In ordinary usage, negotiation signifies contracting, bargaining, and attempting to reach an agreement. Many studies of negotiation have been carried out particularly with respect to commercial, diplomatic, political, and trade union relations. Recently, acquisitions from the study of negotiation (modalities, styles, strategies, and so on) have been applied to the analysis of interpersonal and social dynamics, ranging from one-to-one relationships to more complex social situations and the management of organizations. Negotiation has also found a specific field of application in the solution of conflicts (Pruitt and Carnevale 1993).

Negotiation is, briefly, a process in which two or more parties try to reach a satisfactory solution to a shared problem. To be more specific, it is a process in which the actors define their own obligations, costs, and benefits to achieve a common result. It is important to emphasize that negotiation is a process, that is...