International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255

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International Journal of Information Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt

Envy on social media: The good, the bad and the ugly
Jiao Wu a, *, Mark Srite b
a
Department of Operations Management and Information Systems (OM&IS), College of Business, Northern Illinois University, United States
b
MIS at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Observing the positive aspects of others’ lives on social media (SM) can bring about envy among users. Drawing
Social media use from social comparison and technology acceptance theories, this study develops a research model to explain how
Facebook envy occurs and impacts SM users’ behavior. In this work, we conducted two studies across three different SM
Twitter
settings to investigate two types of envy, benign and malicious envy. The results show that malicious envy is
Malicious envy
Benign envy
negatively related to the dependent variable of SM use intention while benign envy facilitates it. The findings
provide many valuable contributions to both information systems (IS) academia and industry. This study
identifies the unique SM factors intertwining with envy. Moreover, this work helps SM users and practitioners be
aware of the potential envy issue on SM so they can take effective actions to enhance SM use.

1. Introduction that envy also serves as a source of self-improvement and

Social media (SM) have been a pervasive product of technology for
years, providing users a variety of benefits, such as reinforcing friend­
ships, fostering interaction, and access to information (Boyd, 2007).
However, SM usage also brings social and esthetic concerns. People
share their happiness online when they have accomplished challenging
tasks, gone to exotic places, acquired new possessions, etc. They believe
that by posting this kind of socially desirable information on SM, they
can present to other people a better image of themselves (Mehdizadeh,
2010). However, since SM enables users to carefully select and craft
their positive self-presentation (Zhao et al., 2008), the shared informa­
tion may not reflect the reality of users. When audiences view this in­
formation, they may spontaneously compare their situation with what
has been posted; if the viewers perceive themselves to be lacking in the
comparison, they could experience envy or in negative self-evaluations.
Envy influences human behavior. A large variety of human behaviors
and phenomena can be explained by envy-related theories. It has
attracted attention in different research areas, including social psy­
chology, philosophy, anthropology, business, and so on (Graf, 2010).
However, the results of previous studies on envy have been inconsistent.
Some studies claim that envy could result in unfavorable consequences.
For instance, Vecchio found that envy harms the performance of em­
ployees in a workspace and may lead to employees quitting their jobs
(Vecchio, 2000). Also, information systems (IS) researchers claim that
since envy increases avoidance behaviors; as a result, it leads to IT
switch intentions (Lim & Yang, 2015). However, other studies found
self-enhancement; as a result, it may produce positive outcomes. For
example, van de Ven, Zeelenberg, and Pieters (2009) showed that envy
made students study longer and improved academic performance (van
de Ven et al., 2009v). In the SM context, for female SM users in partic­
ular, thin-ideal or fit-ideal content, would arouse body-related envy and
increase exercise motivation for appearance-related goals (Lewallen &
Behm-Morawitz, 2016).
In summary, there are two types of envy, malicious envy and benign
envy (Lange & Crusius, 2015; Smallets et al., 2016). Malicious envy is
elicited when the envier feels depressed and wants to bring down the
envied person who is enjoying a better position. In contrast, benign envy
describes other situations when someone is motivated to improve
themselves after experiencing envy. As discussed previously, there are
different behaviors that malicious and benign envy are associated with.
Envy is ubiquitous, and it is intensified in the SM context, and as a
result, impacts human behavior and well-being. This topic has received
significant attention in the IS literature. However, there remain gaps to
be explored and filled. First, many previous works conceptualize envy as
a single construct, and some of the others focus on either malicious envy
or benign envy, respectively (Krasnova et al., 2015; Lim & Yang, 2015;
Liu et al., 2019). However, there is a lack of studies that examine both
types of envy in the same SM scenario. It is very important to understand
how the different types of envy are induced through which processes.
Second, the majority of prior research aims at the relationship between
SM envy and users’ well-being or behavior; however, the impacts of
online envy on online behavior, such as IS use or use intention haven’t

