Preference structures and behavioral consistency in negotiations 1

In this paper, we report results of the analysis of about 4,700 multi-attribute utility functions elicited during experiments with the Internet-based Negotiation Support System Inspire. The empirical results indicate that common assumptions of decision analysis, like monotonicity of single-attribute utilities or decreasing marginal utilities, are violated in a significant number of cases. Nevertheless, many structural properties of utility functions are clearly reflected in the outcomes of negotiations. On the other hand, behavior during the negotiation process contradicts the preferences implied in the utility functions in about 25% of all cases. Paper presented at the MCDM world conference, Whistler Mountain, Canada, August 6-11, 2004. I would like to thank Vivi Nastase for extracting the Inspire negotiation records. This research is part of the eNegotiation project supported by the Social Sciences and Human Ressources Council, Canada. http://interneg.org/