THE ROLE OF NEGOTIATOR ASPIRATIONS AND SETTLEMENT EXPECTANCIES IN BARGAINING OUTCOMES

The following paper offers both a framework and empirical test of the importance of negotiators′ aspiration levels and settlement expectancies on negotiated outcomes. In particular, we demonstrate that, in the presence of a stable bargaining zone, negotiators′ aspirations significantly affect negotiated outcomes. Further, we find that asymmetries in negotiators′ aspirations with respect to the bargaining zone are a source of inefficiency in bargaining-i.e., asymmetries increase the likelihood of impasse in the presence of a positive bargaining zone. We also present data which examine the role of settlement expectancies as another source of settlement inefficiency. © 1994 Academic Press.