The Remote Revolution - Exploring the Effect of Home-Office on Negotiation Performance

Abstract: As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, many employees were forced to conduct negotiations from home-offices. A return to solely office-based negotiations even after the pandemic seems unlikely. The shift to home-office has evolved into a fundamental change in work methods that will continue to affect us in the future. Even though many home-office assignments involve negotiation-related activities which are critical to the success of organizations, the impact of the home-office on negotiation performance has not been studied. To determine the optimal environment for home-office negotiations and identify relevant factors for home-office settings, it is important to close this research gap. This study therefore investigates the impact of home-office on negotiation performance and considers several factors that indirectly influence the relationship between home-office and negotiation performance. Preliminary results show that amongst others partner commitment, goal commitment, and work autonomy are critical factors that significantly influence home-office negotiations.

Keywords: negotiation, home-office, job involvement, commitment, work autonomy, negotiation performance, structural equation modeling