An attributional account of power in multi-party negotiations

Abstract

Purpose Multi-party systems (MPS) comprise interdependent stakeholders (teams, organizations) that engage in complex interactions and negotiations. Building on the approach/inhibition theory of power, the self-enhancement strategy and on social interdependence theory, this study aims to understand the mediating role of attributions (i.e. perception of who/what is responsible for a certain outcome) in the relation between perceptions of the stakeholders’ power (i.e. self-perceptions of power, power ascribed to others and others’ perception of one’s own power) and their perceptions of intergroup climate and future collaborative intentions. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 30 groups (113 participants) that took part in five multi-party simulations concerning the negotiation of funds allocation among six stakeholders. The authors have evaluated attributions, intergroup climate and future collaborative intentions using questionnaires and different facets of systemic power were derived from a round-robin procedure. Findings Mixed models and multi-level mediation analyses were carried out, and the results show that self-attributed power and power attributed by others predict internal attributions, while power attributed to others predicts external attributions. Moreover, attributions mediate the relationship between perceived power and future collaborative intention, as well as between power and perceptions of intergroup climate. Practical implications Managing the multi-party systems is a complex endeavor, and the results point toward ways in which power dynamics in multi-party systems can be addressed. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first empirical attempts to explore the association between the perceptions of power and attributions in multi-party systems engaged in negotiation tasks.

Power Differences and Dynamics in Multiparty Collaborative Systems: A Systematic Literature Review

“…MPCSs are complex socio-technical systems composed of multiple and diverse stakeholders that are set up to tackle complex problems (often with a significant impact on society) that cannot be solved by a single organization or group. Examples of problems addressed by MPCSs include environmental issues [4,5], regional development or complex construction projects [6,7], or complex decisions related to education systems [8,9]. The issues discussed in the context of MPCSs take on different conceptualizations across the literature, such as wicked problems [6], metaproblems [5,15], or societal concerns [8].…”

“…The way in which collaboration among multiple parties or stakeholders was labeled in the literature differs across studies and various terms are used, such as: multiparty collaboration [6,9], multi-team systems [8], multilateral negotiations [4], multistakeholder organization/governance [5,44], three-party negotiation [18], large-scale social-driven collaborations [19], interorganizational domain collaboration/relations [4,20,21,[45][46][47], multistakeholderism [48,49], or participatory processes [50]. Common to all these approaches is the diversity of stakeholders that engage with a complex issue or challenge, which involves trying to come to a joint problem definition, to generate alternatives and make a decision, to negotiate and reach consensus regarding the issue at hand.…”

“…Power may be acquired either by possessing socially valued resources, formal authority, or legitimacy [4,20,21,[44][45][46], or based on a relational perspective focused on attempts to use social influence tactics. The latter further covers the emergent view on power [6,8,9], the practice view [19], or forms of episodic power [5]. Each perspective on power will be briefly presented in the following part.…”

“…As such, the relational view on power moves towards highlighting the idea that power is not something that stakeholders have, but it rather develops through the dynamics taking place in MPCSs, when stakeholders engage in persuasion, display authority, and instill coercion during the process of identity formation [22]. Building on Turner's [22] perspective on power, interpersonal perception [54], and the social relations model [55], Trif and collaborators [9] proposed a conceptualization of power integrating the idea that, during interactions unfolding in MPCSs, each stakeholder is both the target and the perceiver of power differences. Namely, they argued that as the interactions among stakeholders unfold, the perceptions on the self-attributed power, the power that is attributed to others, as well as the power that is attributed to an actor by the other stakeholders in the system change as well and they might alter differently the subsequent dynamics of the MPCSs.…”

“…Multiparty collaborative systems (MPCSs) are social systems composed of representatives from different organizations (further on referred to as stakeholders or parties) that come together to address complex societal issues that cannot be addressed by organizations alone [3]. The topics range from environmental issues [4,5], regional development and complex construction projects [6,7], or education [8,9]. As power dynamics emerge in multiparty negotiation and collaboration situations and taking into consideration that it has important consequences for the outcomes of these complex social systems [6,8,10,11], it is paramount to understand how power and power shifts alter the dynamics of such MPCSs.…”