{
  "title": "Negotiation: what research says about first offers",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/negociation-ce-que-la-recherche-dit-des-premieres-offres-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "Should you open the negotiation or let the other side propose? Anchoring research gives a nuanced answer, dependent on available information.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Advanced Negotiation",
  "place": {
    "name": "Zurich",
    "region": "Zurich",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "The anchoring effect",
      "point": "Adam Galinsky and Thomas Mussweiler (2001, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) show experimentally that the first offer acts as an anchor: it pulls the endpoint toward itself, even among experienced negotiators."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The information condition",
      "point": "The first-offer advantage depends on knowing the other party's margins."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The limits of experiments",
      "point": "Most of these findings come from laboratory simulations with low stakes and student samples."
    },
    {
      "heading": "What follows for practice",
      "point": "The question is not “open or wait” but “what do I know about the possible zone?”."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical implication, verifiable in Zurich",
      "point": "Before a real negotiation, write the target, the walk-away point and the best alternative on one page, then have a colleague challenge all three."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Mussweiler",
      "year": "2001",
      "source": "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 223,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-Training-Advanced-Negotiation-Zurich-negociation-ce-que-la-recherche-dit-des-premieres-offres-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/negociation-ce-que-la-recherche-dit-des-premieres-offres",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/negociation-ce-que-la-recherche-dit-des-premieres-offres-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/negociation-ce-que-la-recherche-dit-des-premieres-offres-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/negociation-ce-que-la-recherche-dit-des-premieres-offres-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation/negociation-avancee/zurich",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/zurich",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}