Primer on Competitive Bargaining, A

The aim of this Article is to explore the competitive bargaining strategy in depth. Because competitive negotiation behavior is common, and sometimes advisable, one must understand it well to master negotiation practice. Knowing how competitors operate enables a negotiator to recognize competitive bargaining when it occurs and to deal with it affirmatively by transforming a competitive negotiation into a cooperative one or defensively by countering competitive moves. Furthermore, even parties who negotiate cooperatively sometimes compete.

For example, negotiators may create a win-win situation by cooperating to "increase the size of the pie" to be divided between them. Nonetheless, they still must divide it, and it is when parties must allocate shares or divide gains that they may make competitive moves to secure as much for themselves as they can