How self-regulation helps to master negotiation challenges: An overview, integration, and outlook

Abstract

En route to crafting profitable deals, negotiators face abundant challenges—from overcoming anger, to dealing with low power, to seeking hidden integrative opportunities. Here, we argue that self-regulation can help to master these negotiation challenges and improve negotiation outcomes. To this end, we provide a review of the literature on negotiation challenges and integrate it with self-regulation research. Based on the cybernetic feedback model of self-regulation and the phase model of negotiations, we structure the literature and argue how and why prominent self-regulation techniques such as specifying goals, mental contrasting, and if–then plans help to master negotiation challenges. In addition, we expand on the less researched self-regulation technique of self-monitoring and how it may help to achieve negotiation goals. We conclude that self-regulation provides a powerful toolbox to master the challenges that negotiators face at the bargaining table, identify limitations of the extant literature, and suggest avenues for future research.