The hidden cost of customer incivility: why employees hide knowledge?

Purpose This study investigates how customer incivility (CI), as an external stressor, influences knowledge hiding (KH). Grounded in the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, it examines the mediating role of emotional exhaustion (EE) and the moderating role of emotional intelligence (EI) to address “why” and “when” frontline employees engage in KH. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a two-wave time-lagged survey from 234 frontline employees in the hospitality industry of Pakistan. Structural equation modeling was conducted using AMOS and SPSS to test the proposed moderated mediation model. Findings Results reveal that CI significantly increases KH through heightened EE. Furthermore, EI buffers the effect of CI on EE, thereby weakening the indirect relationship between CI and KH. Practical implications Organizations must proactively manage CI, as it depletes employees' emotional resources and increases KH through EE. Strengthening EI can buffer EE and reduce employees' tendency to engage in KH in service contexts. Originality/value This study introduces CI as an external antecedent of KH, extending knowledge management literature beyond its current focus on internal antecedents. The study identifies EE as a mediating mechanism and highlights EI as a personal resource that mitigates the resource-draining impact of CI. The findings broaden the theoretical scope of COR in the KH domain and provide practical insights into reducing dysfunctional knowledge behaviors in service contexts.