The stereotype of negotiating celebrates an aggressive, winner-takes-all mentality, even when unethical actions are in play — stereotyping it as a male domain. But is there room for a more ethical negotiation style in today’s volatile and uncertain world?
President Trump isn’t helping matters much either. He portrays leadership, and negotiating more specifically, in the realm of “I’m going to make you do what I want you to do, no matter what it takes”. This approach is suboptimal because it can leave money on the table.
According to our new research, women are more ethical in their negotiating approach than men. There is a 66 per cent probability that a woman will have a stronger moral identity than a man. That is, women are more likely to conceptualise themselves primarily in terms of moral traits such as fair, honest, generous, and kind than men are.
Consequently, when women are given negotiation responsibilities, they act more ethically. For example, one of our studies looked at people selling used cars — a high-stakes negotiation with ample room for deception. We found that women were less likely to morally disengage and less likely to behave opportunistically than men because of their stronger moral identities.
This knowledge, that women exhibit stronger moral identities and more ethical negotiating strategies than men, enables us to better understand negotiation-related gender issues in the workplace — one of today’s most pressing issues.
Why are women paid less than men? Why are there fewer women leaders? We hope our findings will start to change the way that people think about “good negotiations” and “good negotiators”, moving away from an aggressive, potentially unethical mentality to one that leverages negotiators’ moral strengths to create intelligent, efficient solutions to conflict.
The implications of our research for business students focus on how women can get ahead in the workplace when they graduate. Unfortunately, it is commonplace for organisations not to be gender balanced. A company boss might ask, “Why should I hire a female negotiator?” if they think a successful negotiation can only be achieved in a ruthless bloodbath.
This is why it is important to breakdown stereotypes and dispel commonly believed myths. Doing this may make organisations more willing to hire women.
But our findings have broader implications as well. In the long run there may be negotiations, hopefully many, where it will be beneficial for men and women to be ethical. For example, there are many negotiating situations where building a relationship matters most.
Not all negotiations are one-shot deals, where you shake on an agreement and walk away never to see that person again. People want to know that they are dealing with a negotiator who is upstanding and trustworthy.
At a time when good, ethical leadership is so critical, business schools need to remember their role in developing future leaders. Stereotypes around what a “good” negotiator looks like — the Trump trope — are not constructive.
It is not the case that being cut throat is always the best strategy. However, it is not possible to teach future business leaders to adopt and apply high ethical standards to their negotiations in one classroom session.
In the long run, our aim is to make people aware that these harsh stereotypes around negotiations exist. Importantly, we need to demonstrate that this style of negotiation does not necessary result in good outcomes even in one-shot deals, much less under real-world conditions.
This style of negotiation could be especially harmful when long-term relationships need to develop, and when reputations matter.
Business schools have a responsibility to teach their students ethics. The dark arts of negotiation will remain exactly that — dark — without enlightened thinking about a more mutually beneficial approach to securing a deal. We believe that it pays to be a moral, ethical negotiator — and women have a natural advantage in this domain.
Gillian Ku is Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour, London Business School. Jessica Kennedy is Assistant Professor of Management at Owen Graduate School of Management. Laura Kray is Professor in Management of Organizations, Haas School of Business.
