Impacts of a Robot Mediator on the Negotiation Process

In this structured exploratory study we search for clues in a negotiation process that help to explain a surprising outcome reported in an earlier article on robot mediation by Druckman et al. (2021). The outcome is referred to as a non-standard agreement (NSAs) and consists of out-of-the-box solutions to a bargaining problem (a de-merger of a pharmaceutical firm). Recorded transcripts of conversations that occurred following either human or robot mediation were content analyzed. Fourteen coding categories were grouped into three themes: idea generation, openness, and togetherness. A structured focused comparison research design was used to compare three conditions (human mediation with standard integrative results, robot mediation with standard integrative results and robot mediation with NSA integrative results. Results showed that a significantly larger number of statements were coded in the openness and togetherness than in the idea generation categories for the NSA than for the non-NSA outcome conditions. Post-negotiation interviews revealed that negotiators who attained NSA outcomes emphasized both novelty of the situation and fairness in the mediation process. These findings provide insights into the emergence of NSA outcomes in the earlier experiment. They also suggest an agenda of new research on robot-human interactions.