* Corresponding author.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102255
Received 31 December 2019; Received in revised form 6 October 2020; Accepted 7 October 2020
Available online 26 October 2020
0268-4012/Published by Elsevier Ltd.
J. Wu and M. Srite
been thoroughly discovered (Åberg et al., 2020; Arnocky et al., 2016;
Chae, 2018); SM managers and practitioners would find the current
study valuable. Third, benign envy has been studied, particularly among
females, within the appearance-related SM contexts (Arnocky et al.,
2016; Lewallen & Behm-Morawitz, 2016). It is unknown whether benign
envy is prevalent among all the SM users across different circumstances.
Fourth, prior studies usually collect data from specific SM platforms,
such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and so on (Char­
oensukmongkol, 2018; Kim, 2018; Lewallen & Behm-Morawitz, 2016;
Meier & Schäfer, 2018). As a result, the findings could encounter
generalization issues.
We address these gaps in the current work. First, we propose a
research model that integrates both malicious envy and benign envy
constructs. Second, this work focuses on envy’s impact on IT usage; the
model illustrates how the two types of envy interplay with each other to
influence IT use intentions. Third, the research model, with hypotheses,
was verified among subjects, including both males and females and the
results show that benign envy exists in non-appearance related contexts.
Last but not least, different from extant work that was only testing hy­
potheses in a single SM setting, we conducted two studies involving
three settings. In the first study, the data were collected from general SM
users, and the results confirm the impacts of both types of envy on SM
use. Then in the follow-up study, we further tested the research model
among Facebook and Twitter users. The results indicate that different
types of envy would exert distinct influences on diversified SM
platforms.
The findings of the current work have valuable implications for both
research and practice. First, our work fills existing gaps as discussed
previously. To be specific, this study illustrates how two types of online
envy, malicious and benign envy are triggered in the SM context.
Although malicious envy is negatively associated with intention to use,
benign envy, surprisingly, is an IT use facilitator. Moreover, the research
model is tested across three different SM settings. The detailed and
thorough analysis among general SM, Facebook, and Twitter users
suggests that a particular type of envy could be a more salient factor than
the other. The work will benefit SM users to be aware of the potential
problem and also help IT providers take actions to mitigate malicious
envy and enhance benign envy.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. We first describe
the theoretical background in the section of the theoretical background.
We use social comparison theory (Schoeck, 1969; Silver & Sabini,
1978b; van de Ven et al., 2009v) and envy related extant literature as the
foundation for the research model. Based on the theory, we argue that
SM users will experience two types of envy (benign and malicious). The
different types of envy have distinct impacts on SM use intentions.
Detailed hypotheses and arguments are developed and specified in the
section of hypothesis development. The research model is then
described and justified. In the section of the research methodology, we
present the research method and data analysis. Finally, this work con­
cludes with a discussion of results, limitations, contributions to theory
and practice, limitations, future directions, and conclusions.
2. Theoretical background
2.1. Defining envy
Envy can be a process that occurs when a person lacks another’s
superior quality, achievement, or possession. Envy occurs when this
shortcoming exists in a self-relevant context. The envier either desires
this unattained characteristic or object, or wishes it would be denied to
others. Envy also can be a feeling. As reported by Smith and Kim (2007),
envy is a blend of unpleasant and painful feelings characterized by
inferiority, hostility, and resentment caused by comparison with others
who possess something the envier desires. In summary, envy is a social
scientific term; it can be defined as a pattern of thoughts, emotions, and
behaviors that result from the perceived loss of social standing in
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International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255
response to others’ obtaining outcomes that are personally desired
(Vecchio, 2005).
2.2. Upward social comparison with envy
Envy occurs universally, across different cultures and contexts; the
upward social comparison is a prerequisite of envy (Schoeck, 1969).
Individuals naturally compare themselves with others (Festinger, 1954;
Taylor & Lobel, 1989). The difference between others and themselves is
a discrepancy. When a discrepancy exists, there will be a tendency to
change one’s own position so as to move closer to the position of the
other. As a result, these social comparisons can be upward or downward.
An upward comparison represents a positive outcome (advantage or
superiority) for the other person, whereas a downward comparison
represents a negative outcome (disadvantage or inferiority) for the other
(Taylor & Lobel, 1989). For example, noticing that a colleague gets a
promotion when we don’t would be categorized as an upward social
comparison; however, we are in a better position in a downward com­
parison when we win a scholarship, but others don’t. Previous research
has explored the relationship between negative affective reactions and
upward comparisons, as well as the relationship between positive af­
fective reactions and downward comparisons. The conclusion is that
envy is an unfavorable emotion resulting from upward comparisons
(Smith, 2000). Therefore, an upward social comparison is one of the
most important prerequisites of envy.
2.3. Malicious envy and benign envy
According to literature, there are two types of envy, malicious and
benign (van de Ven et al., 2009v; van de Ven et al., 2011v). The first type
of envy is malicious envy, which is a destructive form aimed at dero­
gating or pulling down the envied person (Smith & Kim, 2007). It de­
scribes a situation in which when people make an upward comparison
with advantaged others, they feel inferior. The envious people may have
malicious thoughts with the intention of wishing others to fail or even
suffer an injury. The second type, benign envy, is regarded as a
non-malicious form aiming at improving one’s own situation (van de
Ven et al., 2009v). This concept refers to a situation in which, when
individuals realize their disadvantage or inferiority in comparison to
others, they are inspired to undertake self-improvement (Graf, 2010).
Malicious and benign envy differ in several aspects. In terms of moti­
vation, malicious enviers seek to hold back the superior other, but
benign enviers aspire to improve one’s own situation (van de Ven et al.,
2012v). In terms of feelings, malicious envy involves unsavory emo­
tions, but benign envy does not (D’Arms, 2016). In terms of actions,
benign envy refers to the constructive reactions of people who perceive
themselves as inferior and consequently develop a desire to eliminate
this discrepancy by improving their own position (Graf, 2010). On the
other hand, people who are maliciously envious would prefer not to
associate with the advantaged others (Schoeck, 1969).
2.4. Dispositional envy
According to Schoeck (1969), envy is an emotion, and it is also a
psychological phenomenon; there are important individual differences
in the tendency to feel it. Researchers developed dispositional envy
scales (DES) to measure an individual’s (malicious) envy tendencies;
The DES includes measures of sense of self inferiority and invidious ill
will (Smith et al., 1999). In a recent study, researchers further developed
Benign and Malicious Envy Scales (BeMaS) to differentiate the two
distinct types (Lange & Crusius, 2015). To summarize, an individual’s
self inferiority measures are important for both types of envy, but ill will
relevant beliefs are essential measures for distinguishing benign or
malicious envy.
In line with the previous discussion, perceived control, which is more
related to a sense of inferiority and perceived deservingness, which is
J. Wu and M. Srite
more relevant to justify the ill-will beliefs, are regarded as two salient
indicators of envy. First, perceived control refers to the perceived ability
to control or change the status of an event. Tesser suggests that envy
with negative emotions would arise when a person perceives little op­
portunity to eliminate the gap in comparison with superior others
(Tesser, 1991). It describes a situation in which envy could become
hostile and that people have no opportunity to act constructively. Sec­
ond, people will believe the outcome is deserved if they perceive a fit
between the situation and the outcome; otherwise, it is not. Research
describes this personal perception as deservingness (Feather, 1999).
Perceived deservingness of an outcome is important in an envy context
because it provides information as to which kind of envy would be eli­
cited. Comparisons with those who deserve the advantage will elicit
benign envy (van de Ven et al., 2012v).
Although the literature suggests that an individual’s psychological
and other dispositional characteristics could influence their tendency to
experience envy (Schoeck, 1969), in the current work, we focus on the
ubiquitous phenomenon, that is the massive quantities of the
envy-inducing information on SM. We stress the impact of SM but not
the individual traits or differences. we argue that upward social com­
parison pervades on SM among SM audiences. As a result, it is a salient
factor that is worth investigating.
2.5. Consequences of envy
Envy, especially malicious envy, has been associated with various
negative outcomes, ranging from feelings of hostility, inferiority (Parrott
& Smith, 1993), anxiety, anger, and resentment (Salovey & Rodin,
1984), to loosening group cohesiveness and lowering satisfaction (Duffy
& Shaw, 2000), causing dissatisfaction with life (Krasnova et al., 2013),
and so on. The consequences of malicious envy can be an emotional or
affective response. Schaubroeck and Lam (2004) state that when people
envy another who gets a promotion at work, they may feel their
self-image threatened. More specifically, malicious envy may arouse an
intensely painful feeling and make one feel thrown back on oneself in
self-pity (Schoeck, 1969). Therefore, it is acknowledged that malicious
envy provokes unfavorable emotions of frustration, inferiority, and
depression. Some other studies explored the behavioral responses.
Brigham, Kelso, Jackson, and Smith (1997) found that participants’
envy enhances “schadenfreude” regardless of the degree to which others
deserved their misfortune. Sometimes, envy even reduces people’s
sympathy toward others when they are comparatively in a lower social
position. Another study indicated that envy diminishes overall group
effectiveness at work, and it was associated with social loafing (Duffy &
Shaw, 2000). In the SM environment, envy, especially on Facebook, has
drawn more attention recently. Researchers found that Facebook envy
mediates the relation between passively following others on Facebook
and life dissatisfaction (Krasnova et al., 2013). Differently, another
study shows that after indulging in envy, college students became more
engaged in online social activities because they wanted to show their
lives were as happy as those of others (Krasnova et al., 2015). More,
users who regard their social attractiveness as inferior compared with
others would feel subservient and eclipsed (Pera, 2017). Females may
even be negatively affected by SM influencers’ glamorous lives (Chae,
2018). In summary, malicious envy is generally associated with negative
emotional and behavioral consequences. However, researchers expect to
learn through which processes that envy is effected (Appel et al., 2016).
Compared to the negative associations of malicious envy, benign
envy is more positive and proactive. Benign envy describes the reaction
of people who consider themselves inferior in comparison to others, and
who, as a result, develop a desire to reduce this discrepancy through self-
improvement (van de Ven et al., 2009v, 2011). Some empirical research
has also supported benign envy’s positive impact on human behavior.
Participants performed better after they recalled being benignly envious
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International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255
than after they recalled other emotional experiences (van de Ven et al.,
2011v). The favorable aspect of benign envy is that it motivates people
to engage in more moral behaviors (Polman & Ruttan, 2012). Although
benign envy is less stressed than malicious envy in literature, it arouses a
great attention in the SM field. For example, researchers find that
experience sharing on SM could drive millennials’ tourism consumption
through benign envy (Liu et al., 2019). Also, with the popularity of vi­
sual content based SM, researchers argue that positive experience of
inspiration could be resulting from benign envy on Instagram (Meier &
Schäfer, 2018). Many recent studies focus on benign envy among fe­
males. For example, researchers find that unfavorable social comparison
couldmotivate women to conduct appearance enhancement behavior
through benign envy (Arnocky et al., 2016). Similarly, in the SM
context, findings suggest that individuals who follow more fitness
boards on Pinterest (another visual content SM platform) would engage
in extreme weight-loss behaviors; the body-related envy and appearance
contexts were more salient for women (Lewallen & Behm-Morawitz,
2016). In short, benign envy is generally associated with positive or
proactive emotional and behavioral outcomes.
In conclusion, malicious envy and benign envy are different, and
they will lead to distinct emotional and behavioral outcomes offline and
online.
2.6. Perceived enjoyment and perceived enhancement
Considering the differences between malicious and benign envy, we
believe that they will influence SM users’ beliefs and consequent IS use
intention distinctly. In the current work, we take perceived enjoyment
and perceived enhancement as individual beliefs into consideration.
First, the term of perceived enjoyment is originally developed in psy­
chology literature. Flow theory illustrates a state in which people are
deeply engaged; during flow, individuals are more likely to experience
deep enjoyment (Csikszentmihalyi, 2008). Thus, the perception of
enjoyment has been introduced and can be applied to IS adoption
research. It has been defined as the extent to which the behavior/activity
of using a specific system is perceived to be enjoyable. This belief will
result in system use intentions (Davis et al., 1992). Moreover, other
researchers concluded a positive relationship between the frequency of
SM use and ease of use, enjoyment, and perceived usefulness (Sago,
2013). Being consistent with these previous work, a recent study
confirmed that hedonic relevant motivations play an important role in
shaping a user’s decision to use or reject a new product or application
(Alalwan, 2020). In the current study, considering the unfavorable
emotions resulting from envy, we believe that envy will exert an effect
on user’s hedonic relevant perceptions, such as perceived enjoyment, as
well as the consequent use intention. Second, self-enhancement is
described as one’s motive to keep positive self-esteem. Since the motive
to evaluate the self positively is an important drive in human beings
(Sherman & Cohen, 2006; Tesser & Collins, 1988), Allport (1937) sug­
gests that “a person’s most coveted experience is the enhancement of his
self-esteem” (p. 169). Enhancement and social comparison are closely
related to each other, especially, as benign envy arouses motivations to
improve self-positions (Smallets et al., 2016; van de Ven et al., 2009v).
Extant studies indicated that self-enhancement is an important factor in
SM use. For example, some researchers found a positive relationship
between SM usage and business performance enhancement (Quinton &
Wilson, 2016). Moreover, self-enhancement was also identified as a
motivation for specific online behavior. Researchers suggested that
self-enhancement related values would increase the likelihood of
sharing online ads (Taylor et al., 2012). Therefore, in the current work,
we predict that online envy would arouse self-enhancement as a
consequent emotion. More detailed information and justification are
provided in the section of the research model and hypotheses.
J. Wu and M. Srite
Fig. 1. Two-Type Envy SM Use Model.
3. Research model and hypotheses
3.1. Research model
We propose a research model (Fig. 1). The purpose is to explain the
relations between the two types of envy and SM use intention. When SM
users access their connections on SM, they learn of others’ positive in­
formation, such as traveling, shopping, and achievement experience.
They may conduct a form of social comparison with others. If the
comparison is upward, malicious envy and/or benign envy will be
activated. Then, these two types of envy will affect users’ perceived
enjoyment and perceived enhancement beliefs, which in turn, influence
SM use intention. Detailed hypotheses and accompanying arguments are
discussed in the following section (detailed constructs and definitions
are listed in Appendix Table A1).
3.2. Hypothesis development
The upward social comparison is defined as the degree to which
people believe that others are superior and possess advantages in an area
they value (Smith & Kim, 2007). Envy occurs when a person lacks an­
other’s superior quality, achievement, or possession, and envy manifests
when this shortcoming exists in a domain that is self-definitional
(Salovey & Rodin, 1984). Envy is prevalent in SM (Krasnova et al.,
2013). Users are immersed with numerous amounts of information
related to positive aspects of the others’ lives. Especially when the
viewers are struggling with their own lives, they are more likely to make
an upward social comparison. Since negative or esteem-diminishing
information about oneself may promote feelings of social comparison
envy (Salovey & Rodin, 1984; Smith, 2000), the upward social com­
parison will lead to unfavorable consequences.
According to a previous study, researchers observed that social
comparison and consequent envy are common among elementary school
children when a failure occurs in which another child is superior in some
aspect or achieves something that is desired by the envious child (Bers &
Rodin, 1984). Similarly, Chan and Sengupta (2013) found that when
participants observe that another’s personality is flattered and compli­
mented, they will automatically conduct an upward social comparison
with the flattery. This produces an implicit negative reaction rooted in
the unpleasant sensation of envy. More, in a recent Facebook study,
researchers argue that co-occurrence of envy and depression should
frequently occur in an SM context. It is because SM networks will allow
for easy impression management and provide a high comparison stan­
dard. As a result, depressed participants are envious after seeing another
person’s attractive profile (Appel et al., 2015). In summary, the litera­
ture suggests that upward social comparison facilitates people to iden­
tify the discrepancy between superior others and the inferior self.
Especially, when people hold ill-will to the superior others, malicious
envy is the outcome. Thus, we hypothesize:
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Hypothesis 1. Upward social comparison is positively related to malicious
envy.
Van de Ven et al. (2009) stated that both malicious envy and benign
envy contain explicit upward social comparison. Festinger (1954)
further suggested that since people strive to be more capable than their
