INTERGROUP NEGOTIATIONS - THE EFFECTS OF NEGOTIATING TEAMS

In this study, the performance of individual and team negotiators is c ompared. From an intergroup relations perspective, teams may be impede d by their competitive orientation and low levels of cooperation and t rust. However, from a cognitive perspective, advantages should accrue to teams because more people are present to generate additional ideas, bring a greater number of perspectives to the problem, and perform st rategically important roles during the negotiation. The relative effec ts of these opposing forces were tested by comparing the perceptions a nd outcomes of parties in intergroup, interindividual, and mixed (team vs. individual) negotiations in a laboratory experiment. Results indi cate that the presence of teams increased competitiveness and decrease d cooperativeness and trust between negotiating parties. In mixed nego tiations, teams outperformed individual opponents and were perceived a s having more power and more ideas for a solution. Teams also affected integrative outcomes when negotiators' level of training was consider ed, such that the presence of teams negatively influenced performance for novices but positively influenced integrative outcomes for trained negotiators. The implications of these results for theories of interg roup relations and negotiations are discussed.