Guilty or Proud? On the Ambivalent Experience of Being Envied

PhD Candidate Yoonhee Kim of the management department will be defending her dissertation titled, “Guilty or Proud? On the Ambivalent Experience of Being Envied,” on March 28, 2024.

The time and location of her dissertation defense is 10 a.m.–12 p.m., GHall 722.

Many thanks to Yoonhee’s dissertation committee:

• Committee Chair – Mary Mawritz – Associate Professor – Drexel University
• Committee Member: Lauren D’Innocenzo – Associate Professor – Drexel University
• Committee Member: Christian Resick – Professor – Drexel University
• Committee Member Jonathan Ziegert – Professor- Drexel University
• Committee Member: Lingtao Yu – Assistant Professor – University of British Columbia

Abstract:

This dissertation explores the dynamics of envy in the workplace, shifting the focus from the envious individual to the target of envy. Drawing upon cognitive, motivational, and relational theory (Lazarus, 1991), I theorize that the experience of being envied evokes dual affective reactions, feelings of guilt, and pride via an appraisal of the envied situation. Specifically, I propose that guilt arises when the situation is perceived as a threat, while pride emerges when it is appraised as a challenge. Additionally, this study explores how envied target’s narcissism and perceived team performance pressure interact with the situation appraisal, evoking discrete emotions of guilt and pride. These emotions, in turn, impact knowledge sharing and team identification.

To test my hypotheses, I conducted a between-subject design experiment (n=154) utilizing a team simulation in an undergraduate business course. My finding supports the indirect effect of envied experience on feelings of guilt via threat appraisal, but this effect was only significant when perceived performance pressure was high. Also, the envied experience did not elicit the feeling of pride through challenge appraisal. This dissertation provides a comprehensive view of envy by studying the perspective of the envied person and reconciles the conflicting findings in the literature by explaining when and how the envied target elicits discrete emotions and behaviors.