Margaret A. Neale

Stanford University | SU · Graduate School of Business

We hypothesized that threats to people's social (i.e., group) identity can trigger deviant attitudes and behaviors. A correlational study and five experiments showed that experiencing or recalling situations associated with the devaluation of a social identity caused participants to endorse or engage in deviant actions, including stealing, cheating...

In two experiments, we investigate how individuals' levels of power and status interact to determine how they are perceived by others. We find that power and status have similar, positive, effects on judged dominance. We also find that power has a negative effect on perceived warmth, but status moderates this “power penalty”: high power without sta...

Is communicating anger or threats more effective in eliciting concessions in negotiation? Recent research has emphasized the effectiveness of anger communication, an emotional strategy. In this article, we argue that anger communication conveys an implied threat, and we document that issuing threats is a more effective negotiation strategy than com...

Two studies showed that possessing information about a negotiation counterpart that is irrelevant to the negotiation task can impair negotiators' effectiveness because such knowledge impedes effective information exchange. In Study 1, negotiators who possessed diagnostic and nondiagnostic forms of information were each less likely to exchange infor...

We examine how emotion (anger and happiness) affects value claiming and creation in a dyadic negotiation between parties with unequal power. Using a new statistical technique that analyzes individual data while controlling for dyad-level dependence, we demonstrate that anger is helpful for powerful negotiators. They feel more focused and assertive,...

We examined how the minority's perceived (i.e., not real) expertise affects group discussion and performance. In two experiments, participants were randomly assigned to interacting groups in which the minority faction was perceived as either expert or not. Groups performed a decision task that involved solving a murder mystery. Both experiments sho...

The impact of diversity on group functioning is multifaceted. Exploring the impact of having a newcomer join a group, the authors conducted a 2 (social similarity of newcomer to oldtimers; in-group or out-group) x 3 (opinion agreement: newcomer has no opinion ally, one opinion ally, or two opinion allies) interacting group experiment with four-pers...

Highly relational contexts can have costs as well as benefits. Researchers theorize that negotiating dyads in which both parties hold highly relational goals or views of themselves are prone to relational accommodation, a dynamic resulting in inefficient economic outcomes yet high levels of relational capital. Previous research has provided only in...

This paper describes a model that explores the critical roles of three group composition factors (social category diversity, value diversity, and informational diversity) and two moderating variables (task type and task interdependence) on work group performance and morale. The three types of diversity are proposed to exhibit both main effects and...

The effects of risk aversion and of arbitration costs on bargaining outcomes are investigated using data from 171 simulated negotiations. The results are generally consistent with predictions from a simple economic bargaining model. We find strong evidence that directs costs of arbitration lead to higher rates of agreement. There is only weak evide...

In this chapter, we present a model for the process of value creation in power-differentiated groups and identify affect as a key moderator. We divide the value creation process into two key steps: information sharing and information processing. Further, we propose that high- and low-power group members each play a critical, albeit different, role...

We examined how surface-level diversity (based on race) and deep-level similarities influenced three-person decision-making groups on a hidden-profile task. Surface-level homogeneous groups perceived their information to be less unique and spent less time on the task than surface-level diverse groups. When the groups were given the opportunity to l...

“Diversity” in employee teams does not always equal superior performance

SUMMARY—As the workplace has become increasingly diverse, there has been a tension between the promise and the reality of diversity in team process and performance. The optimistic view holds that diversity will lead to an increase in the variety of perspectives and approaches brought to a problem and to opportunities for knowledge sharing, and henc...

Though theoretical links have been established between group diversity and performance on creative tasks, researchers have had difficulties confirming this view. In this inductive study we argue that part of this difficulty stems from a failure to fully account for the effects of uncertainty on task performance groups. Using qualitative and quantit...

The effectiveness of threats in negotiations was examined by exploring two factors likely to affect it: implicitness, or the extent to which the threat mentions what action the perpetrator would take if the target does not comply; and timing, or the time when the threat is stated. Participants were given a negotiation scenario that differed only by...