current level of performance and ability, they prefer to compare them­
selves to others whose performance or abilities are slightly better. As a
result, an upward social comparison will encourage people to improve
themselves, so they will be more capable and achieve a better position.
According to literature, cancer patients prefer to have an affiliation with
more fortunate others. These successful copiers and long-term survivors
act as role models, on whom cancer patients could employ their own
efforts to survive (Taylor & Dakof, 1988). These findings suggest that by
comparing with superior others, people will feel inspired and optimistic.
In this vein, researchers argue that the positive side of social comparison
on SM is that benign envy drives inspiration among Instagram users
(Meier & Schäfer, 2018). In other words, the upward social comparisons
will elicit benign envy when people stay motivated.
Therefore, the upward social comparison would also serve as an in­
dicator of benign envy. In such a situation, one could acknowledge the
difference disclosed from an upward comparison but would not envy
maliciously (Silver & Sabini, 1978a). In this case, the recognition of
something valuable in the other person would inspire a modicum of
admiring goodwill. This features the benign form of envy. Benign envy
brings about constructive, emulative actions rather than ill will and
other possible destructive consequences (Smith & Kim, 2007). It is
reasonable to consider that when one’s position is lowered by the suc­
cess of another person, one could be inspired to improve one’s situation,
and benign envy occurs. Thus, we hypothesize:
Hypothesis 2. Upward social comparison is positively related to benign
envy.
Envy stems from an upward social comparison. The discrepancy from
the comparison can be reduced by minimizing the gap between the
lower-position self and the higher-position other. This can be achieved
by dragging the other down to one’s own lower position, or moving
oneself up to the higher level of the other. These directions feature two
types of envy, malicious or destructive envy and benign or constructive
envy (van de Ven et al., 2009v). One core aspect to differentiate these
two is based on hostility. While benign envy is regarded as free of hos­
tility, malicious envy is not (Smith & Kim, 2007; van de Ven et al.,
2009v). A few empirical studies are supporting this argument. For
example, in a workplace environment, some scholars posited a rela­
tionship between malicious envy and subsequent acts of aggression and
sabotage (Baron & Neuman, 1996). However, benign envy, triggered by
upward social comparison, was associated with subsequent perfor­
mance, especially when people thought such self-improvement was
attainable (van de Ven et al., 2011v). In conclusion, to some extent,
malicious envy is the opposite of benign envy.
J. Wu and M. Srite
What’s more, some important factors, such as perceived control and
perceived deservingness, are also specified to distinguish these two
types of envy. First, while a high-level of perceived control is related to
benign envy, a low-level of it is associated with malicious envy (van de
Ven et al., 2012v). Further, Rawls (1999) suggested that hostile envy
would occur when people have no opportunity to act constructively. In
other words, malicious envy would be stronger for those who believe
they cannot improve their current situation. To be specific, if one finds
that it is impossible to reach or get the other’s position, one will be more
likely to experience malicious envy. Differently, if enviers believe that
the distance between themselves and others could be managed or
minimized by improving their own abilities, they will be more likely to
be inspired and motived to reach a higher position. The envy then turns
to benign. Second, perceived deservingness could also predict different
types of envy. Situations in which another’s achievement, position, or
possession is regarded as underserved will elicit malicious envy, but
situations in which another’s superiority is deservedly better off are
more likely to elicit benign envy (van de Ven et al., 2012v). As argued,
an individual’s subjective injustice is related to malicious envy emo­
tions, such as depressed or hostile feelings (Smith et al., 1994).
Contrarily, some other study suggested that if an advantage of another
person was justified, then the concerned subject would not have a
negative attitude toward the other’s better fortune (Ben-Ze’ev, 1990).
Along with these findings, we believe that to some extent, malicious
envy and benign envy are opposite to each other. Thus, we hypothesize:
Hypothesis 3. Malicious envy is negatively related to benign envy.
Malicious envy is considered as one of the negative, pervasive,
common human emotions caused by affective reactions to the advan­
tages of others (Tesser & Collins, 1988). As concluded by researchers,
envy is ubiquitous, unpleasant, and part of human nature across cultures
(Foster et al., 1972; Schoeck, 1969). To be specific, malicious envy is
associated with a series of negative but complex feelings of inferiority,
hostility, and resentment, and it involves ill-will and possibly leads to
destructive consequences (Smith & Kim, 2007).
As argued, malicious envy embraces unfavorable emotional stands,
such as disappointment over other’s success and a negative evaluation of
one’s self-inferior position (Ben-Ze’ev, 1990). As malicious envy occurs,
the envious people will experience a sense of low self-esteem, anxiety,
and frustration. It is also found that malicious enviers would become less
cooperative towards the envied colleagues when the others’ advantages
seem not to be deserved (Parks et al., 2002).
In the SM context, viewing the success stories of the others threatens
the envious subjects’ well-being (Krasnova et al., 2015). It is possible to
resolve this frustrating experience of malicious envy by limiting them­
selves from connecting with their online acquaintances. However, since
the SM users are voluntarily immersed in the massive amount of others’
positive information, pictures, and messages, the painful feelings will be
accumulated and cannot be lessened. As a result, these uncomfortable
thoughts and emotions tend to hinder the enjoyment of malicious en­
viers’ online activities. In a Facebook study, 29.6 % of respondents
mentioned that online envy made them feel frustrated and exhausted
(Krasnova et al., 2013). Another recent study also found that the SM
envy maintains a significant association with switch intention as envious
SM users may want to avoid the superior others (Lim & Yang, 2015). It
can be inferred that, since online malicious envy involves unpleasant
feelings, the envious users would perceive the SM experience as bitter
and painful. As a result, malicious envy reduces perceived joyfulness.
Thus, we hypothesize:
Hypothesis 4. Malicious envy is negatively related to perceived
enjoyment.
Originally self-enhancement was defined as a motive that refers to
people’s desire to enhance their self-positivity or decrease their self-
negativity (Sedikides & Strube, 1995). But since we are investigating
individual behaviors in the SM context, we adapt it as a perceived
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International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255
enhancement, which is defined as the extent to which the activity of
using technology is perceived to enhance one’s own ability.
It is reasoned that envy is associated with a competitive factor
because the enviers will focus on their own comparatively inferior po­
sitions (Ben-Ze’ev, 1990). Benign envy would arouse a strong uplifting
motivation to improve individuals’ own situation. This will encourage
enviers to increase their moral behaviors by emulating the superior
others (Polman & Ruttan, 2012). In this vein, after examining the values
of others and evaluating the possibility for self-improvement, the success
of others turns to be a positive signal for benign enviers. As researchers
have suggested, in response to social information, envy is associated
with increased reactive self-enhancement (Krasnova et al., 2015). Ac­
cording to an empirical study, participants who had recalled an instance
of benign envy reported that they had become motivated to improve
their own situation (van de Ven et al., 2012v). A similar conclusion was
reached in that benign envy could foster a motivational force that pro­
pels people to work harder and obtain what others already have (Foster
et al., 1972). Moreover, in the sense of “keeping-up-with-the-Joneses”,
benign-envy customers are willing to pay more for the envy-eliciting
products. As a result, the value of products gets increased (van de Ven
et al., 2010v). In the SM context, some studies focus on the impacts of
social comparison and benign envy on females’ self-enhancement be­
haviors, although the envy-inducing content is mainly on
appearance-related images or videos (Arnocky et al., 2016; Kim, 2018;
Lewallen & Behm-Morawitz, 2016). In conclusion, benign envy makes
people feel motivated and take action for self-improvement. Thus, we
hypothesize:
Hypothesis 5. Benign envy is positively related to perceived enhancement.
As we have discussed previously, enhancement motivation is one of
the most important features related to benign envy (van de Ven et al.,
2009v, 2012; Wooten et al., 2011). Crusius and Lange argued that
within benign envy, the person’s cognitive system would be geared to­
ward opportunities to level oneself up (Crusius & Lange, 2014). The
others’ good deeds will be regarded as a positive and favorable portent
for the benign enviers that they will achieve a similar success shortly. It
is one of the desirable aspects that benign envy will inspire one to reach
new heights of achievement. In the SM context, the better others’ in­
formation would provide valuable information (e.g., wealth to obtain,
success to achieve, knowledge to learn, and goals to pursue) that is
necessary for the benign enviers to level up self-position.
As reasoned in earlier studies, acquiring evaluative information
about relevant others in an achievement-oriented situation would
facilitate individuals’ goal pursuits and help them successfully navigate
in their own social environment (Foster et al., 1972). In other words,
benign enviers care more about reaching these desirable outcomes. With
tons of positive information relating to others, benign envious users will
be able to project a beautiful and successful future about themselves. In
this vein, this online experience turns out to be enjoyable.
Moreover, to enhance their own abilities, benign enviers will look
for informative methods for improvement. If this informative de­
mand could be fulfilled by the utilitarian functions of SM (e.g.,
picture editing, advertisements, and recommendation), possibly,
people would generate some favorable attitudes and beliefs to­
wards SM. Thus, we hypothesize that perceived enhancement
serves as a stimulus and leads to increased enjoyment. Hypothesis
6. Perceived enhancement is positively related to perceived enjoyment.
The original Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and its de­
rivatives were developed for, and validated in, the context of utilitarian
systems in a professional environment. However, SM are also used
outside a work setting and could be experienced differently. According
to a previous SM study, researchers identified that entertainment, which
is defined as using SM to provide enjoyment is one of the main reasons to
use SM (Lin, Hsi-Peng, 2011). In the current context, we consider SM
from both utilitarian and hedonic orientations.
J. Wu and M. Srite
Users might use SM for leisure and recreation. In this vein, perceived
enjoyment is considered to be one of the most important factors of SM use
intentions (Kim, 2011; Leng et al., 2011; Zhou et al., 2010). Kim
demonstrated that perceived enjoyment was positively related to
continued SM use (Kim, 2011). By analyzing empirical data from a South
Korea Social Networking Site, Kim concluded that perceived enjoyment
had a significant influence on continuance use behaviors. In Leng et al.’s
study, it was found that compared with other constructs in the classic
TAM, perceived enjoyment was a more salient factor for IS adoption in the
context of SM (Leng et al., 2011). Consistent with these works, Zhou et al.
also reported that flow, including intrinsic enjoyment, positively affected
SM loyalty (Zhou et al., 2010). Moreover, a recent study confirms that
perceived enjoyment is one the the main enblers of SM continuance
intention (Sullivan & Koh, 2019) In summary, extant studies on SM have
confirmed the influencing role of perceived enjoyment in IS use (Kim,
2011; Leng et al., 2011; Sullivan & Koh, 2019; Zhou et al., 2010).
It is generally acknowledged that SM provide people a platform for
having fun, such as looking for people who share a common hobby,
tracking updated information on interesting topics, communi­
cating with online friends, updating one’s own profile, and so on.
Users could creatively exploit SM’s applications and functional
features for multiple social purposes. In the current study, as dis­
cussed earlier, although malicious envy could negatively affect
perceived enjoyment, perceived enjoyment itself is positively
associated with IS intention to use. When people believe that the
use of SM is enjoyable or pleasant, they will be more likely to have
a strong use intention. Therefore, we hypothesize:Hypothesis 7.
Perceived enjoyment is positively related to intention to use SM.
According to literature, perceived benefits (usefulness and perceived
enjoyment) are influential in the continued use of SM (Lin & Lu, 2011;
Papadimitriou, 2012). SM applications permit observation of the posi­
tive information others post as texts, pictures, videos, and so on. Some
researchers stated that people are fundamentally motivated to enhance
and protect their self-worth (Hepper et al., 2013). Therefore, if SM users
are likely to engage in self-enhancing illusions, they will orient them­
selves to minimize negative feedbacks and maximize positive feedbacks
on SM. For instance, self-improvement interests may prompt users to
keep in touch with others who are superior. As a result, benign-envy
users would be more willing to access others’ updates. Similarly, Kor­
gaonkar and Wolin (1999) suggested that participants strongly agreed
with the statement that their usage of the web is for acquiring useful
information quickly and easily. As seeking out information or
self-education is one of the predictors for SM usage (Papacharissi &
Rubin, 2000), the previous findings can be extended to SM contexts. If
SM can provide people with the information that they need and fulfill
their self-improvement demands, they would be more likely to use SM.
Therefore, we suggest that self-enhancement with information needs
will drive SM use intention.
Additionally, SM are empowered with multiple services to augment
user engagement and satisfaction. For example, recommendation tech­
nology is one of the most popular IT widgets, providing friends and
information recommendation services (Lee et al., 2010). These functions
would spur users to look for more accurate information about their
friends as well as topic-based knowledge to improve themselves. Thus,
we hypothesize:
Hypothesis 8. Perceived enhancement is positively related to intention to
use SM.
4. Research methodology
4.1. Data collection
We designed a multi-media presentation with envy-eliciting images
and texts abstracted from multiple SM sites. The screenshots of the
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International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255
multi-media presentation are presented in the Appendix. The purpose of
this administration was to recall participants’ SM envy experience. We
also created an online survey using a web-based survey instrument
(Powered by Qualtrics). This instrument allows researchers to distribute
questionnaires, collect data, and produce reports.
We conducted a pilot study to identify the most popular SM sites for
our participant group. We recruited 65 students and surveyed them
about their most commonly used SM. According to the responses, 60
students used Facebook (92.3 %), 37 students used Twitter (56.9 %), 32
students used LinkedIn (49.2 %), 27 students used Instagram (41.5 %),
15 students used Google Plus+(23.1 %), 14 students used Pinterest (21.5
%), and for the rest of the SM sites, they only attracted 1 or 2 users. Based
on the pilot test, we modified survey items and examined the proposed
research model in the two main studies.
The purpose of Study 1 was to investigate whether the proposed
research model works in a general SM setting. We collected data from a
mid-western university. The participants were undergraduate in busi­
ness majors from an intro-level IS course. By taking the survey, they
could earn 1% extra credit for that course. In the procedure, we first
surveyed their general background information, including age, gender,
and educational level. Then, we showed the students some envy-
inducing examples which were pictures and texts we collected from a
variety of SM sites. The examples were related to having a good vacation
in exotic places, winning a trophy, receiving high-end fashion presents,
and so on. Then we requested the participants to recall their own epi­
sodes of SM envy and complete the survey, focusing on envy opinions
and behaviors. In total, we received 109 usable data points. 55 % of the
respondents were male, and 45 % of them were female. The age ranged
from 20 to 34, and the age group below 24 years old accounted for the
largest portion, 73.4 %.
We also conducted data collection for Study 2. Considering the users’
behavior and engagement could vary depending on the different types of
SM platforms, it would be important for us to understand this variability.
These findings can provide practical insights on how to allocate re­
sources across SM platforms. A Pew Research Center’s Internet&
American Life Project shows that 67 % of Internet users used Facebook
and 16 % of Internet users used Twitter while 15 % of them used Pin­
terest and 13 % of them used Instagram between 2012–2013 (Duggan &
Brenner, 2013). These statistics were consistent with our pilot test in
that Facebook and Twitter were two of the most popular SM platforms at
that time when we collected data from our college student population.
Also, Facebook and Twitter were two SM platforms that were typically
compared and contrasted by IS researchers to investigate user-generated
content and relevant behaviors on SM. For example, researchers found
that differences of personality were closely related to a preference for
Facebook or Twitter as well as a series of online behaviors (Hughes et al.,
2012). Researchers also stated that studying Twitter compared to other
social media platforms could be very interesting research (Blank, 2017).
In line with the previous work, we consider the platform differences
could impact online envy and user behavior. To achieve a complete and
thorough understanding, in Study 2, we extended the first study. To be
specific, we explored and compared envy on two of the most popular SM
platforms: Facebook and Twitter.
Study 2 was administrated among Facebook and Twitter users,
respectively. We used a similar data collection procedure and tested the
proposed model in these two specific contexts. In total, we collected 376
usable data points (male: N = 234, 62.5 %; female: N = 142, 37.5 %),
including 226 data points for Facebook (male: N = 134, 59.3 %; female:
N = 92, 40.7 %) and 150 for Twitter (male: N = 100, 66.7 %; female: N =
50, 33.3 %). Similar to Study 1, the age varied from 20 to 34. 84 % of the
participants were below 24 years old.
4.1.1. Measurement development
We used previously validated scales to measure the constructs of the
study wherever possible. The construct of upward social comparison was
measured using items developed from extant findings (Krasnova et al.,
J. Wu and M. Srite International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255

