Field testing integrative negotiations.

Abstract

Of the numerous studies conducted on negotiations, almost all of them have focused on distributive negotiations. The study of integrative negotiations (compared with the study of distributive negotiations) has been relatively neglected due to the lack of (a) conceptual clarity about the nature of integrative negotiations, (b) a theoretical framework, (c) a procedure for engaging in integrative ne gotiations, and (d) limitations of the existing research. Integrative negotiations may be seen as a cooperative process and distributive negotiations as a competitive process. Thus, social interdependence theory provides the framework for clarifying the nature of integrative negotiations and operationalizing a procedure for its use. There have been a series of studies on integrative negotiations that validate the link between social interdependence theory and integrative negotiations, expand the number of dependent variables that are included in the research on integrative negotiations, and increase the generaliz...