The Bittersweet Experience of Being Envied in a Consumption Context

Very limited research exists examining envy from the viewpoint of an envied consumer, rather than an envier. We address this gap by examining whether and how the experience of being envied actually affects consumers. We present three experiments. Study 1 investigates the ambivalent experience of being envied. Study 2 examines the effect of being envied in consumption contexts on consumer satisfaction, analyzing the combined ambivalent effects of positive and negative feelings. We also investigate the moderating role played by consumer coping responses to enviers (mitigation vs. exacerbation). Finally, Study 3 applies the hypothesized model in a specific context (i.e., a material possession context), focusing on adult consumers. Results show that (1) negative (e.g., guilt and anxiety) and positive (e.g., sense of wellbeing and prestige) feelings for being envied depend on the type of relationship between the envier and the envied, and the type of desired object; and (2) consumer satisfaction is driven by the combined ambivalent effects of positive and negative feelings, where coping responses by envied consumers moderate the effects of such feelings on satisfaction.