Table 1
Internal Consistency in Study 1.
AVE CR Cronbach’s Alpha 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Upward Social Comparison 0.695 0.939 0.926 0.812

2 Malicious Envy 0.728 0.941 0.925 0.634 0.853
3 Benign Envy 0.717 0.910 0.867 0.050 − 0.201 0.847
4 Perceived Enjoyment 0.726 0.930 0.907 0.015 − 0.255 0.404 0.852
5 Perceived Enhancement 0.747 0.936 0.914 0.258 0.021 0.512 0.503 0.864
6 Intention to Use 0.893 0.961 0.940 0.109 − 0.106 0.226 0.430 0.194 0.945

Fig. 2. Structural Model Analysis Results: Study 1.

2013; Krasnova et al., 2015). In the previous work, the authors found
that travel, leisure, social interaction, love, family, and relationship
were the top-ranked envy-inducing incidents for SM users. We created
survey questions to describe these situations and let participants recall
their episode of envy on SM. Benign envy and malicious envy were
measured using scales derived from van de Ven et al. (2009)’s study.
Perceived enjoyment (Venkatesh, 2000), perceived enhancement
(Hepper et al., 2013; Sedikides & Strube, 1995), and intention to use
(Ajzen, 1991, 2002) were all derived or adapted from previous refer­
encing scales. Appendix Table A2 shows all the questionnaire items used
in these two studies. Participants rated on 7-point scales about how often
the experience had been (never to very frequently) and their opinions
towards the proposed statements (strongly disagree to strongly agree).
In this work, we used the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test
the research model in both studies. Despite differences between samples,
we tried to keep the retained items consistent among studies. Results
from Studies 1 and 2 will be discussed in the rest of this paper.
4.2. Data analysis
extracted (AVE) is greater than the inter-construct correlations (Chin,
1998). To assess internal consistency, composite reliabilities (CR) were
calculated. Table 1 shows that CRs ranged from 0.910 to 0.961, and the
0.7 threshold requirement was satisfied. Complete factor loadings for
the final items are presented in the Appendix (Table A3).
Besides that, two criteria are necessary for assessing discriminant
validity: 1. Indicators should load more strongly on their corresponding
construct than on the others. As shown in the appendix (Table A3), all
the item loadings on self-constructs are higher than cross-loadings; and
2. AVE values (diagonal values in Table 1) should be greater than the
inter-construct correlations. This would indicate that all the constructs
share more variance within their own indicators than with other con­
structs. Since both of the criteria were met, the results conclude that the
scales exhibit adequate psychometric properties.
As we can see from Table 1, the items of upward social comparison
construct did not keep an acceptable loading for AVE but were close to
the threshold in this study (0.695). We decided to retain them in the
analysis because their values were acceptable in study 2. We would like
to keep the items consistent in these two studies.

