On the relative importance of individual-level characteristics and dyadic interaction effects in negotiations: Variance partitioning evidence from a twins study.

Abstract

Negotiations are inherently dyadic. Negotiators' individual-level characteristics may not only make them perform better or worse in general, but also may make them particularly well- or poorly-suited to negotiate with a particular counterpart. The present research estimates the extent to which performance in a distributive negotiation is affected by (a) the negotiators' individual-level characteristics and (b) dyadic interaction effects that are defined by the unique pairings between the negotiators and their counterparts. Because negotiators cannot interact multiple times without carryover effects, we estimated the relative importance of these factors with a new methodology that used twin siblings as stand-ins for each other. Participants engaged in a series of 1-on-1 negotiations with counterparts while, elsewhere, their cotwins engaged in the same series of 1-on-1 negotiations with the cotwins of those counterparts. In these data, dyadic interaction effects explained more variation in negotiation economic outcomes than did individual differences, whereas individual differences explain more than twice as much of the variation in subjective negotiation outcomes than did dyadic interaction effects. These results suggest dyadic interaction effects represent an understudied area for future research, particularly with regard to the economic outcomes of negotiations. (PsycINFO Database Record

Dyadic Listening in Teams: Social Relations Model

“…Our work joins fledgling lines of work employing SRM on a topics germane to organizational behavior (Brion & Anderson, 2013; Eisenkraft & Elfenbein, 2010; Elfenbein, Eisenkraft, Curhan, & DiLalla, 2018; Joshi & Knight, 2015; Malloy, 2008). In one SRM application, emotion contagion in MBA work groups was assessed both with generalized and dyadic reciprocities, and indicated that emotional reciprocity is a dyadic phenomenon, and stronger for positive emotions (Eisenkraft & Elfenbein, 2010).…”

Personality and Integrative Negotiations: A Hexaco Investigation of Actor, Partner, and Actor–Partner Interaction Effects on Objective and Subjective Outcomes

“…Indeed, we were able to identify a novel interaction between different traits of an actor and partners that shaped economic outcomes of the negotiation (Back & Vazire, ). We therefore illustrate the importance of considering the characteristics and multiplicative interactions of both participants of dyadic activities (Elfenbein et al, ). In practical terms, our results suggest that more agreeable negotiators can negotiate effectively when their partner is trustworthy but are vulnerable when their partner is not.…”

“…We believe that the findings from recent studies (Elfenbein et al, 2017;Wilson et al, 2016) suggest that there is merit in considering Thompson's (1990b) contingency perspective with respect to actor-partner personality interaction effects on negotiation outcomes. Indeed, some studies of negotiation have investigated such possibilities.…”

“…The actor-partner behaviours and responses are therefore likely to be specific to each negotiation and ultimately be a product of the interaction between the actor and partner's personalities. Indeed, a novel study of negotiating twins by Elfenbein et al (2017) provided strong evidence of the presence of systematic unique effects borne by actor-partner characteristic interactions. Their study suggested that nearly one-quarter of the variance in economic value can be attributed to actor-partner interaction effects.…”

“…power) and individual differences (e.g. personality and cognitive ability) that contribute to negotiation outcomes (Bacharach & Lawler, 1981; Barry & Friedman, 1998;Elfenbein, 2013;Elfenbein, Eisenkraft, Curhan, & Dilalla, 2017;Fulmer & Barry, 2004;Sharma, Bottom, & Elfenbein, 2013).…”