HOW NEGOTIATORS REACT TO AI-AUGMENTATION IN NEGOTIATIONS: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF GENDER

Abstract: This paper investigates potential unintended effects arising from using AI systems in negotiation. We theorize that when counterparts are aware that a negotiator is using agents as assistants or for training, they change their negotiation behaviors and get different outcomes. Results show that awareness of AI use on the other side leads to different outcomes in negotiation for counterparts, depending on their gender. When informed that their counterpart is using AI, women experience a decline in gains, whereas men see an increase in outcomes. Two experimental studies test and support our hypotheses: one involving human–human negotiations with student samples and another online experiment with general working population negotiating against bots, while being told they face human counterparts. Findings contribute to research on AI, negotiation, and gender effects by highlighting unintended consequences of using AI agents in negotiation and the gender dynamics that shape these effects.

Keywords: Negotiation; Artificial Intelligence; AI Augmentation; Gender; Threat Perception