Phys.org July 18, 2024
A team of researchers in the US (George Mason University, Stony Brook University, University of Pennsylvania) proposed that one major issue that individuals are concerned about in the context of job offers, is an offer being withdrawn from the bargaining table—losing out on a deal entirely. They investigated job candidates’ perceived likelihood of jeopardizing a deal, as compared to hiring managers’ reports, across seven studies, including surveys of academic job candidates and members of academic hiring committees, managers and hiring professionals, and experimental studies with interactive, incentivized negotiations conducted both in person and online. They found that job candidates’ perception of the likelihood of jeopardizing a deal was exaggerated, and inconsistent with that of the hiring side. In some cases, this perception was associated with negotiation avoidance. They found support for two underlying psychological mechanisms: zero-sum perceptions and psychological power. They documented contextual factors that decrease candidates’ zero-sum perceptions or increase their perceived power, which, in turn, diminished (but do not fully eliminate) the discrepancy between candidates’ and managers’ perceptions of the likelihood of jeopardizing a deal… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