Email-based Negotiations: An Analysis of the Effects of Early-stage Behavior on Process and Outcome

Informações

Código: EOR713
Divisão: EOR - Estudos Organizacionais
Tema de Interesse: EOR-B - Comportamento Organizacional

Autores

Roger J. Volkema, Denise L. Fleck, Agnes Hoffmeister-Toth

Resumo

Electronic mail has become an important medium for domestic and international businessnegotiations. This paper reports on a study of initial exchanges in a two-party email negotiation,and the role initial exchanges played in determining subsequent process and outcome. Theresults suggest considerable symmetry between parties in terms of the quantity (words) andquality of messages. However, informal greetings, introductions, and proposal surfacing in theseearly stages played little role in determining the likelihood of an agreement or an integrativeoutcome. In contrast, the parties’ stated intentions of pursuing a mutually beneficial (win-win)outcome and their exaggeration of initial offers significantly related to the likelihood of reachingan agreement. The implications of these findings for practitioners and future research arediscussed.

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