Trust in Electronically Mediated Negotiations

Interpersonal negotiations can be critically important. For instance, individuals negotiate central personal issues such as salaries or the division of labor, organizations negotiate consequential business deals, and political parties negotiate peace agreements. Notably, such negotiations are increasingly realized and supported by electronic communication media—for example by e-mail, telephone, or video-conferencing systems. Besides potential advantages such as decreased travel and opportunity costs, however, such electronically mediated negotiations are often characterized by low levels of trust among negotiators, which in turn might hamper the achievement of mutually beneficial (i.e., “Win–Win”) agreements in negotiations. This paper illuminates both the antecedents and consequences of trust in negotiations. While it is conducive to exchange information about one’s interests related to a negotiation to achieve mutually beneficial agreements, providing such information can render negotiators vulnerable to exploitation by their counterparts. Therefore, beneficial negotiation outcomes are facilitated by trust. First, we discuss whether and how trust is in fact helpful to achieving mutually satisfactory negotiation agreements. We then focus on the potential effects of electronic communication on trust at the bargaining table. We conclude with psychological strategies that might support trust in (electronically mediated) negotiations, helping people to gauge the potential of negotiations as consequential form of social interaction.