Skip to main content

Coalitions

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management

Abstract

Groups often need to reach collective decisions when the group’s members do not all agree. In these situations, the subset of a group that agrees on the group’s final decision can be considered a winning coalition. Game theory, social psychology and political science have all addressed the dynamics of coalition formation; organizational behaviour has also recognized the importance of coalition formation processes, although it has not utilized the other literatures’ advances in theory and research findings to increase the understanding of important strategic processes.

This entry was originally published on Palgrave Connect under ISBN 978-1-137-49190-9. The content has not been changed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Caplow, T. 1956. A theory of coalitions in the triad. American Sociological Review 21: 489–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyert, R., and J.G. March. 1963. A behavioral theory of the firm. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Swaan, A. 1973. Coalition theories and cabinet formation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gamson, W.A. 1961. An experimental test of a theory of coalition formation. American Sociological Review 26: 565–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gamson, W.A. 1964. Experimental studies of coalition formation. In Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 1, ed. L. Berkowitz. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahan, J.P., and A. Rapoport. 1984. Theories of coalition formation. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, H.H., and A.J. Arrowood. 1960. Coalitions in the triad: Critique and experiment. Sociometry 23: 231–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Komorita, S.S. 1984. Coalition bargaining. In Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 18, ed. L. Berkowitz. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Komorita, S.S., and J.M. Chertkoff. 1973. A bargaining theory of coalition formation. Psychological Review 80: 149–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murnighan, J.K. 1978a. Models of coalition behavior: Game theoretic, social psychological, and political perspectives. Psychological Bulletin 85: 1130–1153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murnighan, J.K. 1978b. Strength and weakness in four coalition situations. Behavioral Science 23: 195–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murnighan, J.K. 1994. Game theory and organizational behavior. In Research in organizational behavior, ed. B.M. Staw and L.L. Cummings. Greenwich: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murnighan, J.K., and D.J. Brass. 1991. Intraorganizational coalitions. In Research on negotiation in organizations, ed. M. Bazerman, R. Lewicki, and B. Sheppard. Greenwich: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J., and G. Salancik. 1978. The external control of organizations. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polzer, J.T., E.A. Mannix, and M.A. Neale. 1998. Interest alignment and coalitions in multiparty negotiation. Academy of Management Journal 1: 42–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, J.D. 1967. Organizations in action. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Beest, I., and E. Van Dijk. 2007. Self-interest and fairness in coalition formation: A social utility approach to understanding partner selection and payoff allocations in groups. European Review of Social Psychology 18: 132–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Beest, I., H. Wilke, and E. Van Dijk. 2003. The excluded player in coalition formation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 29: 237–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Beest, I., E. Van Dijk, and H. Wilke. 2004. Resources and alternatives in coalition formation: The effects on payoff, self-serving behavior, and bargaining length. European Journal of Social Psychology 34: 713–728.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Von Neumann, J., and O. Morgenstern. 1947. The theory of games and economic behavior. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ilja van Beest .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this entry

Cite this entry

van Beest, I., Murnigham, J.K. (2016). Coalitions. In: Augier, M., Teece, D. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94848-2_625-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94848-2_625-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-94848-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics