Show Me Your Hands: A Moderator Effect Analysis on Nonverbal Behavior at the Bargaining Table

Abstract

Does the position of the hands interfere with the outcome of a negotiation? In this research, statistical analysis with N=110 business negotiations addressed to what extent nonverbal reinforcement (BL) moderates the relationship between opening value (OpenVal) and deal value (DealVal) of a face-to-face business negotiation requesting budgetary resources between two parties, with a 99 percent confidence interval. The null hypothesis has been rejected, and the results showed that showing hands (BL=1) was not more significant (B = -.015, p < .969) than hiding hands (BL=0), highly significant (B = 2,323, p <.000), implying that hiding hands produce more adverse results than showing hands at the bargaining table. Finally, the average difference between showing and hiding hands was 20.2 percent in the deal value, suggesting the adoption of nonverbal reinforcement in budgetary negotiations at the bargaining table.