4.2.1. Reliability and validity assessment: study 1
We used Partial Least Squares (PLS) to test the internal consistency
(reliability) and discriminant validity of constructs in the research
model.
It is commonly acknowledged that for consistency, the acceptable
threshold requires that 1. Internal consistencies exceed 0.70; 2. Factor
loadings in confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) are above 0.70; 3.
Loadings on the corresponding construct are greater than cross-loadings
on other constructs; and 4. The square root of the average variance
4.2.2. Model testing: study 1
We also used PLS to test the research model. Path significance was
determined by T-statistic calculated with bootstrapping techniques. All
the constructs were modeled as reflective. Fig. 2 presents the results of
the study. Almost all the paths in the model were significantly sup­
ported, except for one (perceived enhancement→ use intention). The
results indicate that, in the general SM context, the two types of online
envy are of great importance in shaping web users’ behavior. Upward
social comparison positively arouses malicious envy and/or benign

Table 2
Internal Consistency in Facebook Setting.
AVE CR Cronbach’s Alpha 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Upward Social Comparison 0.689 0.946 0.936 0.830

2 Malicious Envy 0.753 0.948 0.935 0.603 0.868
3 Benign Envy 0.729 0.915 0.875 0.048 − 0.057 0.854
4 Perceived Enjoyment 0.813 0.956 0.942 0.021 − 0.094 0.511 0.902
5 Perceived Enhancement 0.787 0.948 0.932 0.107 0.022 0.540 0.566 0.887
6 Intention to Use 0.901 0.965 0.945 0.124 − 0.042 0.402 0.696 0.455 0.949

7
J. Wu and M. Srite International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255

Table 3
Internal Consistency in Twitter Setting.
AVE CR Cronbach’s Alpha 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Upward Social Comparison 0.722 0.954 0.945 0.850

2 Malicious Envy 0.790 0.958 0.947 0.565 0.889
3 Benign Envy 0.755 0.925 0.893 0.253 0.164 0.869
4 Perceived Enjoyment 0.807 0.954 0.940 0.122 0.080 0.352 0.898
5 Perceived Enhancement 0.800 0.952 0.937 0.289 0.294 0.473 0.575 0.894
6 Intention to Use 0.855 0.946 0.914 0.219 0.142 0.239 0.694 0.497 0.924

Fig. 3. Structural Model Analysis Results: Study 2 Facebook.

Fig. 4. Structural Model Analysis Results: Study 2 Twitter.

envy. Malicious envy and benign envy are different, and to some extent,
they are negatively related to each other. Malicious envy appears to be
negatively related to perceived enjoyment while benign envy is posi­
tively related to perceived enhancement. The perceived enhancement
will improve perceived enjoyment, and as a result, facilitates SM use
intention. In general, this model confirms what we have justified in
hypotheses.
4.2.3. Reliability and validity assessment: study 2
We used the same process as detailed in Study 1 to assess the internal
consistency (reliability) and discriminant validity for Study 2, including
Facebook (Table 2) and Twitter (Table 3) settings. The composite re­
liabilities (CR) range from 0.915 to 0.965 for Facebook and ranged from
0.925 to 0.958 for Twitter. All of these are above 0.70, the recommended
threshold. Confirmatory factor analysis results are presented in the Ap­
pendix (Tables A4 and A5). As can be seen from Appendix A4 and A5, all the
scales for both settings meet this guideline. Overall, these results suggest
that the scales for Study 2 exhibit adequate psychometric properties.
4.2.4. Model testing: study 2
We used PLS to test the structural model in the Facebook and Twitter
settings, separately. The standardized path coefficients are shown in
Fig. 3 (Facebook) and Fig. 4 (Twitter).
In the Facebook setting (Fig. 3), contrary to our prediction, the up­
ward social comparison did not lead to benign envy; malicious envy was
not related to benign envy, and perceived enhancement was not related
to use intention. In the Twitter settings (Fig. 4), malicious envy was not
related to benign envy. However, all the other hypotheses were
supported.
The differences between these two settings indicate that the effects of
online envy are dependent on the specific platforms of the SM applica­
tion. According to literature, malicious enviers are biased on the envied
person while the benign enviers are oriented to the objective that the
superior others have (Crusius & Lange, 2014). This may explain why
malicious envy is more significant in friendship-based Facebook, and
benign envy is more significant in the information-based Twitter
context. The results from both studies are explicated in greater detail in
the next section.

