NCJ Number
147566
Journal
Negotiation Journal Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1993) Pages: 223-244
Date Published
1993
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Several fairness issues affect the process and outcome of negotiations under different conditions; when a common notion of outcome fairness exists at an early stage in the negotiation process, that notion will tend to coordinate concessions and facilitate agreement.
Abstract
When negotiating parties are entrenched in opposing notions of fairness, a solution may still be reached. In integrative negotiations, divergent concepts of fairness become part of the bargaining process itself and may help to provide terms of trade. A fair outcome in many real-world situations cannot rely on a single norm but rather only on a balance between several principles. Further, a concluded agreement may be viewed as unfair and thus require renegotiation. Relationships between fairness types are also significant. For example, most procedures will be considered fair only as related to specific situations or particular outcomes parties have in mind. Thus, equal concessions tend to be exchanged when an outcome based on equality is foreseen. In cases of disagreement on the substance of a fair solution, parties may resort to processes or procedures seen as intrinsically fair in some respect, given the nature of disputed resources and cultural norms. Fair processes or procedures, however, do not always lead to solutions viewed as fair, and outcome fairness does not necessarily result from process fairness. The author considers structural, process, and outcome fairness and factors influencing perceived outcome fairness. 55 references and 4 notes