Social Motive Expectations and the Concession Timing Effect

It has been shown that concession timing can influence a negotiator’s satisfaction with and judgment of the negotiation partner, the quality of the object, and the agreed upon price (Kwon & Weingart, 2004). This study tested whether the concession timing effect holds when a negotiator believes the other party is cooperatively oriented. The results suggest that a negotiator’s belief about the other party’s social motive overrides the concession timing effect. Specifically, if the other party was believed to be cooperative, negotiators did not feel dissatisfied with the outcome or the negotiating partner, did not evaluate the quality and value of the object as being low, and perceived the negotiating partner as credible, even when the other party made early concessions.