Industry and Gender Differences in Negotiation Tendencies

Abstract: Much of what is empirically known about negotiation is a product of laboratory methods that bracket negotiation around bargaining situations (Barley, 1991). But in the field, negotiators must engage in a more extensive process, including planning, bargaining, and implementation (Gulliver, 1979; Zartman, 2006). We offer initial insights into how people in different industries engage in the extended process. We surveyed people in the healthcare (N=100), IT (N=96), finance (N=97), agribusiness (N=28) industries, and executive education (N=37) using the Negotiation Behavior Inventory (NBI; Jang, Elfenbein, & Bottom, 2021), which measures tendencies across phases. People in finance and IT generally reported highest scores. Women engaged in more of the recommended behaviors, with the exception of engaging in value claiming.

Keywords: Negotiation process, industry differences, gender differences

Topic: NEG   |   Format: Extended Abstract