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Articles

CJOC: VOL. 9 NO. 1, JUNE 2022

Organizational Communication and Influence of Personality Traits on Knowledge Hiding Behaviour of Students

Submitted
June 30, 2022
Published
2022-06-30

Abstract

One way of enhancing effective organizational communication is to encourage knowledge sharing. However, knowledge transfer can be problematic because organizations do not own employees' intellectual assets. Despite the benefits of knowledge sharing, some individuals like to hide knowledge. This work is about the knowledge hiding behavior and the influence of the Big Five Personality factors as they affect senior students. A survey of 381 postgraduates showed that 54.8% admitted that they engaged in knowledge hiding along the three dimensions of playing dumb, evasive hiding, and rationalized hiding. Among the five personality traits, only neuroticism had a significant relationship with knowledge hiding (β=0.378; p=0.000<0.05). Lecturers are encouraged to identify students that exhibit neuroticism and develop strategies and teaching methods that could make them engage in knowledge sharing. The study provides valuable empirical data for other researchers seeking to understand the role of personality factors in knowledge hiding behavior where communication and knowledge sharing are promoted and encouraged.