Power and negotiation: review of current evidence and future directions. (June 2020) - Schaerer, Michael
Highlights: Power generally has positive effects on negotiators' individual performance. But not when power is operationalized as numerical alternatives. In dyads, power (im)balance has mixed effects on joint performance. But power source, power distribution, and competitiveness are potential moderators. Future research: contrast power sources, identify low-power strategies, more realism. Abstract : This review synthesizes the impact of power on individual and joint negotiation performance. Although power generally has positive effects on negotiators' individual performance (value claiming), recent work suggests that more power is not always beneficial. Taking a dyadic perspective, we also find mixed evidence for how power affects joint performance (value creation); some studies show that equal-power dyads create more value than unequal-power dyads, but others find the opposite. We identify the source of power, power distribution, and competitiveness as critical moderators of this relationship. Finally, we suggest that future research should move beyond studying alternatives in dyadic deal-making, identify strategies to overcome a lack of power, increase empirical realism, and take a more dynamic view of power in negotiations.