On Conflicts and Bargaining

Information Sharing, Price Negotiation and Management Buy-outs of Private Family-owned Firms

“…Game theory suggests that cooperative solutions may be more likely where there is greater goal congruence (Apfelbaum, 1974), a more even balance of power (Pruitt and Kimmel, 1977), and more communication between the vendors and purchasers (Lindskold et al, 1986). Low levels of non-family management shareholdings may be associated with goal diversity, imbalance of power and weak communication (Schulze et al, 2002(Schulze et al, , 2003.…”

“…MBO/I negotiations may be cooperative if founders are committed to the long-term future of the firm, and they have good relationships with (non-family) management. Greater sharing of information is expected if owners/managers are seeking some long-term involvement in the firm after the MBO/I, implying greater goal congruence with management (Apfelbaum, 1974). Founders may be more likely to seek this involvement because they may be reluctant to fully let go of the firms they have created and nurtured.…”

“…Owners and directors who focus more on wealth creation and business development may prefer to recruit non-family professional managers. Goal congruence may lead to more cooperative bargaining solutions (Apfelbaum, 1974;Cable and Shane, 1997). Some NEDs can be used to reduce conflict between the non-economic objectives of the family and the financial objectives of non-family owners.…”

“…As earlier intimated, game theory suggests that cooperative bargaining solutions may be reported in contexts where there is goal congruence between the parties involved (Apfelbaum, 1974;Cable and Shane, 1997). The objectives of the family firm owners can range from protecting purely 'family agendas' at one end of the spectrum to pursuing 'non-family agendas' focusing on the financial development of the business at the other end.…”

Project Factors Influencing Conflict Intensity and Handling Styles in Collaborative NPD

“…Relative power is defined as the capabilities to influence the other party's decision variables (Lin and Germain, 1998). The importance of power balance to collaboration has been recognized (Apfelbaum, 1974;Gray, 1989). When the power between collaborating parties is not balanced, they tend to struggle over power, leading to thwarting, interference and conflict (Wilmot and Hocker, 2001).…”