For the sake of the team: Unity and disunity in a multiparty Major League baseball negotiation

Abstract

"Divide and conquer" is a well-known expression although the literature on distributive negotiation offers little theory in support of this technique. This article develops theory to explain increases or decreases in unity and disunity in organizational settings. In so doing, this study identifies reframing as a technique that can be used strategically to create disunity between cooperating parties on the same side in a negotiation. This paper also develops theory and techniques that can enhance unity between cooperating parties including techniques to protect against the infusion of disunity that may be sponsored by the opposition. Dividing techniques and unifying techniques are both components of a larger negotiation theory that seeks to evaluate actions designed to strategically modify the degree of unity between parties working together in distributive settings.