The fundamentals
Distributive and integrative negotiation
Two paradigms structure every negotiation. The public knows them as win-lose and win-win; research calls them distributive and integrative. Knowing which one you are playing is already negotiating better.
The two paradigms
You split a fixed value. What one side gains, the other concedes. The logic is to claim the largest share of a pie that does not grow. Zero sum.
You enlarge the value before sharing it, by playing on several variables and on each side's interests. The logic is to create common value. Positive sum.
The comparison
Distributive: a single variable, usually price. Integrative: several variables (price, timing, volume, services, guarantees).
Distributive: a fixed pie to be carved. Integrative: a pie you enlarge before sharing it.
Distributive: you hide it (bluff, withholding). Integrative: you share it (interests, priorities).
Distributive: one-off, sometimes sacrificed. Integrative: durable, protected.
Distributive: deadlock, power struggle, rupture. Integrative: naivety, having the value you created captured.
The fixed-pie trap, and the real craft
Most negotiators overestimate the distributive part: they believe they are playing zero sum when there was value to create. That is the fixed-pie bias. Conversely, a naive « all integrative » stance exposes you to having the value you helped create captured by the other side.
Reality is almost always mixed. Lax and Sebenius call it the negotiator's dilemma: you must both create value (cooperate) and claim it (compete). Too cooperative and you get eaten; too competitive and you destroy the relationship and the deal. The craft is to enlarge the pie, then negotiate its division on objective criteria.
Sources
- Mary Parker Follett, work on the « integration » of interests (1920s), the first formulation beyond win-lose.
- Richard Walton and Robert McKersie, A Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations (1965): the founding distinction between distributive and integrative bargaining.
- Roger Fisher and William Ury, Getting to Yes (1981): principled negotiation.
- David Lax and James Sebenius, The Manager as Negotiator (1986): the create/claim dilemma.
- Max Bazerman and Margaret Neale, work on the fixed-pie bias.