Negotiators’ Information Sharing: The Effects of Opponent Behavior and Information about Previous Negotiators’ Performance

In this study, we investigate the effects of three factors upon negotiators' information sharing: (a) the opponent's information sharing, (b) the opponent's call for information sharing, and (c) information about previous negotiators' performance. To test the effects of the factors, we had 120 subjects participate in a laboratory experiment wherein they negotiated over three issues. The results indicate that negotiators share more information (i.e., disclose information about their BATNA and about their payoffs) when their opponents share information (i.e., disclose information about BATNA and about payoffs) and when their opponents call for the negotiators to share information. Information about the previous negotiators' performance did not affect the negotiators' own information sharing. However, the negotiators did have high aspirations when presented with a mix of information-that some previous negotiators had attained high outcomes and others had attained low outcomes.