THE IMPORTANCE OF OTHERS WELFARE IN EVALUATING BARGAINING OUTCOMES

This research proposes that negotiators consider each other's payoffs in their evaluation of potential settlements beyond the level necessar y to maintain the bargaining relationship. We further hypothesize that the way in which negotiators weight their opponents' payoffs, relativ e to their own, is a function of characteristics of the relationship a nd of the bargainers' personalities. Specifically, we consider liking of the other party, payoff expectations, satisfaction with past settle ments, the likelihood of future negotiations, egocentricity, and power orientation. We demonstrate the impact of these factors on the satisf action negotiators derive from profiting more and less than their oppo nents using data from an experiment in which subjects negotiate with c omputer-simulated opponents.