Publications

Educators

June 2014
Supplement

Ad Classification at Right Media — slide supplement (widescreen)

By: Benjamin Edelman

Right Media considers systems and policies to make sure that ads are only shown on web sites where they are appropriate, and vice versa. Setting standards is particularly challenging given the large and growing marketplace, the numerous participants, their diverse... View Details

Keywords: Media; Online Advertising; Market Participation; Negotiation Tactics; Communication; Marketing Communications; Digital Marketing; Standards

People, including negotiators, lie every day, so when you're trying to make a deal, it's important to defend against deception. The best strategy, says the author, is to focus not on detecting lies but on preventing them. She outlines five tactics that research has... View Details

11 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating When the Rules Suddenly Change

and acting. He concluded that tactical and strategic victory hinges on cycling through this loop faster than the enemy (or by disrupting the enemy's ability to connect those activities efficiently). The first two elements—observing and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler; Sports

December 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Exercise

Negotiating Peace Accords in Bellicoso for UN Negotiating Team Representatives: General Instructions and Confidential Information

Bellicoso is a multi-party conflict resolution simulation based loosely on the bitter civil war in El Salvador. It is designed to explore issues in: 1) the management of interactions between external negotiations between sides and internal negotiations within them, 2)... View Details

Keywords: War; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Participants; Government and Politics; Conflict and Resolution; El Salvador

October 2009
Article

Negotiation Analysis: From Games to Inferences to Decisions to Deals

By: James K. Sebenius

Exemplified by the pioneering work of Howard Raiffa and often expressed in the pages of the Negotiation Journal, the emergent prescriptive field of "negotiation analysis" progressively developed from Raiffa's early contributions to game theory and to his later... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Game Theory

Read Now

September 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Supplement

Wyoff and China-LuQuan: Negotiating a Joint Venture (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Cheng (Jason) Qian

Through stalled joint venture talks between Pennsylvania-based Wyoff Corp. and Jinan-based China-LuQuan, strategic and cross-cultural negotiation challenges are explored both from American and Chinese perspectives. Wyoff, a leading U.S. chemical company, has been... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Chemical Industry; China; Pennsylvania

26 Sep 2007
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Negotiation

strategy is an aligned combination of set-up moves that occur away from the table, deal design moves, and tactics at the table, all designed to overcome the barriers you've identified. The best response to a barrier in one dimension may... View Details

November 1999
Case

Doyle's Dealmaking Dilemma: Negotiating the Job Search

By: James K. Sebenius

MBA student Doyle Williams searches for his ideal job in a private equity group and uses his negotiation skills to try to attain the best possible compensation package. View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Job Interviews; Job Search; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics

December 2001
Background Note

A Note on Critical Moments in Negotiation

By: Michael A. Wheeler and Gillian Morris

This case provides an introduction to the wide field of literature that addresses the presence of critical moments--moments that fundamentally can change the negotiation. Critical moments have been examined by a range of theorists and scientists, from mathematicians to... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Decision Choices and Conditions; Change; Negotiation Process; Body of Literature

Web

Negotiation - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Negotiation Course Number 2240 Professor John Beshears Associate Professor Katherine Coffman Assistant Professor Thomas Graeber Senior Lecturer Kevin Mohan Senior Lecturer Kym Nelson Assistant Professor Julian J. Zlatev... View Details

31 Mar 2020
Cold Call Podcast

Controlling the Emotion of Negotiation

Keywords: Re: Leslie K. John; Real Estate

August 2009
Article

The Reality and Myth of Sacred Issues in Negotiations

By: A. E. Tenbrunsel, K A. Wade-Benzoni, V. H. Medvec, L. Thompson and M. H. Bazerman

This paper investigates the role of sacred issues in a dyadic negotiation set in an environmental context. As predicted, when negotiators focus on sacred issues, this negatively impacts the negotiation, producing more impasses, lower joint outcomes, and more negative... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict of Interests; Perception; Cooperation

January 2013
Article

The Fog of Negotiation: What Negotiators Can Learn from Military Doctrine

By: Michael A. Wheeler

On the surface, warfare and negotiation may seem to be polar opposites. The objective in war is to defeat the enemy. In negotiation, the goal is to find a solution that satisfies all the parties. Not surprisingly, little cross-learning and exchange has occurred across... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Leadership; War; Negotiation; Learning

Read Now

01 Jun 2002
News

HBS Students Negotiate a Victory

complete the third year of the four-year program. Describing the factors that contributed to their success, Chung credited tactics learned during the first year of studies in the classroom of HBS professor Max Bazerman, a View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Transportation

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

Educators

April 2010
Case

Bill Nichol Negotiates with Walmart: Hard Bargains over Soft Goods (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

CEO Bill Nichol must somehow negotiate a surprise ultimatum from Walmart, his largest customer, about his largest and most profitable product line: “We're dropping it.” Among its hosiery products, the Kentucky Derby Hosiery Co. produces and sells a branded line of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Crisis Management; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict Management; Apparel and Accessories Industry; North America

Educators

2016
Book

Negotiating the Impossible: How to Break Deadlocks and Resolve Ugly Conflicts (without Money or Muscle)

By: Deepak Malhotra

Some negotiations are easy. Others are more difficult. And then there are situations that seem completely hopeless. Conflict is escalating, people are getting aggressive, and no one is willing to back down. And, to top it off, you have little power or other resources... View Details

Keywords: Dealmaking; Diplomacy; Conflict; Dispute Resolution; Strategy; Conflict Management; Negotiation

Web

Negotiation Course Online | HBS Online

Tactical Choices Show Hide Details Concepts BATNA Analysis Psychological Factors Offer Analysis Bargaining Tactics Featured Exercises Negotiation simulation (Negotiating a... View Details

July 2000 (Revised October 2019)
Exercise

Riggs-Vericomp Negotiation (B): Confidential Information for VERICOMP (Buyer)

By: Michael Wheeler

The seller (Riggs Engineering) manufactures and services recycling equipment for the computer industry. The buyer (Vericomp) uses solvents in manufacturing chips. Though set in a high-tech industry, this exercise illustrates fundamental aspects of negotiation analysis... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Tactics; Value Creation; Computer Industry