e-Nego-motion

01.03.2009 - 29.02.2012
Research funding project
Although e-business has gained momentum in many markets, empirical studies find a lack of support for the conduct of negotiations in electronic markets. This is surprising given the fact that the concept of electronic Negotiation (Support) Systems (eNS) has already been developed in the 1980ies by researchers from various disciplines. Although prototypical systems have been implemented even before the notion of electronic commerce emerged, eNS have not yet experienced the foreseen break-through in practice and companies are currently leaving substantial amounts of money on the ¿electronic bargaining tables¿. The apparent lack of practical relevance of electronic negotiation support in its present form seems to indicate that either current systems are missing important facets of actual negotiation processes or they are influencing them in a way which is perceived by negotiators as disturbance rather than as support. In order to provide the foundation for the development of improved eNS, we need to develop an understanding of how various characteristics of such systems influence the negotiation process. For this task, it is important to have a broad perspective on negotiations since potential benefits of eNS are closely related to their effectiveness in orchestrating the interplay of: the specific support approach or philosophy (system), its actual implementation in support features (technology), and the particular characteristics of users, i.e. their cognitive restrictions, their socio-emotional states and their preferences and goals (human). Besides integrating these three dimensions, eNS research has to develop a comprehensive classification of the different types of support and their relation to various goals that might motivate the use of a specific system. Existing eNS differ considerably in their support approach. Implemented features are typically selected to improve a certain aspect of the outcome without paying too much attention to other dimensions. For a comprehensive understanding of negotiation support, the effects of alternative support approaches and features on all outcome dimensions need to be studied simultaneously. Therefore, the aim of this project is twofold: We systematically study the specific impact of different forms of electronic support on negotiation processes and outcomes considering particular features of eNS and taking into account a broad spectrum of effects. Based on these findings, we develop a comprehensive set of requirements and design guidelines for effective eNS built on solid theoretical foundations concerning their socio-emotional, analytical and technological aspects.

People

Project leader

Project personnel

Institute

Grant funds

  • FWF - Österr. Wissenschaftsfonds (National) Austrian Science Fund (FWF)

Research focus

  • Business Informatics: 80%
  • Modeling and Simulation: 20%

Keywords

GermanEnglish
elektronische Verhandlungenelectronic negotiations
Gruppenentscheidungendecision making
Verhalten in Verhandlungennegotiation behavior
Prozessanalyseprocess analysis
Emotionenemotions

External partner

  • Universität Hohenheim
  • George Mason University

Publications