Interest Alignment and Coalitions in Multiparty Negotiation

Abstract

This study tested hypotheses developed from the distinct literatures on negotiations and coalitions and hypotheses integrating the two. In a complex, three-person negotiation simulation, subjects had to decide jointly how to allocate two resource pools. They were given multiple pieces of information regarding their negotiation preferences, coalition alternatives, and entitlements. Coalition alternatives and entitlement cues affected only the resource pool to which they were directly linked, but compatible interests, through the coalitions they generated, affected both resource pools, including the one to which these interests were not directly linked. We discuss the importance of integrating negotiation and coalition research in a way that incorporates the social dynamics of the negotiation interaction.