AN EMPIRICAL-STUDY OF AN INTERACTIVE, SESSION-ORIENTED COMPUTERIZED NEGOTIATION SUPPORT SYSTEM (NSS)

Negotiating is one of the four major decisional roles played by manage rs. In fact, resolving conflict is said to occupy 20% of a manager's w orking hours. This growing frequency of negotiation scenarios coupled with the increasing complexity of the issues which need to be resolved in a negotiation make the possibility of computer enhancement for neg otiation very appealing. Implementations of computerized Negotiation S upport Systems (NSS) in the business world, international affairs, lab or law, and environmental and safety disputes have demonstrated their potential for making negotiation problems more manageable and comprehe nsible for negotiators. Still, pioneers in NSS research have expressed their dismay at the lack of rigorous empirical research and evaluatio n of NSS. In particular, research is needed which will determine how a nd under what circumstances negotiation processes can be enhanced by N SS support. This article describes empirical research on the effects o f a highly structured, interactive NSS on the outcome of face-to-face issues resolution and the attitudes of negotiators in both low- and hi gh-conflict situations. In a laboratory experiment, bargaining dyads p layed the roles of manufacturers negotiating a four-issue, three-year purchase agreement for an engine subcomponent in conditions of high an d low conflict of interest. The results of the study showed that NSS s upport did help bargainers achieve higher joint outcomes and more bala nced contracts, but that the NSS support increased negotiation time. S atisfaction was greater for NSS dyads in both conflict levels, and per ceived negative climate was reduced in low conflict. One primary impli cation of the results of this study is that NSS developers should keep in mind the importance of providing users with a system with interact ive qualities which not only enhance the decision-making process but a lso provide them with a sense of participation in reaching the solutio n, as was done in this study.