Before the first move: how group entitativity tips the balance between expecting cooperation or competition in negotiation

Purpose This paper aims to explore how group entitativity, the extent to which a group is perceived as cohesive and unified, influences prenegotiation expectations of cooperative and competitive behaviors from the group. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments manipulated group entitativity. Study 1 tested whether high group entitativity amplifies anticipations about a group’s likely competitive or cooperative behaviors in a negotiation, in line with initial assumptions about the nature of the negotiation, Study 2 assessed anticipations of competitive and cooperative behaviors in the absence of context information and Study 3 examined the potentially moderating role of positive group member information. Findings Study 1 showed that high (vs low) group entitativity amplifies observers’ initial assumptions about a negotiation, leading to stronger anticipations of competitive and cooperative behaviors of a counterpart group consistent with those assumptions. Study 2 showed that when no information is given about the competitive or cooperative nature of a negotiation, high group entitativity increased expectations of competitive behaviors from the counterpart group. Study 3 replicated this pattern and demonstrated that negotiators’ expectations of competitiveness from a counterpart group are resistant to mitigation by positive information about individual group members’ cooperative behaviors. Originality/value The findings highlight a previously underexplored psychological mechanism through which perceived group structure can shape early strategic expectations in negotiation.