8
J. Wu and M. Srite
Table 4
Comparison between Study 1 and Study 2.
IndependentVariable DependentVariable
ME
USC
BE
BE
ME
PENJ
BE PENH
PENJ
PENH
IU
PENJ IU
USC = Upward Social Comparison, ME = Malicious Envy, BE = Benign Envy, PENJ = Perceived Enjoyment, PENH = Perceived Enhancement, IU = Intention to Use.
***significant at 0.005; **significant at 0.05; *significant at 0.10.
5. Discussion of results
We administrated two studies to explore SM envy and its impact on
SM use intention. Given the fact that SM is commonly used in people’s
daily lives, in Study 1, we tested the proposed research model in a
general SM context. The results illustrate how ordinary users will get
involved in the upward social comparison of SM, and in turn, malicious
envy and/or benign envy are aroused. These concepts are intertwined,
and will consequently influence intention to use. In study 2, we futher
tested the proposed research model in two of the most popular SM
platforms, Facebook and Twitter settings. The results confirm the hy­
potheses but with some interesting and notable differences.
We summarize and compare the results between these two studies
across three settings in Table 4. We will discuss the possible explanations
that may account for observed differences next.
First, the results of Study 1 suggest that the proposed research model
is generally validated in SM context except for one hypothesis (H8:
PENH→IU). To be specific, perceived enhancement was not positively
related to intention to use. We consider that it may be because there are
a variety of different SM platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, Youtube, WhatsApp, Reddit,
and so on. According to a recent study about teens’ SM experiences,
young people use SM for various activities, such as connecting and
maintaining relationships, being creative, learning about the world, but
also contending with negative aspects, including experiencing drama,
bullying or feeling pressure (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). Thus, the rela­
tionship between perceived enhancement and intention to use could be
not the same in different SM circumstances, and maybe it is more sig­
nificant in a utilitarian SM environment. According to another SM use
study, there is a substantial amount of overlap between users of various
sites, indicating that it is very common that users of any popular SM
platform also use other SM services (Smith & Anderson, 2018). As what
we have found in the pilot test, 40 out of 65 students were using more
than one SM service. It can be inferred that many students who partic­
ipated in the main studies also hold multiple SM accounts. However, in
Study 1’s survey, we didn’t require participants to recall their envy
experience in any specific SM platform where they could have more
self-enhancement beliefs. To some extent, Study 1’s general setting has
reduced the statistical power to this relationship. This reason could
explain the insignificant relationship between perceived enhancement
and intention to use.
Second, we posit that malicious envy is negatively related to benign
envy. This relationship was significant in Study 1 but not in Study 2,
neither in Facebook nor Twitter setting. One possible explanation for the
inconsistent findings may be due to different usage of SM. According to a
recent study, people use SM platforms as a tool for different activities
and also for experiencing negative aspects of SM use, such as drama and
bullying, or feeling pressure to present themselves in a certain way
(Anderson & Jiang, 2018). In line with this study, people may feel more
malicious envy on certain SM platforms and feel more benign envy on
the others. In a general SM context, people might have recalled their
experience of using various SM platforms (Study 1). The results indicate
International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255
Study 1 Study 2
GeneralSetting FacebookSetting TwitterSetting
0.634 *** 0.603 *** 0.236 ***
0.297 ** 0.129 0.565 **
− 0.390 *** − 0.135 0.031
− 0.266 ** − 0.107 * − 0.098 *
0.512 *** 0.540 *** 0.473 ***
0.509 *** 0.568 *** 0.603 ***
− 0.031 0.091 0.146 **
0.445 *** 0.644 *** 0.610 ***
that the overall malicious envy is negatively related to the overall benign
envy on SM. Moreover, in Study 2, the nonsignificant relationship
(ME→BE) indicates that individuals might be prone to experience neg­
ativeemotions in a specific SM context. In a previous study, researchers
found that the Facebook audience used the “angry” button much more
often when reacting to a certain types of posts (lawmakers’ posts)
(Hughes & Van Kessel, 2018). Align with this previous Facebook study,
the significant paths that are relevant to malicious envy were stronger
on Facebook than on Twitter.
Third, the relationship between upward social comparison and
benign envy was significant for Twitter but not for Facebook. We
consider that it might be because of the nature of envy: people are more
likely to be envious among similar people who are close to them
regarding time, space, age, and reputation (Kennedy, 2007). Facebook is
a relationship management tool where users maintain offline relation­
ships and build online friendships. Compared with Twitter, networking
friends on Facebook share more similarities, such as educational back­
ground, location, and so on. According to previous research, people from
a similar ethnic community with closer relationships are prone to
destructively (malicious) envy others while people will constructively
(benign) envy others from different ethnic groups (Grolleau et al.,
2009). Differently, connections on Twitter are not necessarily based on
real-world friendships or homophily. Twitter users can be strangers as
they don’t need to expose their real information to subscribe to any
other user’s content or seek knowledge. Thus, relationship-driven
Facebook will orient people towards malicious envy, but
information-driven Twitter will make people be more prone to benign
envy. As a result, benign envy is more significant in Twitter context.
Fourth, perceived enhancement had a significant impact on use
intention on Twitter, but not on Facebook. This might be due to the
different SM features and services. Compared to Facebook, Twitter al­
lows more anonymity since users do not need to provide detailed per­
sonal information to seek connections or other information. According
to Kevin (2009)’s work, users like Twitter because they can ask ques­
tions and get instantaneous replies from online peers. Users value
Twitter as a source of collective wisdom and intelligence (Hughes et al.,
2012). Also, Twitter provides topic-based searching services and enable
users to track trending news and obtain updated information. According
to a recent study, Twitter stands out among most popular SM sites with
the most news-focused users; around seven-in-ten adult Twitter users in
the U.S. get news on the site (Matsa & Shearer, 2018). In this vein,
Twitter is functional and useful. Benign enviers could use Twitter to
enhance and further improve themselves. This might explain the dif­
ferences relating to perceived enhancement on intention to use between
Facebook and Twitter. The relationship was significant for Twitter but
not for Facebook.
Fifth, the differences among different settings might be relevant to
the digital divide, sociodemographic characteristics, personality traits,
and other psychological factors. First, SM platforms engage the audience
differently. Facebook users display greater involvement with each other
and within the platform; they comment and “like” more on posts (Matsa,
2016). However, most Twitter users rarely tweet. 80 % of tweets are
9
J. Wu and M. Srite
generated by only 10 % tweeters (Wojcik & Hughes, 2019). It is can be
referred that Facebook users are more likely to interact with friends and
express themselves, but Twitter users are more likely to consume other’s
information. Thus, Facebook users are more likely to experience social
comparisons with known friends while Twitter users are more likely to
compare selves with strangers. The different social comparisons might
shape the following envy processes. Second, SM platforms attract
different groups of audiences, in turn, they might be prone to different
types of envy. Twitter users are younger, more highly educated,
wealthier, and more likely to be Democrats than the general public
(Hughes & Wojcik, 2019) while Facebook is popular among all de­
mographic groups and is used by the majority of teens. SM users’ soci­
odemographic characteristics vary, and an individual’s maturity and
other psychological characteristics could make individuals react to envy
differently. For example, according to recent studies, body and
appearance images on SM are more likely to exert an impact on female
users through social comparisons or envy; it might be because of the
widespread consensus that physical appearance is a more integral part of
life for women than for men (Arnocky et al., 2016; Kim, 2018; Lewallen
& Behm-Morawitz, 2016). These previous studies indicate that the
various sociodemographic factors, such as age, gender, education level,
religion, and so on could exert greater impacts on users’ SM usage. The
differences in personality traits, sociodemographic characteristics, and
psychological factors might also explain the differences among different
settings.
In summary, the proposed model is generally supported and vali­
dated across different SM settings. The findings show that, in general,
malicious envy and benign envy influence SM intentions to use through
different paths. But in different SM contexts, the significance of mali­
cious envy and/or benign envy varies, as well as their consequences.
6. Contributions to theory and practice
Why, and how, does online envy impact SM users’ behavior? Given
the fact that envy is pervasive on SM, this becomes a particularly
important topic for both IS academia and industry. In the current study,
by drawing upon conceptualizations in social psychology, envy, and
TAM, we present one possible mechanism in which envy manifests in SM
contexts and impacts IS use. This work provides a series of hypotheses
illustrating how different types of envy are aroused and influence users’
perceptions, as well as the intention to use. By investigating and testing
the research model in a variety of SM contexts, this work makes many
theoretical contributions to the IS acceptance research and also provides
valuable managerial implications to SM users, designers, and other
practitioners.
6.1. Contributions to theory
First, previous researchers primarily emphasized the destructive
consequences of envy. To be specific, studies reported that malicious
envy had been posited as a significant negative and unfavorable factor
for SM use (Appel et al., 2015; Tandoc et al., 2015; Taylor & Strutton,
2016). However, there are very limited studies on online benign envy.
Although some of them identify that the relationship between SM use
and the positive affects is mediated by benign envy, the contexts are
usually constrained to picture- or video-shared female focused SM
platforms, such as Instagram or Pinterest (Lewallen & Behm-Morawitz,
2016; Meier & Schäfer, 2018). It is impossible to generalize the results to
a broadened SM context and all populations. Also, researchers need to
understandthe the bigger picture that examines both types of envy in the
same scenario. Our study extends the previous literature by not only
including a set of malicious and benign envy related constructs in the
research model but also testing the results in different SM settings. In
this work, we explicitly disaggregate envy into two categories and
illustrate the two types of envy’s distinct effects in diversified SM en­
vironments. We confirm that envy could mediate the relationship
10
International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255
between upward comparison and IS usage. Especially, benign envy
could be a favorable factor for IS use. This work enhances our under­
standing of the SM envy phenomenon.
Second, this is an interdisciplinary work, which investigates how
envy evolves and influences individuals’ behavior in the SM context. By
drawing literature from both social psychology and IS areas, we identify
two individual belief constructs, perceived enjoyment and perceived
enhancement. In the research model, these two constructs serve as
mediators between online envy and IS use intention. While the majority
of prior work focuses on the non-IT consequences of online comparisons
(Kim, 2018; Liu et al., 2019; Maier et al., 2012), the current study il­
lustrates how upward comparison could impact IT usage. To be specific,
the results suggest that envy doesn’t impact IS use directly, but through
individual beliefs. By linking envy and IS usage, these beliefs illustrate
how envy penetrates SM and shape individual behaviors. This work
offers fresh insights into the role of individual beliefs in the emerging
phenomenon driven by technology.
Third, although we believe envy universally exists in all kinds of SM
applications, its effects are dependent on the SM environments. SM
platforms provide users various social circumstances and different types
of information, such as images (Instagram), videos (YouTube), texts
(Twitter), personal relationships (Facebook), etc. Some of them are
especially attractive amoung mobile and female users, such as Instagram
and Pinteresting (Chae, 2018; Meier & Schäfer, 2018). While previous
studies were trying to verify the hypotheses, it is impossible to gener­
alize the implications based on the results from a specific SM context. In
Study 2, we tested the proposed model on Facebook and Twitter, the two
most popular but different SM platforms. The comparisons and contrasts
are enlightening and insightful. The results suggest that SM platforms
and the use need to be conceptualized in distinct manners to capture the
nuances of the IT environment. Our findings are consistent with previ­
ous social psychology literature in that the social environment is a sig­
nificant conduit via which envy manifests and impacts individual
behavior (Schoeck, 1969). We further extend what has been found in
other fields to the IS area. The effects of malicious envy were stronger in
a social connection driven SM, while benign envy was more significant
in a utilitarian environment. Therefore, we suggest research on SM envy
should categorize SM into at least, but not exclusively, “entertainment”
and “utilitarian” types. We believe by doing so, future research will
achieve better predictive and explanatory power.
In summary, as digital technology continues to develop and pene­
trate everywhere in contemporary society, IS researchers should reflect
such emerging changes. The current study enables us to go beyond our
own particular disciplines and address the envy issues from a broader
viewpoint. As a result, we provide insightful findings and rigorous im­
plications to study interdisciplinary issues with IS. This is a good
example of how IS scholars should strive to extend their work to other
fields and gain a deeper understanding of the transformative nature of
technology.
6.2. Contributions to practice
This work also provides many valuable practical and managerial
implications. First, the findings suggest that examination of specific
aspects of envy on SM provides a clearer understanding of how the
consumption of social comparison inducing content is linked to the
intention to use. It is important to identify the particular types of SM
envy because viewing content on SM can be more than just consump­
tion. Depending on the type of envy that is aroused, users will be more or
less likely to use SM. SM designers and developers need to utilize
technology interventions to alleviate the effects of malicious envy and
enhance the influences of benign envy. For example, although malicious
envy is negatively related to perceived enjoyment, other features that
improve perceived enjoyment can be emphasized to offset the reduced
pleasure. Also, the current study shows that perceived enhancement
plays an important role in SM intention to use. Thus, providing useful
J. Wu and M. Srite
information to benign enviers and encourage self-improvement will
persuade them to use the SM platform. More importantly, the discussed
model can be understood as a more complex process of how user’s envy
experience impacts their subsequent IT use. In the SM environment, with
more and more user generated content, the audiences become vulner­
able to social comparison and envy, and in turn, the SM could engage
more users more or lose them. Given this nature of SM usage, this study
identifies the specific processes and illustrates how different types of
envy are related to IS continuance use.
Second, given the noticeable differences between Facebook and
Twitter, the results indicate that malicious envy predominates in Face­
book, and benign envy is ubiquitous on Twitter. This finding provides
important implications for SM users. Given the fact that many users are
using multiple SM platforms, they may process online experience,
including social comparisons differently, maybe due to the diversified
features as well as the content on the SM sites. For example, according to
Åberg et al. (2020), young females could experience more
appearance-related pressures on visual SM platforms such as Instagram.
This finding is also consistent with another study that thin-ideal body
images on Pinterest would motivate the female audience to engage in
weight-loss behaviors (Lewallen & Behm-Morawitz, 2016). However,
Facebook caters to self-expression and information sharing through texts
or images (DeAndrea et al., 2010) that would encourage users to be
involved in more peer interaction activities. Our findings are consistent
with these relevant studies, we suggest that SM users must have a good
knowledge of the SM platforms and also of themselves so they can expect
the envy and take proactive actions to prevent possible unfavorable
consequences. For example, users can limit their usage on Facebook or
unsubscribe some connections to reduce the possibility of experiencing
malicious envy. Moreover, understanding the research model will help
SM managers predict individuals’ SM usage. Based on the user’s profile,
subscription details, social connections, and historical behaviors, IT
practitioners would be able to identify the user’s interested areas and
recoginize paticular envy-inducing content for them. Then, they can
utilize these analyses and expectations to customize the presented
content to individuals, and in turn, mitigate or reinforce the envy
experience.
Third, through a deep investigation of users’ behavior, our study
shows that SM envy could turn to be something favorable. This argu­
ment is consistent with a marketing phenomenon that benign envy in­
creases customers’ willingness to pay more for a product, so they can
“keep-up-with-Joneses” (van de Ven et al., 2010v). Our finding provides
valuable opportunities for SM practitioners and other stakeholders.
Compared with malicious envy, benign envy is benefitial for an in­
dividual’s wellbeing and IS use. According to findings in the current
work, creating an environment that makes people feel confident about
themselves and feel sympathy towards others would be an effective way
to encourage benign envy. For example, the present COVID-19
pandemic has resulted in schools changing to online education. It re­
quires students to utilize online tools for learning. Interactive dash­
boards that present students’ achievement and rewards would arouse
the benign envy and engage students in learning activities.
Finally, for organizations, our work suggests that in addition to envy
itself, the social environment is especially important. As such, organi­
zations may want to foster a positive and collaborative environment
integrated with an effective SM platform where employees can effec­
tively and efficiently find information and gain skills to achieve a suc­
cessful career.
7. Limitation and future directions
As with any work, this study embraces several limitations, which
provides a few future research directions.
First, in the current research, we recruited college students majoring
in IS which could produce a sampling problem. To be specific, according
to a recent study, the data collection involved in the current work
11
International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255
belongs to river sampling; that is recruiting respondents by inviting
them to follow a link to access an online survey where it is more likely to
be noticed by the members of the target population (Lehdonvirta et al.,
2020). As stated in the study, a basic problem with river sampling is the
coverage bias. Also, data of users from certain SM platforms could be
unrepresentative for the general population. Take Twitter for example,
the American Twitter users tend to be younger and wealthier than the
rest population (Blank, 2017). Therefore, we admit that our samples of
college students as well as Facebook and Twitter users won’t represent
every subpopulation using SM. Especially in the current age, many users
access SM services through mobile apps. We expect and admit that the
data is biased to some extent. Future studies should extend the current
work and collect data based on a probability population sampling
method across a wider range of individual users. Examining the differ­
ences resulting from non-probability respondents and probability pop­
ulation would be interesting.
Second, the current work adopted a survey-based method, which
could limit the ability to acquire high-quality data with an effective data
size. Additionally, by nature, a cross-sectional survey is unable to yield
cumulative knowledge, and could be ill-suited to address the subtleties
of information technology in complex settings (Abareshi & Martin,
2008). In the current work, we use cross-sectional data to explore the
relationships between online envy and consequent behavior. It is ex­
pected that in the near future, relevant studies could be more focused
towards the development of models and the explanation of relation­
ships. Also, with self-reported survey data, there is often a social desir­
ability bias, where the participants choose more socially desirable
responses rather than to select the answers that are reflective of their
true feelings. Given the fact that SM data are available in different for­
mats, such as texts, images, audios, videos, and even with geographic
information, researchers could take this opportunity to acquire more
subjective data using SM analytics methods, such as text mining, SM big
data analytics, and so on. The combination of both self-reported data
and observed data may reduce the methodological burdens and mea­
surement errors resulting from using the survey-based method alone.
Also, the combined data would provide more substantial evidence to
draw a solid conclusion. Although there will be challenges and diffi­
culties, with the advanced SM analytics research process and analytics
framework, researchers will be able to conduct SM studies successfully
(Stieglitz et al., 2018).
Third, in Study 2, we tested the research model in two of the most
popular SM platforms, Facebook and Twitter. However, other SM flat­
forms might also be relevant to the current topic. For example, a few
recent studies are exploring and examining the impacts of image content
on social comparison and envy on Instagram, Pinterest, and so on
(Lewallen & Behm-Morawitz, 2016; Liu et al., 2019; Meier & Schäfer,
2018). With the development of diversified SM, besides texts and im­
ages, video-sharing SM sites, such as YouTube and TikTok, have become
more and more popular. It could be interesting to study how the
different formats of envy-inducing content could be associated with SM
use. However, in the current study, we couldn’t either compare all the
popular SM platforms nor examine the diversified formats of content.
Future efforts should be addressed to these issues. Researchers will gain
a deeper understanding of online envy by comparing the results among
different SM applications as well as a variety of information.
Finally, individual traits, psychological factors, and sociodemo­
graphic characteristics could shape envy. According to recent work,
personality traits could exert influence on envy; females with high
public self-consciousness and low self-esteem are more likely to engage
in social comparisons with SM influencers frequently, and in turn,
experience envy (Chae, 2018). This finding is consistent with literature
that some people are more habitually prone to envy than others
(Schoeck, 1969). Besides that, a recent study about envy and depression
showed that among the Big-Five personality traits, neuroticism is a
salient moderator for the association between time spent on Facebook
and depressive symptoms (Chow & Wan, 2017). In the current work, we
J. Wu and M. Srite International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255

