Commercial · The supplier who never reopens the pricing grid, In many B2B framework agreements, a supplier in a near-exclusive position keeps an unchanged pricing grid at renewal, refusing to rediscuss it on the grounds that it applies "to all customers". The customer, dependent for their supply and pressed by their own deadlines, eventually re-signs on the existing terms. This pattern illustrates the mechanism described by Rubinstein: the party whose cost of waiting is lowest, here the supplier, dictates the split. It also illustrates its downside: the customer who has suffered this blocking methodically seeks out, from the following year, a second supplier, turning the short-term gain into a long-term loss.
Political · The 2011 NBA lockout, During the 2011 NBA lockout, the franchise owners held a hardened position, refusing to go beyond a 50-50 split of revenue with the players and declaring, through deputy commissioner Adam Silver, that "our position has not changed". The head of the players' union walked out of a meeting in late October, saying he felt "snookered". The owners, financially better able to withstand the stoppage than a majority of players deprived of salary, let time do the work: part of the regular season was cancelled before an agreement was reached largely on the terms the franchises wanted. A documented case of attrition through the asymmetry of patience applied to a collective dispute.
Diplomatic · Frozen conflicts and the waiting tactic, In diplomacy, the tactic of delay is a well-documented classic: a party that anticipates a more favourable position in the future, or judges the existing state acceptable, refuses to move and lets the matter stagnate. Negotiations over frozen conflicts often rest on this calculation: the party that effectively controls the existing ground has no interest in changing the status quo and lets the opponent's initiatives run out of steam. Research in political science and the bargaining literature remind us that whoever displays the greater tolerance for the long term holds structural leverage, independently of the substance of the arguments exchanged.
Judicial · The party that drags out proceedings, In litigation, a financially solid party with no urgency can turn procedural slowness into a tool, multiplying objections, requests for postponement and dilatory appeals, to exhaust a less well-resourced opponent constrained by their own costs. The calculation is that of the forced status quo: keeping the dispute in its existing state until the other side's cost of waiting pushes them into an unfavourable settlement. Codes of procedure indeed sanction purely dilatory manoeuvres, proof that the tactic is widespread enough to be regulated. Its effectiveness rests on the asymmetry of resources and patience between the litigants.
Corporate · The pay negotiation that opens no budget, In mandatory annual negotiations, it is common for a management team to let the statutory calendar of meetings unfold while repeating that "no budget is available this year", never once making a move. The wager is one of attrition: the mobilisation of employee representatives erodes meeting after meeting, until the pay status quo is recorded for lack of an agreement. Research on stalling tactics stresses, however, that this approach often backfires: it feeds frustration, mistrust and sometimes strikes, degrading the very appeal of the sought-after agreement and the industrial climate of the following years.
Everyday life · The joint ownership left to rot, In an inheritance held in joint ownership, the heir who occupies the shared property finds themselves in a comfortable status quo: they have nothing to gain from selling or buying out the shares, whereas their co-heirs need cash or wish to move on. By refusing all movement and letting the co-ownership drag on, they wear down the others' resolve, and the others often end up accepting an exit on their terms. The downside is well known to notaries and judges: the family rift becomes lasting and recourse to a court-ordered division may reverse the advantage, with the judge ordering the sale of the property by auction.
