What do we know about buyer–seller negotiations in marketing research? A status quo analysis

a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Buyer–seller negotiations Status quo analysis Content analysis Co-citation analysis The main objective of this study is to provide an overview of the current status quo of negotiation research in marketing. In this context, we first conduct a quantitative analysis of existing literature on buyer–seller negotiations. Specifically, we undertake a screening of 10 high-ranking marketing journals so as to identify the body of negotiation-related articles within marketing. In a next step, the identified articles are subjected to both content and co-citation analyses. To this end, we modify the interaction model of the IMP Group in order to comprehensibly structure the existing findings. In a last step, these findings are presented to various negotiation experts to verify their practical relevance. From this multi-step procedure, we derive sound implications for research and practice. Owing to the often significant investments, customized product solutions, and high risks of many business-to-business transactions, buyer–seller interactions play a key role in industrial markets In this context, business negotiations, defined as single interaction episodes, seem to be particularly relevant, as the majority of exchange conditions – for example, the price, date of delivery, and guaranteed warranties – are negotiated between the partners in the value chain (Anderson & Narus, 2004; Fang, 2006). This is all the more true, because in recent years buyer–seller negotiations' situation has changed in many markets. Companies are, for example, experiencing increasing performance pressures (Roseira, Brito, & Henneberg, 2010). Consequently, they are forced to achieve the best possible results in each buyer–seller transaction. The successful management of negotiations has therefore gained increasing importance (Guo & Lim, 2005). Consequently, the analysis of buyer–seller negotiations should also be of key importance in marketing research. Although there is currently a trend towards status quo analysis within marketing research, for example status quo analyses of relationships' marketing models (Rust & Chung, 2006), there is no study that provides an overview of marketing studies with regard to negotiations. Such an overview would be particularly interesting as negotiations are important not only in industrial markets, but also in other sectors, for example retail (Dabholkar, Johnston, & Cathey, 1994) and B2C e-commerce (Liang, 2009). In addition, an overview of negotiation-related contributions could help transfer findings and identify blind spots within marketing research. Against this background, this study's main purpose is to provide an overview of the current status quo of …