Highly relational contexts can have costs as well as benefits. Researchers theorize that negotiating dyads in which both parties hold highly relational goals or views of themselves are prone to relational accommodation, a dynamic resulting in inefficient economic outcomes yet high levels of relational capital. Previous research has provided only in...

The impact of congruence between social and knowledge ties on performance in diverse groups was examined. Congruence occurs when group members who are socially tied share the same information and a stranger has any unique information. Incongruence occurs when group members who are socially tied possess different information, and one of them shares...

Time pressure impacts the information that emerges in a group discussion. Executives need help managing the challenges posed by time pressure to arrive at the best decisions. In particular, we address two common biases that impact the group decision making process: the confirmation bias and the common information effect. Strategies are presented fo...

Information technology can facilitate the dissemination of knowledge across the organization— even to the point of making virtual teams a viable alternative to face-to-face work. However, unless managed, the combination of information technology and virtual work may serve to change the distribution of different types of knowledge across individuals...

This study investigated the effects of social status and perceived expertise on the emphasis of unique and shared knowledge within functionally heterogeneous groups. While perceived expertise did not increase the individual's emphasis of their own unique knowledge, perceived experts were more likely than nonexperts to emphasize shared knowledge and...

Multidisciplinary research on dynamics, problems, and potential of distributed work. Technological advances and changes in the global economy are increasing the geographic distribution of work in industries as diverse as banking, wine production, and clothing design. Many workers communicate regularly with distant coworkers; some monitor and manipu...

Virtual teams are increasingly common in organizations, yet explicit theory and research on virtual team processes and outcomes is relatively rare. In this chapter, we first place virtual teams in context and provide a two dimensional framework for understanding the range of virtualness. We then build from foundations of diversity, psychological sa...

This chapter considers the social structuring processes that occur in groups using computer medicated communications (CMC). Building on a model of status dynamics in face-to-face groups, we develop a series of propositions that indicate how characteristic differences between face-to-face and computer-mediated communications media are likely to affe...

Information technology may play the role of a jealous mistress when it comes to the relationship between individual and organizational knowledge creation. Information technology can facilitate the dissemination of knowledge across the organization - even to the point of making virtual groups a viable alternative to face-to-face work. However, unles...

This chapter considers the social structuring processes that occur in groups that use computer medicated communication (CMC). We propose several mechanisms through which status is created, negotiated, and managed in such groups. This chapter builds on earlier model of status dynamics in face-to-face groups (Owens, 1998; Owens & Sutton, 1999) to dev...

A multimethod field study of 92 workgroups explored the influence of three types of workgroup diversity (social category diversity, value diversity, and informational diversity) and two moderators (task type and task interdependence) on workgroup outcomes. Informational diversity positively influenced group performance, mediated by task conflict. V...

In this study of sell-side analysts’ forecasts, we explore the effects of analyst aptitude, learning-by-doing, and the internal environment of the brokerage house on forecast accuracy. Our results indicate that analysts’ aptitude and brokerage house characteristics are associated with forecast accuracy, while learning-by-doing is only associated wi...

This laboratory study investigated the impact of relationship, relative levels of perceived contribution, and resource constraints on individuals' allocation preferences and dyads' negotiated allocations. Dyads of female undergraduates – either strangers or roommates – were given performance feedback that one member produced the majority of the res...

Drawing from self-categorization theory, we tested hypotheses on the effects of an organization's demographic composition and cultural emphasis on work processes and outcomes. Using an organizational simulation, we found that the extent to which an organization emphasized individualistic or collectivistic values interacted with demographic composit...

This study tested hypotheses developed from the distinct literatures on negotiations and coalitions and hypotheses integrating the two, In a complex, three-person negotiation simulation, subjects had to decide jointly how to allocate two resource pools, They were gir en multiple pieces of information regarding their negotiation preferences, coaliti...

