Title: Knowledge hiding and sharing with mobile social networking applications: an integrated model of antecedents and outcomes

Authors: Yu-Hui Fang; Chia-Ying Li

Addresses: Department of Accounting, Tamkang University, No.151, Ying-Chuan Rd., Tamsui, New Taipei City, 25137, Taiwan ' Department of Business Administration, National TaiChung University of Science and Technology, TaiChung, 404, Taiwan

Abstract: Mobile social networking applications (MSNAs) can support but also frustrate knowledge sharing by strategically hiding knowledge. This study investigates why people share and hide knowledge using MSNAs and subsequent influences (sense of well-being; SWB). Integrating institutional logics with notions of self-affirmation and social face, this study proposes a model to link both the corporate logic (guanxi maintenance and knowledge sharing) and professional logic (territorial protection and knowledge hiding) to SWB, where self-affirmation mediates the relationship between hiding and SWB, and social face moderates both logics. Results from a survey of 593 LINE group users support all proposed hypotheses, except for the direct link between knowledge hiding and SWB. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Keywords: guanxi; territoriality; self-affirmation; knowledge hiding; mobile social networking applications; social face; knowledge sharing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMC.2023.132573

International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2023 Vol.22 No.2, pp.156 - 183

Received: 13 Jul 2020
Accepted: 01 Aug 2021
Published online: 30 Jul 2023 *

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