Title: The influence of employee recognition on workplace knowledge hiding behaviour: moderating role of employee commitment

Authors: Samuel Oti Frimpong; Emmanuel Gyamfi; Twumasi J.N. Wiredu

Addresses: Faculty of Management Education Studies, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Kumasi – Ghana ' Faculty of Management Education Studies, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Kumasi – Ghana ' Faculty of Management Education Studies, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Kumasi – Ghana

Abstract: Although management and organisational literature have grown, the relationship between employee recognition and workplace knowledge-hiding behaviour in the sphere of education, particularly in underdeveloped nations such as Ghana, remains unclear. This study, therefore, contributes to the scholarship through inquiry into the relationship between employee recognition and workplace knowledge-hiding behaviour, with employment commitment serving as a moderating factor, and focuses on public universities in Ghana's Ashanti region. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used to collect survey data from 225 employees, which were then analysed using SPSS and structure equation modelling (SEM) techniques for moderation. The study found that employee recognition and commitment significantly reduced knowledge-hiding behaviour, but employee commitment exacerbated the negative link between employee recognition and workplace knowledge hiding. This suggests that organisational collaboration and knowledge exchange depend heavily on recognition. For the success of public universities, the study recommends putting in place both formal and informal recognition programs to boost employee commitment and lessen workplace knowledge hiding to boost employee performance.

Keywords: employee recognition; ER; employee commitment; EC; knowledge hiding; public universities; Ghana.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKMS.2025.147949

International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 2025 Vol.16 No.2, pp.178 - 206

Received: 01 Aug 2024
Accepted: 29 Mar 2025
Published online: 11 Aug 2025 *

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