"Bargaining in the Digital Age", Prof. Fadong CHEN, School of Management, Zhejiang University

Title: Bargaining in the Digital Age
Speaker: Prof. Fadong CHEN, School of Management, Zhejiang University
Date: October 22, 2025 (Wednesday)
Time: 14:00–15:00
Location: T7-106-R1

Abstract:

This talk examines how process data, especially response times (RTs), reshape supply-chain bargaining in human–human and human–AI settings. In two lab experiments with multiround supplier–retailer negotiations, we vary RT transparency. When suppliers’ RTs are observable, retailers infer preference strength from RTs, submit lower initial offers, and reach agreements at lower wholesale prices—raising retailer and channel profits while reducing supplier profits. We then study AI negotiators in three experiments where participants bargain with either an AI or a human supplier, and where the AI’s RTs are exogenously manipulated. Fast AI rejections trigger larger subsequent offer increases, whereas slow rejections dampen adjustments; humans elicit similar RT-contingent reactions. Strategically shortening AI rejection RTs improves bargaining efficiency, affecting both dynamics and outcomes. Together, the studies show that RTs are informative signals and actionable design levers, offering guidance for transparent data policies and for building socially attuned, higher-efficiency AI negotiators.

Speaker Bio:

Fadong Chen is a Professor at the School of Management, Zhejiang University. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Konstanz (Germany). His research focuses on behavioral economics and experimental economics. His paper has been published in Nature Communications, Management Science, and Manufacturing & Service Operations Management.