Silent Leadership and its Role in Promoting Knowledge Concealment in the Workplace: a Survey Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Employees at the College of Administration and Economics, University of Babylon

The research seeks to elucidate the relationship between the independent variable of silent leadership, encompassing its dimensions of avoidant silence, justification of aggressive behavior, silence coupled with uncertainty, and both internal and external influence, and the dependent variable of knowledge concealment in the workplace, which includes evasive concealment, justified concealment, and the feigning of ignorance. The study problem was articulated through the inquiry: (What is the relationship between quiet leadership and knowledge concealment in the workplace) concerning a sample of employees at the College of Administration and Economics / University of Babylon? The significance of the research was elucidated through the findings derived from the analysis of the viewpoints of the research sample, comprising 112 employee responses, and the broader community, totalling over 144 employees, who completed a questionnaire designed in accordance with a five-point Likert scale. We employed both descriptive and analytical statistical approaches with the (SPSS) and (AMOS) programs. Descriptive methods included the arithmetic mean and standard deviation, while analytical methods included linear regression and the correlation coefficient. A series of conclusions was drawn, the most notable being the identification of a positive and statistically significant correlation between a leader's avoidant silence and employees' knowledge concealment. This means that when workers believe a leader is evading responsibility by being quiet, it makes them more likely to hide information to protect themselves.