In today’s business world, you must be tough, smart and witty in order to succeed and to satisfy your superior. Oftentimes you go into a negotiation only knowing the target price you have to achieve and not looking for a valuable compromise. Chasing only after the biggest possible share of this fixed-pie and assuming the negotiator on the other side of the table does so too, hinders you from being a successful negotiator.
Furthermore, in sales negotiations you often try to achieve the highest selling price possible and if the other party cannot agree on a price close to that point, you sell the object for the minimum price that was given to you, so you will still satisfy your superior. If you cannot not manage to sell for the minimum price, you decline the offer, stop the negotiations and chose your ‘best alternative to negotiated agreement’ (BATNA). Unfortunately, many people go into negotiations not even knowing their own BATNA. In this case, a negotiator might sell the object for a lower price than the one that could have achieved without this negotiation. Good negotiators do not only know their own BATNA, they also have an approximate idea about the BATNA of the opposing party, so they can develop their strategy based on that knowledge and will more likely succeed in the negotiation.
The outcomes of negotiations do not only depend on the alternatives of each party or the asymmetric distribution of information, but also on the communication method the parties use. Depending on the position of each party it is more efficient to use a traditional face-to-face communication method or to make use of digital support, like video-mediated communication methods (VMC, i.e. Skype, facetime, etc.).
We would like to improve (integrative) negotiation outcomes by addressing the following question: does the use of VMC lead to more pareto-efficient results in fixed-pie situations? As technology becomes more and more advanced and business is mostly conducted within global environments, the way and method of communication becomes more relevant in the everyday economy.
Our paper tries to answer this question in the following way: first, we introduce the theory of with current aspects of digitalization. From the established theory, we derive three hypotheses and present our research design. After a brief discussion of the potentials and limitations of our experiment, we close with a short summary and an outlook to potential follow-up research.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Negotiation Paradigms, Processes and Outcomes
2.2. Negotiation Bias and the Mythical Fixed-Pie
2.3. Contributing Factors & Communication Means
3. Hypotheses Development
3.1. Hypotheses 1
3.2. Hypotheses 2
3.3. Hypotheses 3
4. Method & Research Design
4.1. Experiment
4.2. Brief Research Design
5. Discussion
5.1. Limitations of Experiments
5.2. Limitations of our study
5.3. Potential Strengths of other methods
6. Conclusion
Objectives & Research Topics
This thesis examines the impact of video-mediated communication (VMC) versus face-to-face interaction on negotiation outcomes within fixed-pie situations. By integrating findings from psychotherapy and communication research with negotiation theory, the study aims to determine whether VMC influences the achievement of Pareto-efficient results, particularly when accounting for varying levels of negotiator power.
- Comparison of communication media (VMC vs. face-to-face)
- Impact of the "mythical fixed-pie" bias on negotiation outcomes
- Role of negotiation power and BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement)
- Evaluation of Pareto-efficiency in integrative vs. distributive negotiations
- Experimental analysis of communication flow and task performance
Excerpt from the Book
2.2. Negotiation Bias and the Mythical Fixed-Pie
Conflict can be defined as “a perceived divergence of interests, or a belief that the different parties’ current aspirations cannot be achieved simultaneously” (Rubin, Pruitt & Kim, 1994). Conflicts in negotiations are not only common, they often are also the causative factor for a negotiation to happen in the first place. This definition combined with our definition of a negotiation being “an interpersonal decision-making process necessary whenever we cannot achieve our objectives single-handedly” already shows a substantial contradiction in negotiation: a negotiation process serves the cause of achieving a party’s own objectives with both parties believing that the other party’s objectives cannot be fulfilled simultaneously, which we defined as win-lose agreement above. In previous negotiation research this fixation on win-lose situations is also called zero-sum situation (Katz-Navon & Goldschmidt, 2009). In terms of strategy in the negotiation and motives of the negotiator, this will lead to a fixation on a distributive negotiation strategy and a tendency to have a competitive motive going into the negotiation. This so-called fixed-pie assumption (or: mythical fixed-pie) of the distributive model constitutes one of the “fundamental biases in human judgment” (Bazerman, 1983). It is manifested by a negotiator’s tendency to believe, that the negotiating parties’ interests are diametrically opposed. (de Dreu, Koole & Steinel, 2000).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The introduction establishes the relevance of negotiation skills in the modern business world and identifies the research gap regarding how video-mediated communication affects Pareto-efficiency in fixed-pie situations.
2. Literature Review: This section covers theoretical paradigms of negotiation, the phenomenon of the mythical fixed-pie bias, and the influence of different communication means on negotiation outcomes.
3. Hypotheses Development: Based on communication and psychotherapy literature, three hypotheses are formulated to test how VMC interacts with power imbalances and negotiation motivation.
4. Method & Research Design: This chapter justifies the use of an experimental design to measure the causal relationship between communication methods and Pareto-efficient outcomes.
5. Discussion: The author evaluates the limitations of using experimental designs and discusses the implications of controlling variables in an artificial setting versus real-world applications.
6. Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes the findings and suggests future research avenues, including the impact of subjective values like trust and the evolving role of AI and virtual reality in negotiations.
Keywords
Negotiation, Fixed-pie, Pareto-efficiency, Video-mediated communication, VMC, BATNA, Integrative agreement, Distributive strategy, Communication media, Power dynamics, Experimental design, Negotiation bias, Conflict resolution, Social presence, Zero-sum situation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this thesis?
The work investigates the effects of video-mediated communication (VMC) on negotiation outcomes, specifically focusing on whether it leads to more Pareto-efficient results compared to face-to-face communication in fixed-pie scenarios.
What are the central themes of the study?
The central themes include the psychological "fixed-pie" bias, the role of negotiator power (measured by BATNA), the comparative analysis of different communication technologies, and the measurement of Pareto-efficiency.
What is the primary research goal?
The primary goal is to address the question of whether using VMC leads to more Pareto-efficient outcomes in fixed-pie situations by integrating findings from communication and psychotherapy research into the field of negotiation.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The author uses an experimental research design, comparing test groups and control groups to measure the impact of the independent variable (communication medium) on the dependent variable (negotiation outcome/joint score).
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers the theoretical background of negotiation paradigms, the development of three specific hypotheses regarding VMC and negotiator power, and a detailed research design for testing these hypotheses.
Which keywords characterize this paper?
Key terms include negotiation, fixed-pie, Pareto-efficiency, VMC, BATNA, and experimental design, which highlight the technical and psychological focus of the study.
How does the author define the "mythical fixed-pie"?
The author describes it as a "fundamental bias in human judgment" where negotiators believe their interests are diametrically opposed, leading to suboptimal, distributive strategies instead of seeking integrative, win-win solutions.
Why are psychotherapy findings relevant to this negotiation study?
The author borrows from psychotherapy because the typical client-therapist relationship mirrors power imbalances in negotiations; the study uses this analogy to hypothesize how "weak" and "strong" negotiators behave under different communication media.
- Citar trabajo
- Marius Kohmann (Autor), 2018, The Effect of video-mediated communication on negotiations in fixed-pie situations. A comparison of pareto-efficiency with face-to- face communication, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/455744
