Hybrid intelligence in buyer-supplier negotiations: a conceptual framework from literature and market review on AI capabilities
Buyer–supplier negotiations are a critical source of procurement value as they shape both negotiated outcomes and the quality of supplier relationships, an activity that has traditionally relied onhuman skill and intuition. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) presents an oppor-tunity to reconfigure this domain; however, most research continues to focus on algorithms andautonomous agents, with limited attention to how AI can augment, rather than replace, human judg-ment. Drawing on a systematic review of the literature, complemented by a screening of providersoffering AI-based negotiation solutions, we develop a conceptual model of hybrid intelligence inbuyer–supplier negotiations. The model identifies the specific AI capabilities relevant to the pre-negotiation, negotiation, and post-negotiation phases, and illustrates how human and machinecapabilities can be combined at different levels of interaction. The paper makes two main contribu-tions to the supply chain management literature. It develops a framework for hybrid buyer–suppliernegotiations and proposes a research agenda structured around seven promising avenues for futurework. For practitioners, the model offers implementation guidance for procurement managers,benchmarks for early adopters, and direction for solution providers seeking to align their offeringswith emerging best practices
Authors
- Federico Caniato (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4949-2272)
- Antonella Moretto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4693-4573)
- Camilla Borsani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9209-7365)
Institutions
- Politecnico di Milano (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Journal of Production Research
- Published
- 2026-02-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2026.2626540
- Primary Topic
- Conflict Management and Negotiation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00