Professor Mara Olekalns

BA, BA(Hons), PhD

Professor of Management (Negotiations), Melbourne Business School

Contact details:

Mara Olekalns teaches Negotiating Strategy and Processes at Melbourne Business School. Her research focuses on the relationship between the timing and sequencing of strategies and negotiators' outcomes. Mara is interested in the relationships between how individuals think about negotiation, what they do and say during the negotiation, and their outcomes. In her current research, she is focusing on the factors that sustain or violate trust in negotiation. She is examining the role of social cognition, patterns of communication and critical events in shaping trust. Most recently, she has been investigating relationships between trust, moods and deception in negotiation. She is the Co-Division Editor of the Social Behavior and Cognition Division of Group Decision and Negotiation; and is on the editorial board of Journal of Organizational Behavior.

Research Interests:

• Social & Organisational Psychology
• Negotiation Lab

Professional Associations, Memberships & Awards:

• President, International Association of Conflict Management
• Academy of Management
• American Psychological Association
• International Association of Conflict Management
• International Communication Association
  

Recent Funded Research:

Selected Publications:

Book Chapters:

Brett, J., Weingart, L., & Olekalns, M. (2004 ). "Baubles, Bangles and Beads: Modeling the Evolution of Negotiating Groups over Time", in S. Blount, B. Mannix & M. Neale (Eds.), Research on Managing Groups and Teams: Time in Groups (Vol 6). JAI Press.

Weingart, L., & Olekalns, M. (2004). "Communication Processes in Negotiation", in M.Gelfand & J. Brett (Eds). Handbook of Culture and Negotiation. Stanford University Press.

Refereed Journal Articles:

Friedman, R., Brett, J., Anderson, C., Olekalns, M., Goates, N., Lisco, C. (2004). "Emotions and Rationality in Mediation: Evidence from Electronically-Mediated Disputes", Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, pp 369-376.

Olekalns, M., Brett, J.M., & Weingart, L. (2003). "Phases, Transitions and Interruptions: The Processes that Shape Agreement in Multi-Party Negotiations", International Journal of Conflict Management: Special Issue on Processes in Negotiation, 14, pp 191-211.

Olekalns, M. & Smith, P.L (2003). "Social Motives in Negotiation: The Relationship between Dyad Composition, Negotiation Processes and Outcomes", International Journal of Conflict Management: Special Issue on Processes in Negotiation, 14, pp 233-254.

Olekalns, M., & Smith, P.L. (2003). "Testing the Relationships Among Negotiators' Motivational Orientations, Strategy Choices and Outcomes",Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 101-117.

Olekalns, M., & Smith, P.L. (2000). "Negotiating Optimal Outcomes: The Role of Strategic Sequences in Competitive Negotiations", Human Communication Research, 26, pp 527-557.

Olekalns, M., & Smith, P.L. (1999). "Social Value Orientations and Strategy Choices in Competitive Negotiations", Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, pp 657-668.

Olekalns, M., Smith, P.L. & Kibby, R. (1996) "Social Value Orientations and Negotiator Outcomes", European Journal of Social Psychology, 26, pp 299-313.

PhD Students under Supervision:

Kinga Konczey, Sarah Ogilvie (DPsych)