The study described in this paper explored the effects of non-linear preferences on negotiated settlements. The shape of negotiators' preferences (linear, increasing marginal utility, or decreasing marginal utility) was hypothesized to influence negotiated outcomes. Prior relationship between the negotiators (friends versus strangers) was hypothesi...

We examine the ongoing performance of forecast analysts who change their brokerage affiliation and/or the companies they follow. On average, analysts who leave a brokerage house exhibit a decline in the forecast accuracy relative to all other analysts who follow the same company(s) as they approach the replacement date. Analysts joining a new broke...

This study examined antecedents (rewards and threats to self-esteem) and consequences (group conflict and performance) of selfand group-enhancing positive illusions. Hypotheses regarding the magnitude of these illusions were derived from attention-based and self-esteem-based explanations for why people engage in positive illusions. The authors test...

This study examines the role of group composition and information distribution on group process and decision making. Three-person groups performed a decision task that involved solving a murder mystery (Stasser & Stewart, 1992). Groups were composed of (a) three individuals familiar to each other, (b) two familiar individuals and a stranger, or (c)...

There is growing, evidence that allocation decisions concerning burdens and benefits are not processed equivalently. This paper suggests three dimensions on which information processing for resource allocations differs: status quo effects (individuals react more strongly to losses in status quo than to gains), resource valence effects (individuals...

This paper develops a social cognitive, reference point model of two-party price negotiations. The theoretical focus is on the role that reference points play as a means of calibration in the individual negotiator's decision processes and as a means of social influence in bargaining. Three studies are presented which examine how reference points ba...

Individuals′ concerns with entitlements and fairness are important in determining outcomes of negotiations. This paper examines the effects of organizational culture and resource valence on the decision rules individuals enact in creating fair resource allocations. It was hypothesized that organizational culture (economically oriented, relationship...

An implicit but unnecessary assumption of the traditional logrolling approach to integrative negotiations is that disputants have linear subjective utility functions. The analysis of bargaining concessions described in this paper uses linear subjective utilities as a point of departure and explores the implications of non-linear subjective utilitie...

Managers as 3rd-party conflict intervenors differ from other, more formal 3rd parties, such as arbitrators and mediators (B. H. Shepperd, D. M. Saunders, & J. W. Minton, 1986). The study described in this article was conducted to identify the conflict intervention strategies as recalled by managers in the role of 3rd party. Multidimensional scaling...

Managers as 3rd-party conflict intervenors differ from other, more formal 3rd parties, such as arbitrators and mediators (B. H. Shepperd, D. M. Saunders, & J. W. Minton, 1986). The study described in this article was conducted to identify the conflict intervention strategies as recalled by managers in the role of 3rd party. Multidimensional scaling...

Past research suggests that specific, challenging goals lead to higher perfor- mance than do-your-best goals or easy goals in a variety of tasks, including negotiations. In the two studies reported here, we explored how seemingly appropriate goals may inhibit rather than facilitate performance. In Study 1, negotiators with challenging, specific goa...

This laboratory study investigates negotiated allocations of benefits and burdens. We compare both the distributive and integrative aspects of negotiation to determine whether benefits and burdens are allocated according to the same norms of distributive justice and how well negotiators integrate their interests. We hypothesize that the distributio...

addresses the use of cross-functional or multidisciplinary teams . . . as vehicles for incorporating diversity into organizational problem solving / introduce the language of negotiation . . . into the dialogue concerning diversity in organizations / the language of negotiation provides a calculus for concretely conceptualizing the fit among the co...

This study examined the joint effects of assigned goals and training on negotiator performance. Undergraduate business students participated in two sessions of a competitive market simulation and were assigned to one of three levels of goals: do-your-best, specific/emy, or specific/difficult. In the training condition, an introductory lecture on ba...

