Purpose This study aims to explore when and how knowledge hiding can prompt employees to engage in curiosity-driven knowledge seeking that ultimately supports knowledge creation. It examines the cognitive and motivational mechanisms that shape this positive pathway. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 327 employees nested in 62 teams across knowledge-intensive organizations using a multisource survey design. Established multi-item Likert-scale instruments were used to measure knowledge hiding perceptions, curiosity, knowledge seeking, political skills and knowledge creation. Data were gathered in two waves to reduce common-method bias. The data set was analyzed using structural equation modeling with team-level clustering, complemented by reliability, validity and moderation tests. Findings The results show that knowledge hiding can stimulate curiosity-based knowledge seeking when employees perceive the hidden knowledge as valuable, which in turn enhances knowledge creation. Political skills strengthen the positive relationship between knowledge seeking and knowledge creation. Practical implications Rather than viewing knowledge hiding only as harmful, organizations can foster environments that channel curiosity and constructive knowledge-seeking responses. Developing employees’ social and political skills can help transform knowledge hiding incidents into opportunities for learning and innovation. Originality/value This study advances a seeker-centered perspective by identifying cognitive appraisal and curiosity-driven motivation as mechanisms through which knowledge hiding may yield beneficial outcomes for knowledge creation.
Liu et al. (2026) studied this question.