Taking Action to Reduce Waste: Quantifying Impacts of Model Use in a Multiorganizational Sustainability Negotiation

Abstract

We use a role-play simulation to examine how using quantitative models influences the process and outcome of sustainability negotiations. Our experimental approach involved 74 teams of five parties negotiating the details of a pilot test to compost and/or recycle used paper coffee cups. Approximately half of these negotiation teams were given a quantitative model-a life cycle assessment (LCA). We measured both negotiation process and outcome variables, in particular identifying favorable agreements-the mutually exclusive set of agreements that either minimized carbon dioxide emissions or maximized the parties' collective earned value. We found that most teams used a quantitative model; nearly half of those cocreated their own while negotiating. In our sample, teams that used a model, even those cocreating the model while negotiating, reached agreement more quickly than teams not using a model. Teams that cocreated the LCA reached a higher number of favorable agreements. We observed two dominant manners of model use: using the model to test alternatives while developing an agreement and verifying that a tentative agreement would sufficiently reduce carbon dioxide emissions. We conclude that using a quantitative model during a sustainability negotiation can help to increase the chances of obtaining a favorable agreement without lengthening the negotiation duration.

Enhancing Environmental Quality and Sustainability through Negotiation and Conflict Management: Research into Systems, Dynamics, and Practices

“…This research entails coding and other analytic tools but remains primarily qualitative. In this issue, Czaika and Selin () article uses experimental design to investigate the role of models in negotiated decision‐making for sustainability, a rare example of the use of such experiments in the study of negotiations in the context of EPP conflicts.…”

“…“Taking Action to Reduce Waste: Quantifying Impacts of Model Use in a Multi‐organizational Sustainability Negotiation,” by Czaika & Selin (), utilizes a role‐play simulation to test the impact of using a quantitative model (to assess life cycle impacts of alternative policies on carbon emissions) on the process and outcome of sustainability negotiations. By measuring both negotiating outcomes and process variables, the researchers found that teams using a model, even those co‐creating the model while negotiating, reached agreement more quickly than teams not using a model.…”