* Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 533 833 6886 E-mail address: asiehmofrad@gau.edu.tr (A. Akhlaghimofrad) © 2021 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada doi: 10.5267/j.msl.2021.3.001 Management Science Letters 11 (2021) 2081–2090 Contents lists available at GrowingScience Management Science Letters homepage: www.GrowingScience.com/msl The association between interpersonal conflict, turnover intention and knowledge hiding: The me- diating role of employee cynicism and moderating role of emotional intelligence Asieh Akhlaghimofrad a* and Panteha Farmanesh b a Ph.D Candidate, Faculty of Business and Economics, Girne American University, Cyprus b Faculty of Business and Economics, Girne American University, Cyprus C H R O N I C L E A B S T R A C T Article history: Received: December 14, 2020 Received in revised format: January 29 2021 Accepted: March 2, 2021 Available online: March 2, 2021 Academia is prone to incivility and interpersonal conflict like any other workplace environment, although incivility in academia is manifested in behaviors such as undermining colleagues’ profes- sional standing, intelligence and authority; reprobating other’s accomplishments; and hiding knowledge from other faculty members. The autonomy, independence, academic freedom, and ten- ure in academia lead to a working environment (culture) with different “rules of engagement”, governed by the faculty members themselves. This study examines the impact of employee cyni- cism on faculty’s interpersonal conflict as a source of stress, which leads to undesirable organiza- tional behaviors, namely higher turnover intention and knowledge hiding behavior; furthermore, the role of faculty’s emotional intelligence as a moderator on the relationship between interpersonal conflict among faculty members and turnover intention has been investigated as a second objective of this study. The study uses a quantitative method of research and analysis, by collecting data from 200 faculty members in private higher education institutions. The study’s hypotheses were tested by Smart PLS3 (SEM) to conclude that: 1) interpersonal conflict directly influences turnover in- tention and knowledge hiding behavior; 2) employee cynicism has no mediating effect in the rela- tionship between interpersonal conflict, and turnover intention or knowledge hiding behavior; 3) Faculty’s emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between interpersonal conflict and turn- over intention. © 2021 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada Keywords: Interpersonal Conflict Knowledge Hiding Behavior Emotional Intelligence Employee Cynicism Turnover Intention 1. Introduction Different forms of bullying in higher education have been documented among various ranks of faculty members (Lester, 2013; Reio & Ghosh, 2009). Conflict is extensively pervasive in academia and inevitable in the intellectual community (McElveen et al., 2009). Various studies have discussed the nature and sources of conflict in academia. Clark et al. (2013) have mentioned the vast presence of incivility in academia among the faculty members who do not have any idea how their behavior might impact colleagues. Some researchers argue that conflict is what leads to an individual's growth of knowledge and is present in every educational system (Parker, 1997). The combination of factors presented in today’s academic culture such as aca- demic freedom, tenure distress, and more corporatized form of organizations, would lead to conflict between faculty members (Snyder-Yuly et al., 2020; Keashly & Neuman, 2010; Twale, 2017; Twale & De Luca, 2008). Nelson and Lambert (2001) mention “Academic Freedom” as the spirit of academic life. They continue with the doctrine of “Academic Freedom” which is stated to defend and protect academicians against discrimination with its four pillars, eventually being used to justify other non-academic behaviors such as intimidation, harassment, and other uncivil conducts. Keashly and Newman (2010) discuss the “Academic Freedom and Autonomy” in higher education climate, they claim that: