Decision aiding in multi-party transfer pricing negotiation: The effects of computer-mediated communication and structured interaction.

摘要

This study examines the effects of communication channels (computer-mediated versus face-to-face) and interaction structure (no formal structure versus modified Nominal Group Technique) on the performance of 3-person groups assigned an integrative negotiation task with logrolling potential.;An experiment was conducted in which participants were given an intra-organizational transfer pricing task where they assumed the role of a selling division or one of two buying divisions and negotiated a joint agreement on transfer pricing terms including price, quality, and timeliness. In a half of all groups, members were physically isolated from one another and communicated with the aid of an electronic-messaging facility; in the other half, members met directly and communicated face-to-face. Within each of these two communication conditions, half the groups interacted freely without any formal structure; in the other half, group members interacted using a 2-step, modified Nominal Group Technique consisting of problem-definition and problem-evaluation analagous to an agenda or problem-solving procedure.;Negotiation performance was analyzed using various criteria including joint outcomes, inequality of resource distribution, deviations from integrative agreement, accuracy of perceptions, process measures including flaming and time taken, type of agreement, and demographic data. Results showed that computer-mediated groups and unstructured groups obtained lower outcomes, distributed resources more unequally, deviated more from integrative agreements, and maintained more inaccurate perceptions than face-to-face groups and structured groups respectively. Computer-mediated groups displayed more competitive, flaming behavior and a greater tendency to reach coalitional agreements than face-to-face groups. Computer-mediated groups and structured groups also took more time to reach agreement than face-to-face groups and unstructured groups.;On the first two sessions, computer-mediated unstructured groups obtained the lowest outcomes, followed by computer-mediated structured groups, face-to-face unstructured groups, and face-to-face structured groups. On the last session, face-to-face structured groups continued to obtain the highest outcomes, followed by computer-mediated structured groups, face-to-face unstructured groups, and computer-mediated unstructured groups. There were significant learning effects in all conditions, though computer-mediated structured groups displayed a higher rate of learning than any of the other groups, especially in the last session. These results are discussed in terms of implications for the successful decision-aiding of small group negotiation.