Public accountability in coalition negotiations, evidence from a face-to-face negotiating experiment

A face-to-face, between-subjects-design negotiation experiment examined the effect of public accountability (present versus absent) on forming a coalition using triads of graduate- and undergraduate students playing a... [ view full abstract ]

A face-to-face, between-subjects-design negotiation experiment examined the effect of public accountability (present versus absent) on forming a coalition using triads of graduate- and undergraduate students playing a coalition game. Based on the results we conclude that public accountability mechanisms leads to lower group performance in coalition negotiations. Public accountability also reduced the willingness of negotiators to include all negotiators in a so called grand coalition. Rather, accountable negotiators reached agreement with a subset of negotiators. Public accountability mechanisms increased the odds of reaching no agreement at all.