Conceptual Challenge to Understand Envy: A Review

Envy is a universal aspect of everyday life. We only reluctantly acknowledge the inhibiting and destructive aspects of this emotion in the workplace. The author has examined the conceptual challenges associated with studying envy. This conceptual paper attempts to clarify the concept of envy for business research from a situational perspective. Thereto, it integrates research on envy from various scientific disciplines i.e., from philosophy, anthropology, evolutionary and social psychology to political thought and introduces a novel, conceptually distinction in the four notions of envy, proper, benign envy, spite, and jealousy. Considering the power and ubiquity of envy, envy implies hostility, we generally view it as a dangerous emotion, capable of disrupting interpersonal relations and triggering hostility, Thereby, it lays the groundwork for further analysis of the phenomenon of envy in business research.