Competitive negotiation

Disciplines > Negotiation > Negotiation styles > Competitive negotiation

Zero sum | Substance only | Competitive strategy | See also

In competitive negotiation, the approach is to treat the process as a competition that is to be won or lost.

Zero sum

The basic assumption of competitive negotiation is that it is a 'zero sum game'. That is, the people involved believe that there is a fixed amount to be gained which both people desire, and if one person gains then the other person loses. It is like arguing over a pie: if one person gets a piece of the pie then the other person does not.

Win-lose

The outcome of zero-sum negotiation is defined in terms of winners and losers. One person gets what they want and feels smug (or maybe a bit guilty) whilst the other person gets loses out and feels cheated or a failure.

Substance only

In competitive negotiation, the substance of what is being traded is the only real concern, and dealings are done in a hard and 'what I can get' way.

A way of thinking zero-sum is to translate everything into financial terms. Thus, for example, if you are buying or selling a car, you think first in terms of its resale value. Thus the only real negotiable for many competitive negotiators is price.

Unimportant relationship

In competitive negotiation, the relationship between the people is unimportant. They do not care about one another or what the other thinks about them. For example, this may occur in one-off sales where 'caveat emptor' is a key rule.

To show concern for the other is to show weakness that may be taken advantage of. This can lead to trickery where false concern is shown, and reactions where any show of concern is perceived as likely trickery (and can lead to attempts of two-faced double-dealing).

Competitive strategy

Competitive strategies that seek substantial gains focus either on hard exchange or

Hard exchange

In a hard exchange, what is being exchanged is clear and above-board and both sides agree to the deal. There is no trickery or pressure and the players agree to the exchange, albeit with one person potentially more satisfied than the other.

The hard exchange is like a fair fight. Both players accept the rules and play cleanly (although more for a respect of the rules than a respect of the other person). This may be encouraged by potential punishment for double dealing, such as the legislation that sellers may face.

Double dealing

The alternative method of competitive negotiation is to throw the rulebook out of the window and resort to approaches such as aggression and deception. Either party may tell lies and use verbal or even physical persuasive methods. We are all bound by internal values and the level of trickery or physicality used will vary along a spectrum. Although we may find this distasteful, we all know that it happens and many of us have been less than truthful in our negotiations.