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When It Hurts To Flirt
Sexy doesn’t always sell. A study to be presented at the Academy of Management’s annual meeting in August finds flirting has a detrimental effect on negotiations. Berkeley professors Laura Kray and Connson Locke had female and male actors play the roles of sellers of a biotech business. Half were told to be no-nonsense. Half were instructed to flirt—to smile, lean forward suggestively, toss their hair. The outcome: The male and female “buyers” offered the flirts 20% less, on average, than what they offered straitlaced sellers. The payoff for flirts, especially women, is that they were deemed more “likable.” But Kray, an organizational behavior expert, advises that “if your goal is to be well-liked, there are other ways to get there.”
