THE EFFECTS OF NEGOTIATION BEHAVIOR ON THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS OF DISTRIBUTORS WHILE PROVIDING THE PREFERRED CUSTOMER STATUS TO THE WHOLESALER IN BATANGAS

This qualitative research aims to understand the impact of negotiation behavior on distributors' decision-making process when granting preferred customer status to wholesalers. The study will involve interviews with 10 wholesalers and 10 distributors using semi-structured questionnaires. The distributors will be the unit of analysis, and the study will measure the effects of negotiation behavior on the decision-making process using a 3-decision-making process. The research will identify different negotiation behaviors used by wholesalers, such as competitive and integrative, and recommend strategies to improve their chances of obtaining preferred customer status. The findings show that integrative activities have a favorable impact on outcomes, while competing behaviors have no influence. Distributors value effective communication, account expertise, and punctuality, while preferred customer status is based on character and loyalty. Wholesalers value professionalism, honesty, partnership, and ethical procedures to achieve favored status. Both parties emphasize the importance of developing relationships, mutual satisfaction, ethical behavior, and integrative negotiation behaviors for effective negotiations.