Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effect of paternalistic leadership (benevolent, moral and authoritarian) on knowledge sharing of nurses through the mediation of organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative). Further, the study examines the moderating role of Islamic work ethics on the association between organizational commitment and knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach In this quantitative study, data was collected from 312 nurses working in the health-care sector of Pakistan through “Google Forms” in two waves. Moreover, structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The study noted affective and normative commitment as mediators between the associations of benevolent, moral and authoritarian leadership with knowledge sharing, whereas continuance commitment was not found as an explaining variable. In addition, Islamic work ethics was found to strengthen the association of affective and normative commitment with knowledge sharing. However, Islamic work ethics was found to weaken the association between continuance commitment and knowledge sharing. Practical implications This study offers practical insights for health-care executives to act as fatherly figures to enhance the knowledge sharing of their nurses. The study recommends that managers in the health-care system build such an environment that helps nurses follow Islamic work ethics. It may enhance their level of organizational commitment and encourage them to engage in knowledge sharing behaviors to have a successful work environment. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to extend the literature on paternalistic leadership. More specifically, this study investigated how various dimensions of paternalistic leadership (benevolent, moral and authoritarian) effects three-dimensional commitment (affective, continuance and normative) to enhance knowledge sharing behavior among nurses.

Purpose Creativity has become essential for organizations to remain competitive. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the intervening role of knowledge sharing between affect-based trust and employee creativity. The study further investigates perceived organizational support as a conditional factor on the association between affect-based trust and employee creativity. Design/methodology/approach The study tackled the issue of common method variance by collecting data in dyads. Specifically, the study collected data from 368 employees and their supervisors working in various organizations in Pakistan through Google Forms in two waves. In the first wave, employees were approached on a convenience basis, whereas, in the second wave, data from their supervisors were collected. Findings Structural equation modeling was applied to test hypotheses. The study noted knowledge sharing as a mediator between affect-based trust and employee creativity. The study also noted that individuals with high perceptions of organizational support are more likely to strengthen the association between affect-based trust and knowledge sharing. Practical implications This study suggests management work on their employees’ affect-based trust-building. Employees who have relationships based on affect-based trust feel safe and are less afraid of being criticized for sharing their ideas and thoughts. This positively contributes to developing a cooperative environment which becomes the base for employee creativity. Originality/value Past studies have examined the association between general trust and employee creativity. To this backdrop, this study highlighted the importance of affect-based trust toward employee creativity. More specifically, drawing upon social exchange, this study is the first of its kind that examined the mediating role of knowledge sharing between affect-based trust and employee creativity, where perceived organizational support is examined as a conditional variable between affect-based trust and knowledge sharing.

PurposeHealthcare workers are considered to be the most vulnerable to face mental health. Therefore, this paper aims to examine how negative leadership (despotic leadership) affects employees' psychological distress. Specifically, the authors investigated bullying behavior as mediating mechanism and hostile attribution bias as boundary condition that trigger psychological distress.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data from 252 nurses and their immediate supervisors (as a coping strategy for common method bias) through “Google Forms” from various public and private hospitals.FindingsThe authors applied structural equation modeling and noted that despotic leadership positively affects employees' psychological distress through bullying behavior. In addition, hostile attribution bias is identified as an important factor in amplifying the effect of bullying behavior on psychological distress.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors collected data from high-power distance culture where negative leadership is more prevalent as compared to low-power distance culture. Their findings suggest management to discourage self-centered leaders (despotic) and employees with negative personality traits (hostile attribution bias) as these affect their mental health.Originality/valueDrawing upon conservation of resources theory, this study is the first of its kind that has investigated how and when despotic leadership affects employees' psychological distress. In addition, the authors also highlighted the importance of negative personality traits (hostile attribution bias) that can amplify the association between bullying behavior and psychological distress.

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of knowledge hiding (KH) on organizational citizenship behavior toward individuals (OCBI) through the mediation of self-conscious emotions (SCE), namely, shame and guilt. This paper further considers the supervisor’s Islamic work ethics (IWE) as a conditional variable. Design/methodology/approach In this quantity-based research, this paper collected data from 473 employees working in various service and manufacturing organizations through Google form at two-lags. Findings The study applied structural equation modeling and identified that employees experience SCE due to KH. More specifically, rationalized hiding was found to have a negative effect, whereas playing dumb and evasive hiding was found to have a positive effect on shame and guilt. The results also revealed SCE (shame and guilt) as mediators between KH and OCBI. Further, the supervisor’s IWE was found to be a conditional variable to strengthen the association between KH and SCE. Research limitations/implications The study collected data from a single source. However, the issue of common method variance was tackled through time-lags. Practical implications The study suggests that supervisors must communicate with employees about the negative outcomes of KH. They must create such an environment that discourages the engagement of employees in KH and encourages the employees to engage themselves in helping behaviors to maintain a productive and creative work environment. Originality/value This study adds to the limited literature on the emotional consequences of KH from knowledge hiders’ perspective and unfolds the behavior-emotion-behavior sequence through the emotional pathway. More specifically, this study examined the negative emotional effect of hiding the knowledge that leads to compensatory strategy (organizational citizenship behavior) through SCE (shame and guilt). Finally, zooming into SCE, this study elucidates the supervisor’s IWE as a conditional variable.

PurposeWorkplace bullying has become a major challenge across the globe as it is associated with negative outcomes. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the impact of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding through emotional exhaustion. The study further investigated the moderating role of workplace friendship to reduce the detrimental effect of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding.Design/methodology/approachThe study collected data from 358 nurses working in three large cities (Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore) of Pakistan in two lags to tackle the issue of common method bias.FindingsThe study applied structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood method using AMOS to test the hypotheses. The study noted that workplace bullying elevates emotional exhaustion and knowledge hiding among nurses; whereas, workplace friendship was noted as an essential factor to control adverse effects of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding.Research limitations/implicationsThe study used a cross-section design that restricts causality. However, the findings of this study add to the conservation of resources theory by providing insights into the role of workplace friendship in reducing the relationship between workplace stressors (bullying) and negative behaviors (knowledge hiding). The study also suggests healthcare administration foster workplace friendship to cope with the negative outcomes of workplace bullying.Originality/valueDrawing upon conservation of resources, this study explored the moderating role of workplace friendship between workplace bullying and knowledge hiding.