The effect of bullying experienced in the workplace on knowledge hiding behavior of employees in sports and youth departments: The mediating role of workplace friendship

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 1. Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Sport Sciences, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad Kavous, Iran

2 Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Az.C., Islamic Azad University, Azadshahr, Iran.

Abstract
: The purpose of this research was to study the effect of bullying experienced in the workplace on the knowledge hiding behavior of employees of sports and youth Offices with the mediating role of workplace friendship. This applied study was conducted using a survey research method. All 232 employees of the Golestan sports and youth departments constituted the statistical population of this study. Based on the Cochran formula, the sample size required for this study was 145 employees and their selection was carried out using a stratified random method. The data measurement tools included 3 questionnaires of experienced bullying (Einarsen et al., 2009), friendship in the workplace (Rai and Agrawal, 2018), and knowledge hiding (Fatima et al., 2021). The data analysis for the research was conducted using both descriptive and inferential methods.The results indicated that experiencing bullying has a negative and significant impact on workplace friendships among employees in the sports and youth department. Additionally, it was found that bullying experiences have a positive and significant effect on knowledge hiding among these employees. Lastly, the analysis revealed that the effect of bullying on knowledge hiding is significant, with workplace friendship playing a mediating role. Considering the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that the experience of bullying by employees can affect their friendly relationships with colleagues and cause negative work behaviors such as knowledge hiding in them.

