Negotiation is a field of study that has an extraordinarily wide application and interest and there are numerous textbooks and practitioner guides on this topic. Many have as their strength an enrichment of the practical advice available to the profession. There is also a cadre of texts that contribute to the study of negotiation theory. Negotiation on Behalf of Others is situated across the frontiers of theory and practice. Its focus on a specific but important element of negotiation, namely the involvement of third‐party representation in negotiation, enhances the opportunity for it to contribute to the theory of negotiation and it does this, providing much more than an exposure to the practice of negotiation.
As the editors indicate, the book’s purpose is to “systematically explore the impact of agency on negotiation and how parties should respond to it”.
It is the product of scholarship by academics associated with the Program of Negotiation at Harvard University and presents output from the first stage of their ambitious research plan. This plan has as its goal the exploration of a number of factors that contribute to the complexity of the negotiation process. These include the cultural diversity of the parties, the presence of neutrals, gender issues, the scientific or technical complexity of the issues under discussion and the number of stake‐holding groups.
The focus of the study reported in this book is the effect of the presence of agents on the negotiation process. The editors argue that it is the norm for negotiation to be complicated by an agency relationship and this relationship is usually complex. Negotiation typically involves more than one agent and there will often be oscillations between the principal and agent during negotiations. It becomes clear from a reading of the book and the wide range of vantage‐points from which this phenomenon is viewed that third parties are an important and widely witnessed complicating factor in most environments where negotiation is practised.
The editors have provided a number of helpful signposts, assiduously observed by the contributors. First, the book has adopted as its framework the ideas from two well‐known works on negotiation – Getting to YES (Fisher et al., 1991) and Barriers to Conflict Resolution (Arrow et al., 1995). It justifies this approach and distils the main issues raised in each book and then proceeds to demonstrate how each of these works contributes to the analysis. The notion of interest‐based negotiation, inspired by the work of Fisher et al. forms the central tenet of the book. This is particularly helpful to the project in that it provides a focus and a reference point for the in‐depth analysis and discussion of the issues.
Second, there is a commentary on each chapter. The commentaries summarise and synthesise the various works and present a critical review of the ideas contained in each chapter. This is a particularly useful feature, since it enables the text to embrace a much wider range of views and expertise on the subject as well as hosting serious debate on the theory.
Third, the contextual settings are effectively used to strengthen the analysis and application of representation theory as well as reinforcing its relevance to a wide range of negotiation settings.
The book makes a major contribution to both the broadening and the deepening of our understanding of negotiation. What the editors and authors have been able to demonstrate most effectively is how central the notion of agency in negotiation is to the process of negotiation itself. It is a most apposite theme from which to launch such a research project.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part is directed towards negotiation theory. The second part teases out the notion of agency within a variety of contextual settings and the third part identifies a series of prescriptions from the studies presented in the book.
In chapter 1, Cutcher‐Gershenfeld and Watkins seek to advance the theory surrounding the notion of understanding representational roles. They propose a multi‐dimensional model with the negotiation representative performing, to various degrees, the role of partner, champion and mediator. Fisher and Davis in Chapter 2 discuss the issue of authority. In particular there is discussion about the degree of authority given to the agent and its transfer. This chapter includes considerable practical advice on options for the way in which these decisions might be handled. Nicolaidis, in chapter 3, focuses on the costs in two‐level games and the strategic dilemmas associated with different configurations of principal agent alignment. This is explored within the context of trade negotiations. Babbitt probes the issue of agency in negotiation within international diplomacy in chapter 4. Here she teases out the issues likely to be of most relevance in this setting. The features of multiple principals, shifting mandates, multiple agents and role conflicts are all explored through the literature and the chapter concludes with some interesting lessons for practice. Chapter 5 explores the issues of law and power in agency relationships. Here, Salacuse presents four elements of a legal model for discussion. These are the fiduciary relationship between the agent and principal, control by the principal over the agent and the power dynamics, action by the agent on behalf of the principal and consent by both principal and agent to that relationship. Here the complications arising from the varying status levels of the principals are discussed. In chapter 6, McKersie discusses agency within the context of labour negotiations. This contribution is particularly insightful for its consideration of the customary long‐term nature of the agent‐principal relationship within this contextual setting and the major challenges and dilemmas faced by union and management negotiators. It builds on his considerable earlier contribution in this field and its value is enhanced by the commentary provided by Kathleen Valley. These authors present convincing argument as to the lessons that can be learned from agency in labour negotiations.
