diagram technique. Findings The results show that an organisation's breach of the relational psychological contract significantly influences employees' knowledge hiding behaviour; employee knowledge hiding behaviour significantly stimulates diminished organisational citizenship behaviour. In addition, employee knowledge hiding significantly mediates the relationship between psychological contract breach (relational, implicit, balanced) and diminished organisational citizenship behaviour. Research limitations/implications A major limitation of the study is the use of a cross-sectional survey design, which is constrained for inferring causality. Nevertheless, the significance or non-significance of the associations between variables in a cross-sectional design is instructive about the hypothesised relationships. Practical implications Strategic managers will be sensitised to the consequences of breaching psychological contracts, especially knowledge hiding and the attendant diminished organisational citizenship behaviours, which can constrain organisations' capacity to optimise their value. This requires that measures be implemented to reduce the perception of breaches. Specifically, university administrators and policymakers should manage the psychological contract between the institution and the employees by reciprocating their efforts. This can be achieved by prioritising employee interests and welfare through regular promotion of workers, provision of fringe benefits and conducive working conditions, among others. Social implications Increased organisational citizenship behaviour associated with honouring psychological contracts will reduce knowledge-hiding behaviour, increase knowledge-sharing behaviour, contribute to organisational effectiveness and the achievement of set goals. For universities, this will increase their capacity to produce a skilled workforce, fuel economic innovation in the process through research and provide vital community services. In the final analysis, it will lead to job creation. Originality/value This study has contributed significantly to knowledge in management and social sciences by revealing that psychological contract breach diminishes organisational citizenship behaviour in Nigerian Universities. This occurs through the mediation of knowledge hiding. Most importantly, the study extends the frontiers of social exchange theory by testing it in new contexts and boundaries. By showing that employees reciprocate psychological contract breach through knowledge hiding, the study expands the frontiers of social exchange theory. By applying the theory to Nigeria, the study achieves boundary spanning.