How Underdogs Succeed and Fail: An Integrated Model of the Workplace Underdog’s Trajectories

Despite the widespread appeal of underdog characters in popular culture, being labeled a workplace underdog can be both stressful and challenging. Drawing on the literature on emotion, the challenge–threat framework, and emotion regulation, we propose a comprehensive theory that unpacks the double-edged nature of underdog expectations. Specifically, we explain how individuals respond differently based on how they interpret and manage the negative emotions elicited by these expectations. We introduce four distinct underdog narratives, each characterized by a unique configuration of emotional activation (i.e., low or high) and cognitive appraisals (i.e., challenge or threat): (1) strategic underdogs, (2) paranoid underdogs, (3) deluded underdogs, and (4) resigned underdogs. Our framework illustrates how individuals within each configuration regulate their emotions and cope with underdog expectations. Furthermore, rather than viewing success or failure as static endpoints, we adopt a process-oriented and temporal perspective to examine the enduring effects of underdog expectations, exploring how interpretive schemas shape behavior differently for “overcomers,” who successfully defy underdog expectations, and “succumbers,” who fail to do so. Our theory sheds new light on underdog dynamics in the workplace and offers a systematic framework for future research.