Mediation support with expert systems and robotic tele-presence

This study investigates the effects of using a mediation expert system under various support conditions in a laboratory setting. Information is provided to the system and advice retrieved either by the participants themselves, via a human mediator or via a tele-operated robot. We study the effects of these different ways of providing mediation support and communicating with the participants on negotiation outcomes, trust and technology acceptance. With regard to agreement rates and agreement quality the robot and human mediator performed similarly and outperformed mediation support provided by a screen-based expert system and a control group. No differences were found on gender of the mediator or system operation, Nor were these differences on technology acceptance.