The Secret Thoughts of Social Network Sites Users: A Scale for the Measurement of Online Knowledge-Hiding in a Knowledge Exchange (KE) Context

Social networking sites (SNSs) are widely used to support online learning and knowledge exchange (KE) in projects that require the coordination of collaborative team-playing, especially in COVID-19 world pandemic. Paradoxically, while digital infrastructures enable instant communication, SNSs are not always conducive to KE behaviours, as learners are reticent to exchange knowledge with their peers online due to trust issues like personal privacy and Intellectual property rights protection, leads online users to conceal knowledge. Given that online-based KE practices are still in their infancy, one major weakness in current educational and knowledge management research is the lack of a reliable scale to measure knowledge-hiding online. This study develops and validates a novel Online Knowledge-hiding (OKH) scale that keeps into account the distinctive features of SNSs. While building on prior measurements of knowledge-hiding, we identify, test, and validate different indicators of the latent OKH construct. A mixed-method approach to scale development was used to validate this scale. Results show that the proposed scale is effective for organisations to assess whether online knowledge-hiding takes place during KE activities. The usefulness of this scale lies in improving the online collaborative learning environment while setting the foundation to address KE-related deviant behaviours at their incipit.