Envy may inspire very different responses, including leaving
the situation (quitting one’s job or seeking a transfer) or aggressing
against or derogating others (Vecchio, 2000). Envy also can
stimulate harmful unethical behavior (Cropanzano, Rupp, & Byrne,
2003; Pruitt & Kimmel, 1977; Smith & Walker, 2000) by
those who either overestimate their personal contributions to
an environment (Zenger, 1994) or experience true inequity. We
argue that envy toward wealthy targets, whether individuals or
organizations, influences the likelihood that an individual will
engage in unethical behavior to acquire similar wealth and reduce
wealth-based inequity: