Is stress helping or hurting negotiation outcomes? An evaluation of social motivation.

Keywords: Stress; Negotiation; Social value orientation; outcomes.

Abstract: Negotiators are often under stress and time pressure. Empirical evidence suggests that stress can both help and hurt negotiation outcomes. We suggest that by disentangling the effects of time pressure from the effects of stress and that considering the social motivation of the participants we can contribute to explain the relationship between stress and joint outcomes. Our research suggests that negotiators under stress 1) make more integrative offers (S1) 2) reach higher joint outcomes (S2) 3) and that social value orientation moderates the effect of stress on joint outcomes (S2). Our findings suggests that prosocials fare better under stress compared to proselves. We discuss the implications for the stress and time pressure on negotiation literature and provide practical implications for managers negotiating under stress.