Two shades of green: Unravelling the composition, antecedents and consequences of Benign and Malicious Envy on Brand Attitude

Abstract

Malicious (benign) envy is conceptualized as a cluster of relatively high (low) envy and low (high) admiration. Three antecedents to envy-type are identified, namely, deservingness, relationship type and foul-play. These contextual factors differentially activate the assimilative (contrastive) emotion of admiration (envy) by influencing self-other congruence and significantly impact brand attitude.