An International Perspective Concerning Impact Of Supervisor - Subordinate Relationship On Envy, Knowledge Sharing, And Relational Conflict Among Employees

Envy has been relatively ignored in organizational behavior research. In this study, we focus on the impact of supervisor subordinate relationship (LMX) on envy. In addition, we also investigate the consequences of envy in terms of employee knowledge sharing and relational conflict. Building on Affective events theory, we argue that employees who do not have a good relationship with their supervisors (low quality LMX) will exhibit higher levels of envy. As a result, they will restrict their knowledge sharing, and engage in relational conflict in the workplace. Partial least squares based structural equation modeling was applied to the data derived from a sample of one hundred sixty one software engineers working across various information technology firms in India. Results of the study provide support to three of the proposed hypotheses. This study contributes to the field by demonstrating the negative consequences of envy in the workplace. Practical implications of the study and some interesting avenues for future research are also discussed