REIMAGINING KNOWLEDGE HIDING MEASURE: FROM THE AFFECTEES’ PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

This study aims to develop and validate the Knowledge Hiding Affectees’ Scale, a Likert-type instrument designed to measure knowledge hiding behaviors from the perspective of those affected. A new dimension, transactional hiding, was introduced alongside existing dimensions of evasive hiding, playing dumb, and rationalized hiding. Data were collected from 270 university teachers in public sector universities in Punjab, Pakistan. Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a five-factor structure encompassing evasive hiding (five items), playing dumb (four items), rationalized hiding (four items), and transactional hiding (five items). The overall Cronbach’s Alpha for the scale was 0.89, with individual factor reliability ranging from 0.876 to 0.894. The scale demonstrated strong composite reliability as well as content, convergent, and discriminant validity. The Knowledge Hiding Affectees’ Scale offers a robust tool for assessing knowledge hiding behaviors in academic settings and provides new insights by incorporating the transactional dimension into the knowledge hiding literature. The developed scale enriches the measurement of knowledge hiding by incorporating the new dimension of transactional hiding and offers a reliable tool for future academic research.