Lessons from Practice: Extensions of Current Negotiation Theory and Research

Abstract: Negotiation is in essence a practical skill. We identified the need to increase the number of academic contributions related to negotiation practice. The goal of this symposium is to identify the areas in which research informs the practice, as well as areas in which the practice calls for theoretical developments. The five papers included in this symposium illustrate different ways in which practice can help academics extend the current theory. For example, describing how the predictions made by current theories can inform the practice, adapting and applying hostage negotiation principles to everyday negotiations, or testing the limits of current theories by adding external constraints and dependencies between and within negotiation issues. These examples can help academic reflect on the limits of the current theories, they can also help teachers illustrate the relationship between theory and practice, and finally they can be useful to practitioners that face uncertainty and can base interventions in theoretical predictions. The symposium will be facilitated by practitioners and academics.

Keywords: theory, practice, negotaition, conflict management