CHAPTER TWELVE

Coalitions
Situations with More than
Two Parties

Variations on a three-party negotiation:

1. One buyer is representing the other and two
negotiations are occurring
2. The seller is conducting a sequenced series of one-
on-one transactions
3. The seller is about to unwittingly compromised by
the buyers (this happens when the parties form
coalitions or subgroups in order to strengthen their
bargaining position through collection action).

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A Seller and Two Buyers

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What Is a Coalition?
 Interacting groups of individuals
 Deliberately constructed and issue oriented
 Exist independent of formal structure
 Lack formal structure
 Focus goals external to the coalition
 Require collective action to achieve goals
 Members are trying to achieve outcomes that
satisfy the interests of the coalition

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Types of Coalitions
 Potential coalition: an emergent interest group that
has the potential to become a coalition by taking
collective action but has not yet done so.
 Two forms:
 Latent coalitions
 Emergent interest group that has not yet formed
 Dormant coalitions
 Interest group that previously formed, but is currently
inactive

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Types of Coalitions
 Operating coalition: one that is currently operating,
active, and in place.
 Two forms:
 Established coalition
 Relatively stable, active, and ongoing across an indefinite
time and space
 Members represent a broad range of interests
 Temporary coalition
 Operates for a short time
 Focused on a single issue or problem

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Types of Coalitions
 Recurring coalitions: may have started as
temporary, but then determined that the issue or
problem does not remain resolved
 Members need to remobilize themselves every time the
presenting issue requires collective attention

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How and Why Coalitions
Form and Develop

When coalitions form:

 Parties come together to pool efforts and resources in
pursuit of common or overlapping goals
 Control over resources becomes the basis for two
critical pieces of the coalition formation process:
 What each member brings to the coalition
 What each member should receive if the coalition forms

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How and Why Coalitions
Form and Develop

 Coalition formation is studied by:

 A classic coalition game: The 4–3–2 game
 Real-world examples: The European Economic Community
(EEC)
 Coalitions form to preserve or increase resources
 Coalitions form in order to avoid a poor outcome that
will occur if individuals acts alone (a “social
dilemma”)

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How and Why Coalitions
Form and Develop

How coalitions develop:

 Coalitions start with a founder
 Successful founders have extensive networks
 Founders’ benefits from early coalitions are likely to
be small
 Coalitions build by adding one member at a time
 The founder finds an ally;
 The founder can benefit if he or she understands the
others’ interests

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How and Why Coalitions
Form and Develop
 Coalitions need to achieve critical mass
 Find their “joining threshold”
 A minimum number of people get on board
 Others join because friends and associates are
members

 Coalitions exclude weaker members who can’t

contribute

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How and Why Coalitions
Form and Develop
 Linking new members—“ties”—become critical:
 Strong ties: a new member who can bring a lot to the coalition,
but demands a lot in return;
 Weak ties: a new member who only brings a small amount to the
table—enough to leverage the coalition to a “win”—but will not
demand as much in return.
 Hence, weak ties can create strength for coalition
founders:
 Founders who have a large, diverse network of weak ties are
often in a better situation to form a coalition than those who have
a small, tightly organized network of strong ties

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How and Why Coalitions
Form and Develop

 Many successful coalitions form quietly and disband

quickly
 Revenge of the vanquished: pits coalitions against each
other so that each one’s sole objective is to keep the other
side from succeeding
 Turmoil within: public acknowledgment of the coalition
could damage future coalition activity
 Desire for anonymity: the more publicly identified
members become with the coalition, the more others may
see their future actions as motivated by coalition
membership and not by their own interests.

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Standards for Coalition
Decision Making

Coalition decision rules

 Three criteria to determine who receives what from the
results of the coalition’s efforts
 Equity standard
 Anyone who contributed more should receive more (in
proportion to the contribution made)
 Equality standard
 Everyone should receive the same
 Need standard
 Parties should receive more in proportion to some
demonstrated need for a larger share of the outcome

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Standards for Coalition
Decision Making

Where is the strength in coalitions?

 When is “strength is weakness” true?
 Any winning coalition obtains the same payoff
 Actors are interchangeable
 Contribute fewest resources, have least power or exert the
least influence
 When is “strength is strength” true?
 The more resources a party holds or controls, the more
likely he or she will a critical coalition member

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Power and Leverage in Coalitions
How is power related to coalition formation?
 Strategic power
 Emerges from the availability of alternative coalition
partners
 Normative power
 Derives from what parties consider to be a fair or just
distribution of the outcomes
 Relationship-based power
 Shaped by the compatibility of preferences between parties

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How to Build Coalitions –
Practical Advice

 Say no when you mean no

 Share as much information as possible
 Use language that describes reality
 Avoid repositioning for the sake of acceptance

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Prospective Coalition Member Roles

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Prospective Coalition
Member Roles
 Allies
 Parties who are in agreement with a negotiator’s goals and
vision, and whom the negotiator trusts
 Opponents
 People with whom a negotiator has conflicting goals and
objectives, but who can be trusted to be principled and
candid in their opposition
 Bedfellows
 Parties with whom a negotiator has high agreement on the
vision or objectives, but low to moderate levels of trust

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Prospective Coalition
Member Roles

 Fence Sitters
 Parties who will not take a stand one way or the other
 Fear taking a position because it could lock them in, be
politically dangerous, or expose them to risk
 Adversaries
 Adversaries are low in agreement and cannot be trusted.

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Action Strategies for Building Relationships in
Coalitions

 With allies
 Affirm agreement on collective vision or objective
 Reaffirm quality of the relationship
 Acknowledge doubt and vulnerability with respect to
achieving vision and collective goal
 Ask for advice and support
 With opponents
 Reaffirm relationship based in trust
 State vision or position in a neutral manner
 Engage in problem solving

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Action Strategies for Building Relationships in
Coalitions

 With bedfellows
 Reaffirm the agreement; acknowledge caution exists
 Be clear about expectations in terms of support
 Ask what they want from you
 Reach agreement on how to work together
 With fence sitters
 State your position; find out where they stand
 Apply gentle pressures
 Focus on issue; have them tell you what it would take to gain
their support

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Action Strategies for Building Relationships in
Coalitions

 With adversaries
 State your vision or goals
 State your understanding of your adversary’s position in a
neutral way
 Identify your own contributions to the poor relationship
 End the meeting by restating your plan but without making
demands

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