The dark side of competitive psychological climate: exploring the role of workplace envy
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights
ISSN: 2514-9792
Article publication date: 12 August 2022
Issue publication date: 27 June 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Employees compete for organizational resources as scarcity of resources has always been a critical issue in organizations. Since every employee cannot get equal pay raises, promotions and other incentives, therefore, they start feeling competition in the workplace which may further lead to negative outcomes such as envy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the negative consequences of the competitive psychological climate in the hospitality industry. The authors further intend to familiarize with the envy reducing mechanism.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on social comparison theory our study intends to explain the role of competitive psychological climate in workplaces. The authors utilized an exploratory qualitative research approach and surveyed through semi-structured interviews of the hospitality professionals working in the star hotels in Pakistan.
Findings
The authors’ findings reveal that there is a huge psychological competitive climate in the hotel industry in Pakistan. The psychological competitive climate leads to workplace envy among workers which further results in poor employee performance. The authors further found the role of personality traits in affecting employees' envious feelings.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the fact that this study only examined the star-category hotels in Pakistan and its findings may not be representative of the whole hospitality industry, it offers a clear illustration of the effect that competitive climate can have on individuals in the form of workplace envy.
Originality/value
The authors examined the dark side of the competitive climate in the hospitality industry which was overlooked in the literature. The study highlights key research implications and sets the future agenda for research in the hospitality industry.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research work is part of Ph.D. thesis of the corresponding author (Muhammad Hamid Murtza) and will be submitted to the Islamia University of Bahawalpur as a publication requirement of the degree.
Citation
Murtza, M.H. and Rasheed, M.I. (2023), "The dark side of competitive psychological climate: exploring the role of workplace envy", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 1400-1418. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-03-2022-0097
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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