14

The focus of this paper is to examine how time pressure and the number of stakeholders have an impact the behavior of negotiators involved in negotiation simulation. 192 students in business schools took part in a simulated negotiation. By varying the composition of dyads according to time pressure and to number of actors, we were able to verify whether time pressure increases or decreases integrative agreements. Our pattern (2x2x2) allowed us to test the effects of time pressure and those of the number of negotiators, as well as their possible interaction, on negotiators’ behavior and on negotiation outcomes. The results show that joint pressures (delay and cost) tend to make bilateral and multilateral negotiations less integrative. In spite of this, this research cannot attribute negative effects to time pressure or the number of negotiators alone. The implications and limitations of our study are discussed.