The Social Context of Negotiation
No. of parties in a negotiation
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•
•
•
•
•
Negotiating Dyad
Agents and constituencies
Additional negotiators
Negotiating teams
Unrepresented bystanders and audiences
Third parties
Negotiating within a relationship
• Negotiating within relationships takes place over time
• Negotiation is often not a way to discuss an issue but to
learn more about each other and increase interdependence
• Resolution of simple distributive issues has implications for
the future
• Distributive issues within relationships can be emotionally
hot
• Negotiating within relationships may never end
• In many negotiations, the ‘other person’ is the problem
• In some negotiations relationship preservation is the
negotiation goal
Key dimensions of relationships
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•
•
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Attraction
Rapport
Bonding
Breadth
Attraction
• Affect : liking the other person
• Stimulation: experiencing the other as
intellectually challenging
• Commonality: sharing things in common
• Romantic interest: being physically attracted
to the other
Rapport
• Trust: reliability, interpersonal integrity, altruism
• Disclosure: openness with which the parties deal
with each other
• Empathy : ability to see it from the other’s point
of view
• Acceptance: unconditional positive regard for the
other
• Respect: a view of the other possessing a strong
value system and being committed to it
Bonding
• Alliance: a feeling of being ‘on the same side’
• Exchange: tangible benefits which they derive
from being associated with each other
• Cooperation: degree to which both parties are
able to work in unison to achieve respective
goals
Breadth of relationship
• Scope of the relationship: how large the the
domain of relationship is
• Time horizon: how long the period of
association has been
Key elements in managing
negotiations within relationships
• Trust – calculus based, knowledge based,
identification based
• Emotions – positive, negative
• Justice – distributive, procedural, interactive
Trust Agreement Matrix
High
Agreement
Bedfellows
Allies
Fence
Sitters
Adversaries
Opponents
Low
Low
Trust
High
When coalitions are formed, they
could be
• Allies – who are in agreement with a negotiator’s
goals and vision and whom the negotiator trusts.
• Opponents – people with whom the negotiator has
conflicting goals and objectives, but who can be
trusted to be principled and candid in their opposition
• Bedfellows – people with whom a negotiator has high
agreement on objectives but with low to moderate
levels of trust
• Fence sitters – parties who will not take a stand, one
way or the other
• Adversaries – low in agreement, low on trust
Action strategy for building
relationships in coalitions
With allies
• Affirm your agreement on the collective vision
or objective
• Reaffirm the quality of relationship
• Acknowledge the doubt and vulnerability that
you have with respect to achieving your vision
and collective goal
• Ask for advice and support
Action strategy for building
relationships in coalitions
With opponents
• Reaffirm that your relationship is based on
trust
• State your vision or position
• State in a neutral way what you think their
position or vision is
• Engage in some kind of problem solving
Action strategy for building
relationships with coalitions
With bedfellows
• Reaffirm the agreement
• Acknowledge the caution that exists
• Be clear about what you want from
bedfellows in terms of their support
• Ask bedfellows what they want from you
• Try to reach an agreement on how to work
together
Action strategy for building
relationships in coalitions
With fence sitters
• Stae your position on the project
• Ask where they stand
• Apply gentle pressures
• Encourage them to think about the issue and
tell you what it would take to get their support
Action strategy to building
relationships in coalitions
With adversaries
• State your visions and goals
• State in a neutral way your understanding of
your adversary’s position
• Identify your own contribution to the poor
relationship between you and your adversary
• End the meeting by restating your plan but
making no demands