Keywords

Subjects


Abdollahi Godollo, R., & Kashef, S. M. (2021). The relationship of organizational envy and bullying with organizational cynicism in physical education teachers: The mediating role of career plateau. Sport Management Journal, 12(4), 1053-1076. https://doi.org/10.22059/jsm.2020.287873.2319
Bari, M. W., Khan, Q., & Waqas, A. (2023). Person related workplace bullying and knowledge hiding behaviors: relational psychological contract breach as an underlying mechanism. Journal of Knowledge Management, 27(5), 1299-1318. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-10-2021-0766
Bari, M. W., Shahzadi, I., & Sheikh, M. F. (2024). Management strategies to mitigate knowledge hiding behaviours: Symmetric and asymmetric analyses. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 22(2), 162-176. https://doi.org/10.1080/14778238.2023.2178344
Björklund, C., Hellman, T., Jensen, I., Åkerblom, C., & Björk Brämberg, E. (2019). Workplace bullying as experienced by managers and how they cope: A qualitative study of Swedish managers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(23), 4693. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234693 
Brennan, A., Garavan, T., Egan, T., O'Brien, F., & Ullah, I. (2024). A conservation of resources perspective on public sector employee work engagement. European Management Review, 21(2), 393-407. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12594
Dindar, A., Shojaei, V., & Hami, M. (2024). Designing a knowledge management model for the municipality sports organization of Tehran. Sport Management Journal, 16(3), 97-80. https://doi.org/10.22059/jsm.2022.334647.2858  [In Persian].
Chorli, A., Jamei, A., & Bai, N. (2024). The relationship between psychological ownership and knowledge creation and openness to change in physical education teachers. Theory and Practice in Teachers Education, 10(18), 115-129. https://doi.org/10.48310/itt.2024.3468  [In Persian].
Fang, L., Hsiao, L. P., Fang, S. H., & Chen, B. C. (2020). Effects of assertiveness and psychosocial work condition on workplace bullying among nurses: A cross‐sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 26(6), e12806. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12806
Farley, S., Mokhtar, D., Ng, K., & Niven, K. (2023). What influences the relationship between workplace bullying and employee well-being? A systematic review of moderators. Work & Stress, 37(3), 345-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2023.2169968
Fatima, D., Abdul Ghaffar, M. B., Zakariya, R., Muhammad, L., & Sarwar, A. (2021). Workplace bullying, knowledge hiding and time theft: Evidence from the health care institutions in Pakistan. Journal of Nursing Management, 29(4), 813-821. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13222 
Ferreira, B., Curado, C., & Oliveira, M. (2022). The contribution of knowledge management to human resource development: A systematic and integrative literature review. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 13(3), 2319-2347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-021-00815-9
Ghafafri, S. and Ashuri, M. (2017). Determining the role of organizational bullying perception in relation to job stress and willingness to leave the job at Ministry of Sports and Youth employees. Organizational Behavior Management in Sport Studies, 4(4), 129-139. [In Persian].
Hsu, F. S., Liu, Y. A., & Tsaur, S. H. (2019). The impact of workplace bullying on hotel employees’ well-being: do organizational justice and friendship matter? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(4), 1702-1719.
Iftikhar, M., Qureshi, M. I., Qayyum, S., Fatima, I., Sriyanto, S., Indrianti, Y., ..., & Dana, L. P. (2021). Impact of multifaceted workplace bullying on the relationships between technology usage, organisational climate and employee physical and emotional health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 3207.
Iqbal, J., Parray, Z. A., & Bharadwaj, S. (2025, January). Toxic workplaces, tarnished outcomes: Understanding the effects of bullying on job outcomes. In Evidence-based HRM: A global forum for empirical scholarship. Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-02-2024-0058
Islam, T., & Chaudhary, A. (2024). Impact of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding: The mediating role of emotional exhaustion and moderating role of workplace friendship. Kybernetes, 53(1), 238-255. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2018-0330
Javed, I., Niazi, A., Nawaz, S., Ali, M., & Hussain, M. (2023). Impact of workplace bullying on work engagement among early career employees. PLoS ONE, 18(10), e0285345. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285345 
Javaid, L., Irfan, K., & Khattak, A. N. (2023). Impact of workplace bullying and knowledge hiding behaviour on emotional exhaustion among Pakistani nurses: a cross-sectional study for exploring psychological empowerment as an effective role player in the healthcare system. Global Social Sciences Review, 8(1), 124-138. https://doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2023(VIII-I).12
Kiani M, Sabouri H, Hamidi K. (2024). Organizational bullying and its consequences. Scientific Journal of Modern Research Approaches in Management and Accounting; 27(7), 475-490. [In Persian].
Kim, Y., & Park, I. (2020). Coach really knew what I needed and understood me well as a person: Effective communication acts in coach–athlete interactions among Korean Olympic archers. International Journal of Environmental Research Public Health, 17, 3101. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17093101  
Liang, H. L. (2021). Does workplace bullying produce employee voice and physical health issues? Testing the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 610944. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.610944
Palumbo, R., Manesh, M. F., Pellegrini, M. M., & Flamini, G. (2020). Exploiting inter-organizational relationships in health care: A bibliometric analysis and literature review. Administrative Sciences, 10(3), 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci10030057
Parault, S. J., Davis, H. A., & Pellegrini, A. D. (2008). The social contexts of bullying and victimisation. Youth Studies Australia, 27(1), 61-62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431606294831
Pauksztat, B., & Salin, D. (2020). Targets' social relationships as antecedents and consequences of workplace bullying: a social network perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 3077. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03077
Quttainah, M. A., & Said, D. S. (2021). The directional nature of organizational relationships and their effect on individual performance and turnover. FIIB Business Review, 10(1), 5-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/231971452097221
Rai, A., & Agarwal, U. A. (2019). Linking workplace bullying and EVLN outcomes: Role of psychological contract violation and workplace friendship. International Journal of Manpower, 40(2), 211-227. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-05-2017-0091
Reknes, I., Harris, A., & Einarsen, S. (2018). The role of hardiness in the bullying–mental health relationship. Occupational Medicine, 68(1), 64-66. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqx183
Safaei,I. and Goleyj,N. (2022). The effect of organizational bullying on job stress with mediating role of job involvement and job security in Sports Coaches. Sport Physiology & Management Investigations, 14(3), 39-54. [In Persian].
Sansone, R. A., & Sansone, L. A. (2015). Workplace bullying: A tale of adverse consequences. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, 12(1-2), 32.
Shaheen, S., & Babar, M. S. (2024). Impact of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding behaviors: Mediating Role of negative emotions. Journal of Business and Management Research, 3(2), 16-28.
Shen, Y., Lythreatis, S., Singh, S. K., & Cooke, F. L. (2025). A meta-analysis of knowledge hiding behavior in organizations: Antecedents, consequences, and boundary conditions. Journal of Business Research, 186, 114963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114963
Tsuno, K., Kawakami, N., Tsutsumi, A., Shimazu, A., Inoue, A., Odagiri, Y., & Shimomitsu, T. (2022). Victimization and witnessing of workplace bullying and physician-diagnosed physical and mental health and organizational outcomes: A cross-sectional study. PLoS One, 17(10), e0265863. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265863
Yao, Z., Zhang, X., Luo, J., & Huang, H. (2020). Offense is the best defense: the impact of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(3), 675-695. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-12-2019-0755
Zhao, H., & Xia, Q. (2019). Nurses’ negative affective states, moral disengagement, and knowledge hiding: The moderating role of ethical leadership. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(2), 357-370. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12675
Volume 18, Issue 95
March and April 2026
Pages 140-122

  • Receive Date 07 September 2025
  • Revise Date 02 November 2025
  • Accept Date 26 January 2026