Trust Expectations, Information Sharing, Climate of Trust, and Negotiation Effectiveness and Efficiency

Abstract

Trust expectations, information quantity shared, the climate of trust, and negotiated outcomes were investigated. Initial trust expectation was manipulated, and participants provided data about the quantity of information shared, the climate of trust, and the outcomes of the negotiations. The 324 participants were practicing managers who conducted a negotiating role play with win-win potential. Information sharing followed from initial trust expectations, and information sharing did not fully mediate the relationship between expectations and climate of trust. Negotiating effectiveness was associated with the quantity of information shared but not with trust. Procedural inefficiency (time to discover the solution) decreased as information quantity increased, but procedural inefficiency was not related to trust. One measure of outcome inefficiency (complexity of the agreement) decreased as trust increased, but another measure of outcome inefficiency (monetary cost of the agreement) was not related to trust. Unexpectedly, buyers’ monetary cost increased as information increased, suggesting that sellers might profit from information exchange and, indirectly, from trust. Contributions and limitations of the study are discussed in addition to implications of trust in negotiations by practicing managers.