THE ALTERNATIVE NEGOTIATOR AS THE INVISIBLE 3RD AT THE TABLE - THE IMPACT OF POTENCY INFORMATION

This study explores the impact of person information about an alternat ive negotiator in dyadic negotiation in which one of two individuals i s able to exit the negotiation to further negotiate with the alternati ve party. Individualistic negotiators were expected to be influenced m ore by information about the alternative party's strength than prosoci al negotiators. Forty-nine dyads were randomly assigned to one of the experimental conditions in a 2 (Potency of the Alternative Negotiator: Low vs. High) by 2 (One's Own Motivational Orientation: Individualist ic vs. Prosocial) factorial design. Face-to-face interactions were aud iotaped and transcribed In line with our expectation, individualistica lly orientated negotiators engaged in problem solving to a lesser exte nt and communicated more threats and putdowns when the alternative par ty was perceived as weak and submissive rather than strong and dominan t. Within negotiation dyads power asymmetry evoked power struggle Even tually, however, negotiators with an alternative party outperformed pa rties lacking an alternative. As expected prosocially orientated negot iators were less influenced by both the mere presence of an alternativ e negotiation partner and potency information about the alternative pa rty. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.