Structuring success: How issue-packaging agendas foster better joint outcomes in multi-issue negotiations
Publikation: Beiträge in Zeitschriften › Zeitschriftenaufsätze › Forschung › begutachtet
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in: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Jahrgang 123, 104856, 03.2026.
Publikation: Beiträge in Zeitschriften › Zeitschriftenaufsätze › Forschung › begutachtet
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Structuring success
T2 - How issue-packaging agendas foster better joint outcomes in multi-issue negotiations
AU - Zhang, Hong
AU - Geiger, Ingmar
AU - Majer, Johann M.
AU - Trötschel, Roman
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors
PY - 2026/3
Y1 - 2026/3
N2 - This research examines the effectiveness of an issue-packaging agenda in complex multi-issue negotiations, drawing on mental accounting theory to explain how negotiators structure and process decisions. We propose that issue packaging, by structuring negotiations into manageable subsets, enables negotiators to handle a high number of issues while preserving flexibility for integrative trade-offs. Across two experiments, we compared issue packaging with a simultaneous agenda, a strategy that has proven effective in negotiations involving a moderate number of issues. Experiment 1 showed that issue packaging outperformed a simultaneous agenda in negotiations involving many issues, particularly when applied consistently across negotiation phases. Experiment 2 demonstrated that these benefits emerged only when issue packages remained open until a final agreement was reached; premature closure curtailed flexibility and impaired across-issue coordination. Mediation analyses revealed that the advantages of issue packaging were driven by enhanced judgment accuracy and logrolling. Together, these findings show that structured yet adaptive agendas improve negotiation performance by balancing cognitive manageability with flexibility for value creation.
AB - This research examines the effectiveness of an issue-packaging agenda in complex multi-issue negotiations, drawing on mental accounting theory to explain how negotiators structure and process decisions. We propose that issue packaging, by structuring negotiations into manageable subsets, enables negotiators to handle a high number of issues while preserving flexibility for integrative trade-offs. Across two experiments, we compared issue packaging with a simultaneous agenda, a strategy that has proven effective in negotiations involving a moderate number of issues. Experiment 1 showed that issue packaging outperformed a simultaneous agenda in negotiations involving many issues, particularly when applied consistently across negotiation phases. Experiment 2 demonstrated that these benefits emerged only when issue packages remained open until a final agreement was reached; premature closure curtailed flexibility and impaired across-issue coordination. Mediation analyses revealed that the advantages of issue packaging were driven by enhanced judgment accuracy and logrolling. Together, these findings show that structured yet adaptive agendas improve negotiation performance by balancing cognitive manageability with flexibility for value creation.
KW - Agenda setting
KW - Integrative outcomes
KW - Issue packaging
KW - Negotiations
KW - Package closure
KW - Psychology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105022211969&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jesp.2025.104856
DO - 10.1016/j.jesp.2025.104856
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:105022211969
VL - 123
JO - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
SN - 0022-1031
M1 - 104856
ER -