How do people plan to negotiate?

Abstract

Planning is critical for negotiation success as it facilitates obtaining superior outcomes. However, little empirically is known about what people do to plan. We offer an initial exploration of the topic, with the aim of inspiring greater research attention to the topic. We approach the question from an individual differences perspective, since planning phase places greater emphasis on individual action. We explored how the Big Five personality factors and gender predict preference and search for information that facilitates efforts to claim value, create value, and manage relationships. In Study 1, we used a survey method to elicit preferences. Extraversion and conscientiousness predicted preference for information that would help to claim value, and agreeableness predicted preference for information that would help to manage relationships. Women preferred value creating information. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, we examined search behavior using the Mouselab paradigm (Johnson, Payne, Bettman, & Schkade, 1989). A different pattern of relationships emerged. When the search task was complex, agreeableness predicted how extensively people searched for information. When tasks were more constrained, we detected fewer relationships between individual differences and search behavior.