Negotiation propensity at risk? A dynamic perspective on consumers’ willingness to negotiate in the digital age

In B2C markets, the dominant purpose of consumers to initiate a negotiation is to realize a better price. Negotiation researchers have widely discussed factors influencing consumers’ negotiation propensity, e.g., personality traits or product type. Besides these factors, scholars have stressed the Internet as one driver of consumers’ willingness to engage in negotiations: Consumers can easily access and compare price information online and thus initiate negotiations more self-confidently. However, to the best of our knowledge, no empirical study has yet investigated the dynamic development of negotiation propensity (NP) with respect to contextual changes, such as the rise of the Internet. Hence, we are the first to examine this research gap by comparing two large empirical studies on Germans’ negotiation propensity conducted in 2012 and 2019. Surprisingly, preliminary results show no significant effect of the Internet on NP over time. Based on our data, we derive reasons that are likely to promote this development.