focused on the external impacts of the SM environment on envy but

didn’t measure these important, relevant internal factors, such as an
individual’s psychological characteristics. Moreover, in the current
work, we recruited undergraduate students from the same
Table A1
course in a midwestern regional university. Therefore, it can be Constructs and Definitions.
inferred that our participants share several similar sociodemographic
Constructs Definitions (Adapted from reference) Reference
characteristics, such as age, educational background, language, regional
location, and so on. For this reason, it would be difficult for us to Upward social It is defined as the degree to which a Smith and Kim
comparison person believes that the others are (2007)
examine whether the sociodemographics would explain envy behaviors.
superior and possess advantages, in an
We suggest researchers address these issues in future studies, and they area she/he values.
also want to take personal traits, sociodemographic characteristics, and Malicious envy A type of envy that aims at holding back van de Ven et al.
psychological factors into consideration. This kind of cross-field work the superior others. (2012)
will contribute in both academia and society significantly. Benign envy A type of envy free of ill-will or hostile van de Ven et al.
feelings and aims at improving one’s own (2009)
situation.
8. Conclusion Perceived The extent to which the activity of using a Venkatesh
enjoyment technology is perceived to be enjoyable (2000)
In this work, we investigated how the SM users would experience in its own right.
Perceived The extent to which the activity of using a Hepper et al.
two types of envy, and in turn, shape their behavioral intention on SM
enhancement technology is perceived to enhance own (2013)
usage. Specifically, we applied social comparison and envy related ability Sedikides and
theories to the IS field to explore the relationships between upward Strube (1995)
social comparison and online envy. We also employed TAM to examine Intention to use Intended use. It is an indication of an Ajzen (1991)
the influences of two types of envy on individual beliefs and SM usage. individual’s readiness to perform a given Ajzen (2002)
behavior. It is assumed to be an
We tested the research model in two studies across three different SM
immediate antecedent of behavior
settings.
Overall, the results indicated that positive personal information on
SM was critical to arouse envy. Two types of envy had different impacts
Table A2
on SM use intention. Malicious envy was negatively associated with Questionnaire Items.
increased perceived enjoyment and SM use intention, but benign envy
Upward Social Comparison
positively influenced use intention. The results varied in different SM
SC_1 They went to more exotic/interesting places than me.
settings. In particular, the findings lent support to the argument that SC_2 They achieved more than me.
online envy is dependent on circumstances. Employing techniques that SC_3 They have more interesting pictures than me.
improve perceived enjoyment and perceived enhancement may ease the SC_4 They are more popular than me.
SC_5 They have a better life than me.
unfavorable consequences from malicious envy and enhance the inten­
SC_6 They are happier than me.
tion to use from benign envy. Moreover, promoting this overall aware­ SC_7 I didn’t travel to as many places as my online connections.
ness that viewing other users’ positive postings will lead to envy is SC_8 I didn’t achieve as much as my online connections.
helpful for SM users in reducing their propensity to upward social SC_9 My pictures are not as pretty as those of my online connections.
comparison with others. Also, IS practitioners would be able to under­ SC_10 I am not as popular as my online connections.
SC_11 I am not as happy as my online connections.
stand their users better and promote a more favorable SM environment
Malicious envy
for audiences. MENVY_1 I want to pull down the online connections.
In summary, SM have been heavily integrated into peoples’ daily MENVY_2 I feel resentment towards the online connections.
lives and behaviors. It is important to understand the current phenom­ MENVY_3 I think negatively about the online connections.
MENVY_4 I would like to comment negatively about the online connections.
enon, SM envy. IT scholarship should reflect the emerging changes in
MENVY_5 I would hope the online connections would fail in something.
technology and society. We find that two types of envy influence SM use MENVY_6 The experience felt frustrating.
intention in quite different ways. The results suggest that the in­ Benign Envy
novations of IT strategies to mitigate negative outcomes of malicious BENVY_1 I am motivated to improve myself.
envy and enhance benign envy may be necessary and useful. Our study BENVY_2 I feel admiration towards my online connections.
BENVY_3 I think positively about the online connections.
also indicates that the distinction between malicious envy and benign
BENVY_4 I feel inspired by my online connections.
envy will activate both a desire to avoid the envied person and a moti­ BENVY_5 I will try harder to achieve my goals.
vation to enhance self. The occurrences of online envy are complex, and Perceived Enjoyment
attention should be paid to promote healthy SM use. PENJ_1 Using social networking sites is enjoyable.
PENJ_2 Using social networking sites is exciting.
PENJ_3 Using social networking sites is pleasant.
CRediT authorship contribution statement PENJ_4 Using social networking sites is interesting.
PENJ_5 Using social networking sites is fun.
Jiao Wu: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Inves­ Perceive Enhancement
tigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Validation, Writing - orig­ PENHC_1 Using social networking sites makes me feel confident about myself.
PENHC_2 Using social networking sites helps me to be a better person.
inal draft. Mark Srite: Supervision, Project administration, Writing -
Using social networking sites allows me to change, grow, and improve
review & editing. PENHC_3
myself, and I will be as good as my online connections.
My experience with social networking sites motivates me to enhance
PENHC_4
Appendix A myself.
Using social networking sites increases my motivation to work harder
PENHC_5
and reach my goal.
Tables A1–A6 Intention to Use
Fig. A1 IU_1 I will continue to use social networking sites in the future.
IU_2 I plan to continually use social networking sites.
IU_3 I will use social networking sites in the future.

