Round Off the Bargaining: The Effects of Offer Roundness on Willingness to Accept

Abstract

This research shows that making a precise (vs. round) offer in a negotiation may lead to diverging outcomes. On the one hand, past literature has demonstrated a precision advantage wherein offer precision reduces the amount by which offer recipients counter. On the other hand, building on the notion that round numbers symbolize completion and previous findings that individuals tend to set goals at round numbers, we hypothesize a roundness advantage wherein offer roundness increases the bargainer's willingness to accept an offer. Five studies provide convergent evidence for our proposition and reconcile the present results with previous findings. We found that participants receiving a round offer are more (less) likely to accept (counter) than those who receive comparable precise offers. However, if they counter, participants in the precise condition counter by a smaller amount than those in the round condition. Furthermore, in agreement with our explanation, we find that the roundness advantage is more likely to manifest when participants subscribe to the association between round numbers and the feeling of completion.

What motivates audience comments on live streaming platforms?

“…Such costs may impact audiences' interactions differently. Some studies found users have round-number goal, and they prefer to purchase near a half-hour interval online (e.g., 19:28, 00:24) [32,33]. Likewise, live streaming which start near round-number time may get more comments (H4).…”

A Multistage, Multiprocess Analysis of Consumer Judgment: A Selective Review and Conceptual Framework

“…For example, attributes described by rounded numbers (e.g., 20, 30) are perceived to be more stable than those described by nonrounded ones (27, 32). Consequently, product attributes are inferred to be more enduring if they are described in round numbers (100 mg) than if they are described in precise numbers (102 mg) (Pena‐Marin & Bhargave, ) and offers in round numbers are inferred to be more resistant to change in a bargaining context and therefore are more likely to be accepted (Yan & Pena‐Marin, ).…”

The Effects of Linguistic Devices on Consumer Information Processing and Persuasion: A Language Complexity × Processing Mode Framework

“…Similar attributions are made based on whether the number is in digital or written form or expressed as round numbers. Numbers in digital form are perceived to be more technological (Pavia & Costa, 1993), and round numbers are associated with greater product completeness (Gunasti & Ozcan, 2016;Yan & Pena-Marin, 2017) and femininity (Yan, 2016).…”

“…Granularity effects have also been observed in the use of integers (3) versus finer-grain decimals (2.4). Not only does the granularity of the number Klink (2000), Lowrey and Shrum (2007), Maglio et al (2014), Topolinski et al (2015), Yorkston and Menon (2004) Positive effects on preferences maximized when symbolism is congruent with expectations Numbers Associated with perceptions of technology Gunasti and Ozcan (2016), Pavia and Costa (1993), Yan and Pena-Marin (2017), Zhang and Schwarz (2012) Granularity influences inferences and expectations Roundedness associated with perceptions of completeness Sound repetition: alliteration and rhyme Alliteration and rhyme aid memory Argo et al (2010), Davis et al (2016), Filkukov a and Klempe (2013), McGlone and Tofighbakhsh (2000) Rhymes increase processing fluency Influence liking, perceptions of truthfulness Pronunciation (Ease)…”

“…Numbers also tend to be processed relatively automatically, but the degree of automaticity may vary across situations. For example, consumers may not be aware that they associate round numbers with completeness, or that this perception influences judgments such as likelihood to close a deal in negotiations (Yan & Pena‐Marin, ). In such cases, the level of automaticity may be similar to levels for phonetic symbolism, sound repetition, and pronunciation.…”