Individual Differences in Negotiation: A Nearly Abandoned Pursuit Revived

Research Seminar

Management & Human Resources

Speaker: Hillary Anger Elfenbein

Washinghton University, USA

room T027

Abstract: The commonsense notion that personal characteristics influence how effectively we negotiate has presented researchers with a mystery: Throughout the decades, scholars have concluded that there are few reliable findings to support it. In this presentation, I review new research in which my colleagues and I revisit this nearly abandoned topic. This includes laboratory simulation studies as well as a recent study of identical twins.  Results suggest promise for a topic that is important to researchers, educators, organizations, and the public alike.  

Biography: Hillary Anger Elfenbein is the John and Ellen Wallace Distinguished Professor at the Olin School of Washington University in St. Louis.  She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, a Master’s degree in Statistics, and undergraduate degrees in Physics and Sanskrit, all from Harvard University.  Dr. Elfenbein served for five years on faculty at the University of California, and two years as a Senior Researcher at the Harvard Business School.  Her research focuses on emotion in the workplace, including emotional intelligence, interpersonal relationships, negotiation, and personality.  She served as an Associate Editor at Management Science.