In modern organizations, work incivility among members is gradually increasing, leading to negative outcomes such as knowledge hiding and decreased job engagement. This impact is more significant in SMEs compared to large corporations due to the close...
In modern organizations, work incivility among members is gradually increasing, leading to negative outcomes such as knowledge hiding and decreased job engagement. This impact is more significant in SMEs compared to large corporations due to the closer interactions among members. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of work incivility on job engagement in SMEs and comprehensively examine the relationship between work incivility, knowledge hiding, and job engagement by verifying both the mediating and moderating effects of knowledge hiding. he results indicate that work incivility negatively affects job engagement in SMEs. Moreover, it was discovered that knowledge hiding does not have a mediating effect but has a moderating effect between work incivility and job engagement. These findings are significant as they empirically identify the negative impact of work incivility in SMEs and confirm and verify the mediating and moderating effects of knowledge hiding. Furthermore, this study has academic and practical implications by raising awareness among SMEs executives and HR managers about the importance of managing work incivility and promoting knowledge sharing, as well as proposing measures to enhance job engagement.