Communication, Learning, and Bargaining Breakdown: An Empirical Analysis
利用eBay德国平台的自然实验，研究发现允许买卖双方在出价时附带消息使谈判破裂率下降14%，且效果随卖家学习使用沟通而增强。
Bargaining breakdown is common in bargaining in environments with incomplete information. We study whether, in these environments, permitting communication impacts bargaining outcomes. On May 23, 2016, eBay Germany’s Best Offer platform introduced unstructured communication allowing desktop users, but not mobile users, to accompany offers with a message. Using this natural experiment, our difference-in-differences approach documents a 14% decrease in the rate of breakdown among compliers. Though adoption is immediate, the effect is not. We show, using text analysis, that the dynamics are consistent with repeat players learning how to use communication in bargaining. Finally, tying the two results together, we show that messages that emulate the text content of experienced sellers are more likely to be accepted. This paper was accepted by Joshua Gans, business strategy. Funding: Part of this research was supported by the NSF [Grant SES-1629060]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.00366 .