The role of agents in a setting where legislation is being framed is the sub‐theme of chapter 7. Here, King and Zeckhauser devise a multidimensional model built around axes that recognise the part played by the role, authority and mission of the negotiators in a legislative process. In chapter 8 Wheeler discusses some of the unique characteristics of negotiations within a professional sports setting.
Part 3 is devoted to prescriptive implications and the identification of testable propositions. In chapter 9 the editors synthesise the three main themes developed in the book; namely the role played by agents, the communication occurring between the agent and the principal and communication among agents and significance of the mandate given to agents on their effectiveness as negotiators. They then propose prescriptive advice based upon their interpretation of the analyses provided by the various authors. So, out of this, the editors develop five principles that might assist agents in improving their negotiation practice. Finally, Kurtzberg, Moore, Valley and Bazerman develop a series of 23 testable propositions that turn on the relationships between agents and principals in negotiation and this leads them to propose further empirical research. This section helps to reinforce the book’s contribution to intellectual discussion of the role of representatives in negotiation as well as setting the scene for some of the other complicating factors foreshadowed to be systematically studied.
The inclusion of an annotated bibliography containing 45 works closely related to the themes and issues pursued in the book is a most helpful initiative. It is surprising that Getting to YES (Fisher et al., 1991) and Barriers to Conflict Resolution (Arrow et al., 1995) were not included here.
The editors have exercised sufficient control over the contributors to ensure that the thematic approach promised is in fact delivered and this is assisted by the chapters being effectively connected through their delivery as well as by judicious editorial intervention. It is strengthened by the effective commentaries on each of the chapters, with each commentary containing a synthesis and insightful critique of the designated chapter. The book is balanced between theory and practice. Whilst contributing to our understanding of negotiating theory and pushing out the barriers on this particular aspect of negotiation, it is not relying on the presentation of new or empirical evidence; rather it relies on the contributors’ considerable wealth of experiential evidence and wisdom. It does this to great effect, enabling the editors to delve quite deeply into this fascinating aspect of negotiation.
Its theoretical bent is towards the negotiation process rather than content issues. This makes it a particularly valuable tool for negotiation skill enhancement among practitioners, since a more sophisticated level of understanding of process issues rather than additional instruction in content matters is more likely to produce a more enduring change in negotiation skill levels. So the book provides us with enormous insights into the theoretical questions surrounding the process of negotiation, where it is occurring on behalf of others. Further, the fruits of this theoretical exposé are very accessible to practitioners. This can be partly attributed to the selection of contextual settings, the effective adoption of a thematic approach to the topic and the applied nature of the reporting adopted by the authors. Practitioners who negotiate on behalf of others can go to the book for advice on many issues about the negotiation process and it is likely that they will find these discussed within a setting relevant to them.
However, the considerable practical advice to those involved in negotiation will be less valuable where there is not already some understanding of negotiation theory. The application of negotiation principles here presumes some grounding in negotiation theory. Further, within a formal classroom setting, it is not a book that will be prescribed as a text for an introductory course in negotiation but is likely to be included within an advanced programme of study, particularly a specialist course in conflict management or negotiation theory. The book provides serious researchers in the field with a considerable number of ongoing research questions and ideas that are bound to stimulate further debate and inquiry.
We look forward to the production of further work about the insights of other complicating factors identified by the Harvard team and signalled by them as being for study and analysis.
