Publications

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2011
Chapter

Building Intercultural Trust at the Negotiating Table

By: Sujin Jang and Roy Y.J. Chua

This chapter examines the challenges of intercultural negotiation with a focus on the critical role of trust. Building trust is crucial for successful negotiations between cultures, yet intercultural negotiations are often characterized by a lack of trust. We discuss... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Negotiation; Trust; Adaptation

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Building Bridges: New Dimensions in Negotiation

From resolving a labor dispute to orchestrating a merger to getting a new company off the ground, negotiation plays a vital role in nearly every facet of business. In response, Professor James Sebenius, founder of the HBS View Details

Keywords: by Anita M. Harris

2007
Working Paper

Paths to Equality: Walking the Talk in Multi-party Negotiations

By: Kathleen L. McGinn, Katherine L. Milkman and Markus Nöth

Past research has shown that communication in negotiations heightens social awareness, facilitates coordination, increases the utility for the other's positive outcomes, and thereby leads to more equal payoffs. But the role of specific communication strategies in... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Fairness; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Types; Behavior; Competition

March 2010 (Revised December 2012)
Background Note

A 'Rich-vs.-King' Approach to Term Sheet Negotiations

By: Noam Wasserman, Furqan Nazeeri and Kyle Anderson

This note offers a new approach to venture capital term-sheet negotiations, with actionable steps based on insights from Professor Wasserman's "Rich-vs.-King" approach to founder decisions. A core thesis of this note is that trying to negotiate all terms in a term... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Framework; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry

05 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Six Ways to Build Trust in Negotiations

seeming delighted, the union's chief negotiator responded: "We'd like to caucus to consider your offer." The manufacturer was shocked by his opponent's caution. But should he have been? The union, expecting another drawn-out... View Details

Keywords: by Deepak Malhotra

30 Jun 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

The Role of Emotions in Effective Negotiations

A simple view of negotiation presents a cold transaction between what one person has and what the other person is willing to pay for it. If the price is right, the deal gets done. As anyone who has recently bought a car or sold a house... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation; Sports

May 2020
Article

Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Inter-Generational Investment

By: Nava Ashraf, Natalie Bau, Corinne Low and Kathleen McGinn

Using a randomized control trial, we examine whether offering adolescent girls nonmaterial resources—specifically, negotiation skills—can improve educational outcomes in a low-income country. In so doing, we provide the first evidence on the effects of an intervention... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Competency and Skills; Training; Age; Gender; Education; Investment; Outcome or Result; Developing Countries and Economies

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September 2023
Case

Healthy.io: The Negotiation for the Medical Selfie

By: Amit Goldenberg and Kumba Sennaar

Healthy.io, an Israeli digital health company, prepares to enter the U.S. market with its chronic kidney disease test. A product safety approval is delayed, putting the company’s cash runway at risk. How should the CEO negotiate his offer to insurance companies ahead... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Operations; Business Startups; Market Entry and Exit; Health Industry; Israel; United Kingdom; United States

May 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Vermeer Technologies (C): Negotiating the Future

By: Ashish Nanda

The success of the Vermeer software offering suddenly transforms the start-up into a sought after company. After arduous negotiations, Vermeer management is faced with the choice of continuing as an independent company or being acquired by Microsoft or Netscape. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Applications and Software; Decision Making; Acquisition; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Information Technology Industry

October 1996 (Revised December 1997)
Case

American Cyanamid (A): Boardroom Response to a Hostile Takeover Offer

American Home Products' (AHP) $9 billion hostile takeover of American Cyanamid (Cyanamid) was the largest mergers and-acquistions transaction in 1994, and made AHP the fourth largest pharmaceutical firm in the United States. At the time of AHP's offer, Cyanamid had... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

March 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

VacationSpot.com & Rent-A-Holiday: Negotiating a Trans-Atlantic Merger of Start-Ups

Describes a potential trans-Atlantic merger between two young companies in the Internet space. VacationSpot.com, based in Seattle, and Rent-A-Holiday, based in Brussels, both offer online listings and reservations for independent leisure lodging (i.e., villas,... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Valuation; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Travel Industry; United States; Brussels

11 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating When the Rules Suddenly Change

How can you negotiate when the rules suddenly change, and no one knows whether your particular market is headed up or down? Regrouping from the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season due to failed labor negotiations, National Hockey League... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler; Sports

August 5, 2016
Article

A Definitive Guide to the Brexit Negotiations

By: Deepak Malhotra

In this article I offer an analysis of the negotiation landscape facing UK and EU negotiators, along with advice on how they might navigate the "Brexit" process more effectively. For the record, I have not (at the time of this writing) been asked by either side to... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Economics; United Kingdom; European Union

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June 2020
Article

In Generous Offers I Trust: The Effect of First-offer Value on Economically Vulnerable Behaviors

By: M. Jeong, J. Minson and F. Gino

Negotiation scholarship espouses the importance of opening a bargaining situation with an aggressive offer, given the power of first offers to shape concessionary behavior and outcomes. In our research, we identify a surprising consequence to this common prescription.... View Details

Keywords: Attribution; Interpersonal Interaction; Judgment; Social Interaction; Inference; Open Data; Open Materials; Preregistered; Negotiation Offer; Strategy; Behavior; Interpersonal Communication; Trust; Outcome or Result

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16 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

What Happens When Zambian Schoolgirls Receive Negotiation Training

a learned ability to capitalize when opportunities to communicate arose, as well as to discern when situations offered a chance for discussion. “Even though negotiation is taught around the world, there is... View Details

Keywords: Re: Kathleen L. McGinn

January 2001 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Term Sheet Negotiations for Trendsetter, Inc.

Describes two aspiring entrepreneurs who have just received offering documents for venture funding (known as term sheets) from two venture capital firms. Neither of the entrepreneurs have experience in raising capital and they are wondering how to compare the two... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Decision Making

2003
Case

Lakhdar Brahimi / Negotiating a New Government for Afghanistan

By: James K. Sebenius and Kristin Schneeman

Part of the PON Great Negotiator Case Study Series, this factual case study examines former UN Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi's involvement in negotiating an interim Afghani government after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. As a result of these efforts, Brahimi... View Details

Keywords: Contemporary History; Government and Politics; Agreements and Arrangements; Leadership Style; Cognition and Thinking; Conferences; Afghanistan