Fundamentals of Providing Negotiation Support Online: The Need for Developing BATNAs

Fisher & Ury claim that an important step in\ud resolving a dispute is to be aware of one’s BATNA\ud – what alternative parties have if negotiation\ud fails. Providing accurate information is important,\ud because disputing parties have a tendency\ud to develop an overoptimistic view on their position\ud in the dispute. The ‘reactive devaluation’\ud effect suggests that advice given by one’s opponent\ud is less likely to be taken into account than\ud the same information provided by a neutral. As\ud Information Technology can be perceived as a\ud neutral party, providing online BATNA calculation\ud may be a useful extension to the ADR/ODR\ud toolbox.\ud However, in order to determine BATNAs online,\ud we need a proper understanding of exactly what\ud is a BATNA. This paper argues that current understanding\ud of what comprises BATNAs is insufficient\ud for the intended purposes.\ud Variant Title : Fundamentals of Providing Negotiation Advice Online: The Need for Developing BATNA