Agreement Fluidity Schema: Impact on Contract Extensiveness and Information Search

Abstract: Most negotiation research assumes the process ends with a formal agreement. We argue that agreements can sometimes change as new situations arise, but negotiators vary in whether they expect future modifications. Those with a Fixed Agreement Fluidity Schema (AFS) expect that the deal will not change, while those with a Fluid AFS anticipate that a deal may well be altered over time. Negotiators’ AFS influences their psychological state and behavior during negotiations and shapes the kinds of contracts they strive to produce. Those with a more fixed AFS experience more deal anxiety – concern to get the agreement exactly right. As a result, they engage in more information search during the negotiation process and create more extensive contracts. This framework, supported in five studies, brings into view a major element of the negotiation process, opening new avenues for research.

Keywords: Negotiation, Contract, Agreement, Schema, Anxiety

Ray Friedman, Vanderbilt University, United States | Ray.Friedman@Vanderbilt.edu

Wu Liu, Department of Marketing and Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong | wu.liu@polyu.edu.hk

William Bottom, Olin Business School, Washington University, United States | bottomb@wustl.edu

Michele Gelfand, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, United States | gelfand1@stanford.edu

Robin Pinkley, Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, United States | rpinkley@mail.cox.smu.edu