“Negotiations In The Wild: What Has The Negotiation Field Missed By Focusing On The Lab?”

Over the past fifty years, scholars have created a wealth of knowledge in the field of negotiation, which not only built theory but also valuable prescriptive advice. However, most of the research in negotiation has been conducted in the laboratory with students. In this project, we examine what the negotiation field may have missed as a result of this narrow focus. To do so, we first conducted an expansive literature review of articles published in leading psychology and management journals. We then conducted in-depth interviews with professionals that negotiate routinely at work. Lastly, we analyzed negotiation training videos to understand their topics of focus. Our investigation revealed that negotiation research has not adequately examined two topics that seem vital to negotiation practice: experience and relationships. We provide recommendations on how to bridge this gap between negotiation research and practice.