Don’t Step on My Toes – Longer Negotiation Dances Harm Satisfaction and Relationship

Abstract: Five studies, including lab experiments and text analyses, show that longer negotiation dances (longer exchanges of offers) harm negotiators’ process- and relationship satisfaction, and reduce willingness to interact again with the counterpart. The harmful effects are specific to the dance length, and not the overall length of the negotiation interaction.

Keywords: conversation, conflict, negotiation