Based on the conservation of resource (COR) theory, this study investigates the association between the perception of organizational politics and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) while considering the mediating role of knowledge hiding and moderating role of political skill in this process.
Data were collected in a time-lagged survey in two waves with a three-week interval from frontline employees and their peers working in private sector banks in India. The hypothesized relationships were ascertained using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.
The results revealed a negative association between the perception of organizational politics and OCBs targeted at co-workers (OCBI), organization (OCBO) and customers (OCBC), both directly and indirectly, via knowledge hiding. Additionally, the negative indirect effect of the perception of organizational politics on OCB facets, via knowledge hiding, is buffered for individuals with high levels of political skill.