The italicized items were items from the original scales that were dropped from
the final analysis due to poor fitting.

12
J. Wu and M. Srite International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255

Table A3
Factor Loadings in Study 1.
Social Comparison Malicious Envy Benign Envy Perceived Enjoyment Perceived Enhancement Intention to Use

SC_1 0.790 0.504 0.051 0.089 0.254 − 0.030

SC_2 0.802 0.497 0.057 − 0.133 0.097 0.158
SC_3 0.886 0.607 − 0.003 − 0.001 0.142 0.114
SC_4 0.806 0.524 0.009 − 0.038 0.126 0.006
SC_5 0.757 0.402 0.134 0.176 0.399 0.004
SC_6 0.730 0.371 0.050 − 0.027 0.210 0.233
SC_7 0.869 0.513 0.072 0.095 0.280 0.174
SC_8 0.832 0.584 0.002 0.014 0.196 0.084
MENVY_1 0.424 0.821 − 0.243 − 0.291 − 0.020 − 0.183
MENVY_2 0.649 0.931 − 0.147 − 0.245 0.055 − 0.055
MENVY_3 0.516 0.898 − 0.256 − 0.231 − 0.109 − 0.059
MENVY_4 0.439 0.805 − 0.238 − 0.122 − 0.012 − 0.089
MENVY_5 0.587 0.795 − 0.045 − 0.076 0.154 − 0.046
MENVY_6 0.547 0.830 − 0.118 − 0.272 − 0.026 − 0.125
BENVY_2 0.234 0.022 0.758 0.364 0.386 0.170
BENVY_3 − 0.061 − 0.321 0.908 0.348 0.446 0.235
BENVY_4 0.011 − 0.227 0.902 0.345 0.476 0.191
BENVY_5 0.034 − 0.108 0.810 0.319 0.429 0.165
PENJ_1 − 0.105 − 0.283 0.301 0.847 0.413 0.291
PENJ_2 0.060 − 0.176 0.395 0.836 0.438 0.233
PENJ_3 0.005 − 0.287 0.390 0.880 0.492 0.424
PENJ_4 0.091 − 0.161 0.326 0.871 0.420 0.555
PENJ_5 0.048 − 0.129 0.311 0.834 0.404 0.261
PENHC_1 0.079 − 0.124 0.428 0.548 0.759 0.164
PENHC_2 0.254 − 0.002 0.402 0.456 0.882 0.151
PENHC_3 0.279 0.065 0.423 0.415 0.885 0.111
PENHC_4 0.221 0.058 0.447 0.347 0.889 0.206
PENHC_5 0.274 0.058 0.505 0.407 0.898 0.202
IU_1 0.102 − 0.083 0.244 0.398 0.183 0.942
IU_2 0.143 − 0.126 0.269 0.469 0.255 0.952
IU_3 0.056 − 0.089 0.104 0.336 0.087 0.944

Table A4
Study 2 Factor Loadings in Facebook Setting.
Social Comparison Malicious Envy Benign Envy Perceived Enjoyment Perceived Enhancement Intention to Use

SC_1 0.847 0.564 0.063 0.031 0.150 0.082

SC_2 0.840 0.539 − 0.066 0.009 0.041 0.077
SC_3 0.880 0.495 − 0.070 0.050 0.028 0.117
SC_4 0.841 0.571 − 0.025 − 0.106 0.048 0.070
SC_5 0.781 0.352 0.079 0.044 0.207 0.117
SC_6 0.744 0.357 − 0.017 0.122 0.052 0.184
SC_7 0.768 0.370 − 0.171 − 0.001 − 0.023 0.042
SC_8 0.852 0.494 − 0.032 − 0.060 0.100 0.101
MENVY_1 0.424 0.806 0.001 − 0.113 0.020 − 0.061
MENVY_2 0.503 0.879 0.011 − 0.072 0.061 − 0.065
MENVY_3 0.549 0.893 − 0.166 − 0.120 − 0.046 − 0.073
MENVY_4 0.401 0.821 − 0.134 − 0.083 − 0.030 − 0.076
MENVY_5 0.505 0.900 − 0.093 − 0.131 − 0.029 − 0.056
MENVY_6 0.602 0.872 − 0.180 − 0.124 − 0.081 − 0.017
BENVY_2 0.026 − 0.028 0.865 0.416 0.439 0.332
BENVY_3 − 0.169 − 0.257 0.865 0.520 0.447 0.360
BENVY_4 0.033 − 0.089 0.890 0.489 0.470 0.427
BENVY_5 0.004 0.012 0.756 0.228 0.396 0.191
PENJ_1 0.025 − 0.146 0.496 0.931 0.534 0.663
PENJ_2 0.053 − 0.048 0.467 0.880 0.550 0.591
PENJ_3 − 0.045 − 0.116 0.455 0.925 0.498 0.598
PENJ_4 0.009 − 0.119 0.393 0.885 0.443 0.516
PENJ_5 − 0.023 − 0.142 0.445 0.913 0.525 0.542
PENHC_1 − 0.011 − 0.079 0.447 0.598 0.822 0.432
PENHC_2 0.052 − 0.022 0.469 0.500 0.904 0.335
PENHC_3 0.135 0.030 0.459 0.439 0.893 0.392
PENHC_4 0.081 − 0.029 0.476 0.494 0.913 0.386
PENHC_5 0.158 − 0.001 0.448 0.453 0.907 0.354
IU_1 0.076 − 0.053 0.310 0.461 0.268 0.833
IU_2 0.096 − 0.109 0.363 0.636 0.415 0.950
IU_3 0.134 − 0.011 0.383 0.613 0.446 0.900

13
J. Wu and M. Srite International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255

Table A5
Study 2 Factor Loadings in Twitter Setting.
Social Comparison Malicious Envy Benign Envy Perceived Enjoyment Perceived Enhancement Intention to Use

SC_1 0.873 0.562 0.150 0.026 0.226 0.187

SC_2 0.816 0.372 0.163 − 0.030 0.179 0.138
SC_3 0.868 0.441 0.136 − 0.013 0.152 0.127
SC_4 0.884 0.599 0.234 0.073 0.232 0.171
SC_5 0.820 0.426 0.209 0.105 0.286 0.218
SC_6 0.692 0.391 0.276 0.105 0.314 0.233
SC_7 0.834 0.383 0.146 0.059 0.173 0.158
SC_8 0.918 0.540 0.234 0.058 0.237 0.187
MENVY_1 0.468 0.815 0.113 0.086 0.289 0.154
MENVY_2 0.530 0.919 0.255 0.145 0.351 0.225
MENVY_3 0.486 0.911 0.093 0.017 0.220 0.157
MENVY_4 0.469 0.892 0.048 0.028 0.228 0.141
MENVY_5 0.503 0.878 0.180 − 0.006 0.262 0.126
MENVY_6 0.548 0.914 0.213 0.021 0.318 0.139
BENVY_2 0.317 0.211 0.864 0.267 0.409 0.265
BENVY_3 0.064 0.001 0.833 0.375 0.335 0.224
BENVY_4 0.143 0.175 0.907 0.260 0.423 0.210
BENVY_5 0.225 0.170 0.849 0.290 0.485 0.169
PENJ_1 0.004 0.034 0.246 0.943 0.492 0.677
PENJ_2 0.046 0.185 0.377 0.847 0.562 0.580
PENJ_3 0.044 0.065 0.335 0.913 0.552 0.622
PENJ_4 0.053 − 0.066 0.258 0.871 0.434 0.612
PENJ_5 0.118 0.035 0.308 0.939 0.516 0.690
PENHC_1 0.187 0.245 0.394 0.517 0.833 0.492
PENHC_2 0.190 0.291 0.480 0.559 0.929 0.543
PENHC_3 0.260 0.236 0.400 0.463 0.874 0.461
PENHC_4 0.283 0.337 0.470 0.500 0.944 0.557
PENHC_5 0.296 0.310 0.446 0.507 0.919 0.502
IU_1 0.216 0.190 0.250 0.670 0.553 0.918
IU_2 0.184 0.134 0.205 0.686 0.515 0.952
IU_3 0.175 0.161 0.226 0.555 0.479 0.850

Fig. A1. Envy-inducing Presentation Screenshot Example.

14
J. Wu and M. Srite International Journal of Information Management 56 (2021) 102255

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Jiao Wu is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Operations Management and In­
formation Systems (OM&IS), in the College of Business, Northern Illinois University in the
United States. Her research focuses on social media behavior, online envy, and cross-
cultural IT usage. She has published in the Journal of the Association for Information
Systems (JAIS), Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), and Decision
Sciences Institute (DSI) Annual Meeting.
Mark Srite is an Associate Professor of MIS at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.
His research interests include the acceptance, adoption, and use of information technol­
ogies, cross-cultural IT issues, and ERP implementation strategies. His work has been
published in the Journal of MIS (JMIS), Management Information Systems Quarterly
(MISQ), Decision Support Systems (DSS), Information & Management, the Journal of
Global Information Management (JGIM), and elsewhere.