This study examines how differential power among negotiators (in the form of alternatives available to the individuals if the parties fail to reach a negotiated settlement) influences the parameters (e.g., the aspiration levels and reservation prices), the process, and the outcome of the negotiation. The results suggest that (a) the possession of a...

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 i...

Three competing predictors of price are manipulated in a two-party distributive negotiation. These include prevailing market prices, negotiator reservation prices, and negotiator aspirations. We offer a cognitive interpretation of how each type of information is incorporated into the negotiator′s thought processes as an alternative cognitive refere...

Recent studies by Kahneman et al. (1986a, b) present consistent evidence that the economically rational decision of market exploitation is perceived as unfair by individuals. Further, these fairness judgments are influenced by the sign of the outcome—that is, an outcome coded as a gain is perceived as fairer than an objectively similar outcome code...

We investigate how a key structural aspect of negotiation—power—combines with aspiration level to affect the interaction pattern of negotiators. Conflicting research findings have revealed that in most cases negotiators with anequal balance of power reach agreements of higher joint gain than negotiators with an unequal power balance, but in some in...

Two factors, the type of relationship between the involved parties and the justification of the decision maker for being in his or her position, are predicted to influence resource allocation decisions. These predictions are based on a synthesis of several forces, including self-interest, a politeness norm, and a norm of reciprocity, that we argue...

This paper examines how third-party intervention affects the direct behavior of negotiators. Study 1 explores the impact of alternative third-party roles on negotiated outcomes, examining the impact of agents and mediators on the negotiated price and the likelihood of impasse. Results show that the selling price of a property is higher when an agen...

In the last ten years, negotiation has moved from the industrial relations arena to the forefront of managerial interest. As the nature and structure of managerial challenges evolve, negotiation skills become necessary. Considerable research has been conducted to determine how negotiators either fail to reach agreements that are in their best inter...

In business, as in other forms of human activity, negotiators can fall into traps and make choices and behave in ways which act against their own selfinterest and that of the organizations they represent -- sometimes with catastrophic consequences. A common trap is that of nonrationally escalating a commitment to a previous course of action. Giving...

This paper considers agents assisting a negotiation as self-interested third parties. The information principals share with agents is argued to affect the outcomes of negotiations. In a laboratory study simulating a real estate transaction, the agent's knowledge of the buyer's and seller's reservation prices is manipulated. Communication between th...

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of two factors-decision strategy and the number of openings-on selection decisions. Two hundred graduate and undergraduate students participated in a human resource employment screening simulation. Decision strategy was varied by having candidates evaluate resumes and letters of application for 20...

The paper examines the antecedents and consequences of vividness effects in an extremely consequential arena of judgment—jury decisions. Lawyers and student subjects participated in a simulated jury trial. The trial featured a civil suit and allowed examination of the impact of communication vividness in situations of low and high information compe...

This study examined the relationships among objective performance, performance ratings, and pay allocations made by male and female managers. Because rater sex has been found to affect performance ratings and pay allocations, but little research has explored the causes of these sex differences, this study explored the effects of contextual factors...

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of two decisional biases—framing and cost salience—on personnel selection decisions. One hundred twenty-eight graduate and undergraduate students participated in a personnel selection simulation. Framing was manipulated by inducing participants to use either a “rejecting” strategy (identify tho...

We investigated the relation between goal specificity and difficulty and performance on an interdependent bargaining task. In all, 102 subjects competed as buyers and sellers in a 25-min market simulation in which each negotiator was assigned either a nonspecific do-your-best objective or a specific easy, moderate, or difficult goal. Results showed...

The purpose of this paper was to examine sources of the framing bias. While previous research has focused on task-responsive (experimentally manipulated) frames, it was argued that the context of the task may also frame the decision. Citing previous empirical studies which illustrated that buyers systematically outperformed sellers in symmetrical,...

