Adversarial Negotiation to Collaborative Negotiation: A Transactional Transition Point

Résumé 0

According to Christophe Dupont (2006), some negotiation processes are dominantly adversarial whereas others are dominantly concertative, depending on the intentions. But how dœs one move from adversarial negotiation to concertative negotiation during a discussion? The crossover from one to the other is explored using comparative analysis of the negotiation process to share natural resources or manage environmental goods subject to concurrent usages. On the basis of three examples, in France, Guatemala and Canada, we try to highlight the existence of similar mechanisms in very different contexts: a pre-agreement appears to be an essential crossover point that makes it possible to change from confrontation to co-operation with a view to mutual construction. Each party accepts this as the pre-agreement commits the opposing party. An analysis of the construction of this pre-agreement and its content shows that it can be described as the transactional crossover point: it defines a world of co-operation and tends to fix, irreversibly, the commitment of each of the parties in the process, as well as each party’s change of intention. À theoretical interpretation of these mechanisms is proposed, bringing into play the sociology of innovation, as well as certain operational deductions.