Mighty women, weak men or vice versa--who is best at expanding the pie? A new paradigm to explore the effects of gender and power on integrative negotiation

Keywords: Gender, Power, Integrative Negotiation, Expanding the Pie

Abstract: The interplay of power and gender in negotiations was investigated in two experiments (N = 126, and N = 148). In a new paradigm, negotiators could create extra value by solving optional issues besides mandatory issues. Results showed that power prevailed in the mandatory issues; more powerful parties claimed a larger part of the outcomes for the (distributive) mandatory issues than less powerful parties, regardless of the powerful party’s gender. For the (integrative) optional issues, a different picture emerged. There, the power difference was irrelevant, and gender effects emerged. Powerful males still claimed more of the value created, but when powerful females negotiated with powerless males, the powerless males created more value and claimed more of it. The new paradigm helped to tear apart the effects of power and gender, and showed that creating value via adding additional issues to the negotiation table can also be studied experimentally and quantifiably.