Unveiling The Dark Side: Exploring The Impact Of Abusive Supervision On Organizational Sustainability Through Knowledge Hiding And The Power Of Psychological Safety

Abstract

Utilizing social exchange and displaced aggression theories this research delves into the intermediary role of knowledge hiding in the correlation between employees' exposure to abusive supervision and their Organizational sustainability, through the collection of time-lagged data from the employees working in SMEs in Pakistan. Our findings suggest that abusive supervision detrimentally impacts organization sustainability as a result of reciprocation through self-serving knowledge-hiding behaviour. Moreover, we posit that ps[1]ychological safety acts as a moderating role in the relationship with higher psychological safety diminishing the positive link between abusive supervision and knowledge hiding. Additionally, psychological safety is anticipated to have a direct impact on organizational sustainability by fostering a supportive environment conducive to risk-taking and ideas sharing. This study uncovers knowledge hiding as a pivotal factor through which abusive supervision impedes organizational sustainability. However, our results indicate that this effect is likely to be mitigated by psychological safety serving as a protective barrier against the adverse impact of abusive supervision on knowledge hiding. The positive association between abusive supervision and knowledge hiding is expected to diminish under conditions where psychological safety is enhanced.