Beating the Rival but Losing the Game: How Rivalry Shifts Negotiators' Goals Away from Value Claiming

Decades of negotiations research has emphasized the importance of alternatives. Negotiators with stronger BATNA claim higher values in negotiation. We extend this line of work by proposing that the source of BATNAs–who they have an alternative offer from–shapes negotiators’ strategies. We examine how negotiators respond to a counterpart that has an alternative offer from their rival. Three studies demonstrate that the alternative offer from rival activates a goal of defeating the rival, leading a negotiator to make more favorable, less aspirational, offers. The goal of defeating the rival further shields the goal of getting a good deal. Thus, the current work applies a relational lens to BATNA dynamics and highlights the importance of recognizing existing relationships among the key actors in negotiations.