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Exploring Knowledge-Hiding Methods and Reasons in a Small Chinese Family Business
Bo Wen
European Conference on Knowledge Management, Volume: 23, Issue: 2, Pages: 1375 - 1383
Swansea University Author: Bo Wen
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DOI (Published version): 10.34190/eckm.23.2.310
Abstract
In the highly competitive business environment, family businesses represent the backbone of the economy in various countries; meanwhile, they face tremendous survival challenges. Knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge, is the key to organisational survival because the hard-to-imitate characteristic...
| Published in: | European Conference on Knowledge Management |
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| ISBN: | 978-1-914587-46-7 978-1-914587-47-4 |
| ISSN: | 2048-8963 2048-8971 |
| Published: |
Naples
Academic Conferences International Ltd
2022
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67485 |
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v2 67485 2024-08-28 Exploring Knowledge-Hiding Methods and Reasons in a Small Chinese Family Business eaba06eb627d37047139753baf26f55b Bo Wen Bo Wen true false 2024-08-28 CBAE In the highly competitive business environment, family businesses represent the backbone of the economy in various countries; meanwhile, they face tremendous survival challenges. Knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge, is the key to organisational survival because the hard-to-imitate characteristics could create value and technology innovation. However, it is challenging for family businesses to obtain tacit knowledge because it resides in people’s minds; and compared with sharing, people prefer hiding it for self-protection. In recent years, knowledge hiding has increasingly attracted scholars' and practitioners' attention but few in the family business context. Hence, this research aims to investigate how and why the employees hide tacit knowledge in the small family business. The present study used the Self-determination theory (SDT) as the theoretical foundation to explain knowledge hiding behaviours from the motivational perspective. The single case study was conducted in China, as Chinese family business has distinctive cultural characteristics influencing knowledge hiding. Data were collected and analysed from 22 participants in a small Research and Development company through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that skilled employees used various methods to hide knowledge, such as pretending not to know, using no time as an excuse, and hiding the core knowledge. The reasons for knowledge hiding primarily reflected the unfair issues between the family and non-family employees in terms of the favouritism of the owner-manager toward the family employees, no bonus and ‘996’ timetable (people need to work from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm and 6 days per week) for the non-family members. Theoretically, this study contributes to understanding knowledge hiding behaviours by analysing motivations within SDT and corporate contextual influences in the small family business. These findings facilitate enhancing the owner-manager's awareness of the effects of unfairness on knowledge hiding and providing practical solutions to the unfairness and knowledge hiding among employees, as this has immense implications in any business. Journal Article European Conference on Knowledge Management 23 2 1375 1383 Academic Conferences International Ltd Naples 978-1-914587-46-7 978-1-914587-47-4 2048-8963 2048-8971 small family business, knowledge hiding, individual motivation, self-determination theory, unfairness, family involvement 25 8 2022 2022-08-25 10.34190/eckm.23.2.310 COLLEGE NANME Management School COLLEGE CODE CBAE Swansea University 2024-09-17T13:24:19.0660353 2024-08-28T15:54:25.2026281 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Business Management Bo Wen 1 67485__31349__1271e439fbc14b52a55f6d60445d90f5.pdf 67485.VoR.pdf 2024-09-17T13:22:38.0911286 Output 955190 application/pdf Version of Record true Copyright (c) 2022 European Conference on Knowledge Management. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| title |
Exploring Knowledge-Hiding Methods and Reasons in a Small Chinese Family Business |
| spellingShingle |
Exploring Knowledge-Hiding Methods and Reasons in a Small Chinese Family Business Bo Wen |
| title_short |
Exploring Knowledge-Hiding Methods and Reasons in a Small Chinese Family Business |
| title_full |
Exploring Knowledge-Hiding Methods and Reasons in a Small Chinese Family Business |
| title_fullStr |
Exploring Knowledge-Hiding Methods and Reasons in a Small Chinese Family Business |
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Exploring Knowledge-Hiding Methods and Reasons in a Small Chinese Family Business |
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Exploring Knowledge-Hiding Methods and Reasons in a Small Chinese Family Business |
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Bo Wen |
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European Conference on Knowledge Management |
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Academic Conferences International Ltd |
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In the highly competitive business environment, family businesses represent the backbone of the economy in various countries; meanwhile, they face tremendous survival challenges. Knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge, is the key to organisational survival because the hard-to-imitate characteristics could create value and technology innovation. However, it is challenging for family businesses to obtain tacit knowledge because it resides in people’s minds; and compared with sharing, people prefer hiding it for self-protection. In recent years, knowledge hiding has increasingly attracted scholars' and practitioners' attention but few in the family business context. Hence, this research aims to investigate how and why the employees hide tacit knowledge in the small family business. The present study used the Self-determination theory (SDT) as the theoretical foundation to explain knowledge hiding behaviours from the motivational perspective. The single case study was conducted in China, as Chinese family business has distinctive cultural characteristics influencing knowledge hiding. Data were collected and analysed from 22 participants in a small Research and Development company through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that skilled employees used various methods to hide knowledge, such as pretending not to know, using no time as an excuse, and hiding the core knowledge. The reasons for knowledge hiding primarily reflected the unfair issues between the family and non-family employees in terms of the favouritism of the owner-manager toward the family employees, no bonus and ‘996’ timetable (people need to work from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm and 6 days per week) for the non-family members. Theoretically, this study contributes to understanding knowledge hiding behaviours by analysing motivations within SDT and corporate contextual influences in the small family business. These findings facilitate enhancing the owner-manager's awareness of the effects of unfairness on knowledge hiding and providing practical solutions to the unfairness and knowledge hiding among employees, as this has immense implications in any business. |
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2022-08-25T13:24:17Z |
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11.036225 |