The Effects of Delay in Bargaining: Evidence from eBay

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Fong, Jessica; Waisman, Caio
• 署名单位: University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; Northwestern University
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2023.01562
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Bargaining; NEGOTIATIONS; e -commerce; digital platforms

摘要

Delay in negotiations is common in many settings, but the effects of delay have rarely been studied empirically in the field. We measure the causal effects of delay on bargaining outcomes using data from millions of negotiations on eBay. We find that for both buyers and sellers, the longer the bargaining party delays, the less likely the opponent is to continue the negotiation by countering, and the fewer rounds the negotiation takes to complete. The effects of delay are robust; they exist even under short amounts of delay (under six hours) and for negotiations for low-priced goods. We find that these effects are consistent with models of strategic delay, in which delay acts as a signal of bargaining power.