Reverse Bargaining: Some Oddities That Illustrate the “Rules”

Unions striking for lower wages? Buyers seeking higher prices? Such cases of counter-intuitive or paradoxical bargaining strategy and behavior prove useful in refining the concepts and statement of negotiation theory. Examination of four such instances of apparently nonsensical negotiation reveals the underlying soundness of the distinction between position and interest, once these concepts are specified appropriately. The resulting enrichment of theory, in turn, leads to improved practice, underlining the importance of exploring interests. The argument emphasizes the value of examining the unexpected.