IMPACT OF SUPERVISOR - SUBORDINATE RELATIONSHIP ON ENVY, KNOWLEDGE SHARING, AND RELATIONAL CONFLICT AMONG EMPLOYEES: A PILOT STUDY

摘要

Envy has been relatively ignored in organizational behavior research. In this study, we focus on the impact of leader member exchange 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 and eventually will restrict their knowledge sharing and engage in relational conflict in the workplace. PLS based SEM was applied to the data derived from a sample of forty three software engineers. 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.