Types of interests

"Interests" are the underlying reasons that a party in a negotiation may desire a certain outcome as compared to the ultimate outcome which is generally referred to as a "position."  Parties to a negotiation usually have multiple interests. Interests can be categorized as either: (1) substantive interests; (2) process interests; (3) relationship interests; (4) Interests in principals.

Substantive interests are typically the items that are being negotiated. Distribution of property, price, and rates are all examples of underlying interests of the negotiation that can be classified as substantive.

Process interests are the parties desires to have a certain method or procedure for deciding substantive issues. Some parties prefer collaborative bargaining and desire a mutually beneficial agreement and some parties enjoy the competition of distributive (win-lose) bargain. It is extremely important to select a process that will facilitate the ultimate substantive, relational, and principle based interests. When engaging in distributive bargaining a party may risk damaging a relationship. Contrarily, when a party focuses too must on soft negotiations they risk not achieving the substantive interests.

Relationship interests involve one or more of the party having an interest in the strength of the relationship. This is seen in negotiations between parties that are in a personal relationship or family, but can also extend to the professional world where parties will work together in the future. Often a symbiotic relationship exists where the relationship is more important than the substantive interest. In this situation, both parties want to refrain from distributive bargaining.

The final type of interest involves interests in principals. Many times an ultimate substantive interest is not as important as a person feeling like they didn't get taken advantage of. They value the deal being fair more than slanting the outcome in their favor.

It is important in integrative bargaining to seek to identify both your interests and the interests of the other parties through a free exchange of information. When the interests are not known or understood, it become hard to seek solutions that will achieve the interests of both parties.