The studies described in this paper investigated the use of a decisional heuristic—anchoring-and-adjustment—in an information-rich, real world setting. In order to assess the generalizability of laboratory research on this decision heuristic, students and real estate agents toured and made pricing decisions about real estate properties. It was hypo...

This study explored the effects of performance standards and rater and ratee characteristics on performance, compensation, training, and promotion judgments of 229 managers. The results showed that objective performance accounted for the largest amount of variance in the managers' judgments. Additionally, ratee characteristics generally had a direc...

Recently a controversy has arisen among behavioral decision theory researchers concerning the generalizability of research based upon student subject samples to the behavior of expert decision makers. This study compared the influence of framing and performance constraints (goals or limits) on the ability of expert and amateur negotiators to reach...

In recent years a group of researchers at Cambridge (UK) have (re)introduced conceptions of open and closed systems into economics. In doing so they have employed these categories in ways that, in my assessment, both facilitate a significant critique of current disciplinary practices and also point to more fruitful ways of proceeding. In an issue o...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a situational constraint —an externally set goal — and related cognitive variables — outcome expectancies, perceived self-competency, and goal commitment — on the performance and goal setting of 79 novice negotiators. Expectancy judgments affected goal commitment but not performance or goal ch...

One hundred eighty-two University of Arizona employees each participated in one of two field studies of the valuation of fringe benefits. Findings included: (a) a lack of employee knowledge regarding employer cost and market value of the studied benefit, and (b) significant undervaluation of the benefit by employees. These findings are consistent w...

Bargaining and negotiation research has traditionally been of significant interest to those in the industrial relations field. The current work in this area may be divided into four common perspectives: economic models, structural effects, personality differences in negotiators, and behavioral systems approaches. These approaches, however, do not e...

The behavioral decision theory literature was used to identify the determinants of negotiation success in an integrative bargaining, free-market exercise. This study provides a novel methodology for studying negotiation. Specifically, buyers and sellers were allowed to engage in negotiations with as many competitors as possible in a fixed time peri...

The study of the negotiation process has enjoyed a recent resurgence of scholarly interest. Of particular concern is the ability of negotiators to achieve solutions which result in integrative outcomes. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of different levels of aspiration/goals on negotiator success and their ability to reach integ...

Manipulated the relative salience of negotiation-related costs (high and low) and the relative salience of arbitration-related costs (high and low) in a 2 × 2 design involving 67 female and 80 male undergraduates negotiating a 5-issue contract. Systematic ways in which Ss emphasized personal cost–benefit analysis over organizational cost–benefit an...

This study investigates whether the ability of negotiators to adopt the perspective of their opponents is a key to success in negotiating under conventional and final-offer arbitration. The authors tested this question in an experiment in which 80 pairs of students engaged in two sets of negotiations. The results suggest that both the perspective-t...

Recent research has shown that final offer arbitration increases resolution behaviors of labor–management negotiators. Under final offer arbitration, if negotiators do not reach an agreement, each must submit a "final offer" to the arbitrator, who selects a final offer from one of the parties. Theoretical and empirical work is presented that sugges...

the purpose of this chapter is to suggest an alternative direction for negotiation research—that of defining the negotiator as a decision maker, focusing on the effects of the negotiator's decision-making process on the negotiator's success and the likelihood of reaching a negotiated settlement five decisional biases will be suggested that system...

Virtual teams are increasingly common in organizations, yet explicit theory and research on virtual team processes and outcomes is relatively rare. In this chapter, we first place virtual teams in context and provide a two dimensional framework for understanding the range of virtualness. We then build from foundations of diversity, psychological sa...

Visión de conjunto de los retos de comportamiento organizacional que enfrentan gerentes y empleados en el contexto competitivo de inicios del siglo XXI. Contenido: Comportamiento organizacional: un reto directivo. Fundamentos: percepción, actitudes y personalidad. Aprendizaje y motivación. Toma de decisiones individual. Conflicto en las organizacio...