A tendency in multiparty negotiations, especially among low-power parties, is to look for alliances in the hope of protecting oneself from being overlooked. Jesse might be tempted to form an alliance with the finance, IT, and production VPs, all of whom, like her, favor a five-day workweek training program.
Such a move could result in severe consequences. Alliances tend to be unstable and often lead to agreements that are destructive to the overall group or organization. Because coalitions allow some group members to force their preferences on others, they promote inefficient solutions and a competitive atmosphere that can harm future negotiations. In my own research, I’ve found that a large power imbalance motivates players to form counterproductive coalitions and that competitiveness and coalition formation increase when group members know they will not have to work together in the future.