Commercial Tenders and Multilateral Negotiation: Analysis of a Case Study

In the complex everyday world, it happens all the time to come across situations that can be ascribed to bargaining between two or more parties who have conflicting interests and seek to get the most out of the confrontation. Most social interactions, whether work-related or personal, can assume different forms of bargaining, since each individual consistently acts to maximize his own utility. Over the years, several models have been developed, from the simplest to the most complex, with the aim of trying to predict the outcome of a bargaining situation on the basis of the characteristics of the players or the rules of the game. At the same time, different studies have been carried out focusing on the analysis of the motivations and behaviours of the individuals involved in a bargaining situation. Almost all of these studies, however, have focused on analysing scenarios in which only two sides are opposed, usually bargaining over a single issue. These models, while useful for providing predictive and behavioural patterns, find little empirical evidence, as in the real world there are often many individuals and interests involved around an argument. Only recently the literature is moving towards the study of situations in which multiple players are involved, such as multilateral negotiations, but by the authors' own admission there is a need for more research and analysis in this field, and above all, it is essential to increase the empirical evidence through comparison with real cases. The aim of this thesis is precisely to provide a real-life example related to a specific situation of multilateral negotiation, contributing to the development of the associated literature, and verifying whether the solutions proposed by the theoretical models are confirmed or denied. More in detail, it investigates the emerging dynamics, the critical issues and the strategies that can be adopted to optimize a negotiation between a buyer and multiple suppliers in the presence of collusion between suppliers. The analysed case study refers to a commercial tender led by Fincantieri S.p.a., one of the most important shipbuilding complexes in the world, for the renewal of the supply of technical gases for its plants. What also emerges is the complexity linked to the management of multilateral relationships, as well as the difficulties deriving from having to negotiate with several players organized in a collusion, with whom it is fundamental to adopt a sequential approach, and it is important to carefully choose the order in which to approach the various players, turning initially to the one who may have the greatest incentive to deviate from the collusion. The case study clearly shows the importance of establishing long-lasting relationships between parties involved in multi-year contracts, thus sacrificing the present personal gain in favour of a higher future return. The results stress the relevance of information within any economic relationship and the power associated with being able to exploit co-opetition partnerships, even collaborating with opponents to manipulate the structure of the relationship and create opportunities previously unavailable.