BATNA is a term invented by Roger Fisher and William Ury which stands for "best alternative to a negotiated agreement." Any negotiator should determine his or her BATNA before agreeing to any negotiated settlement. If the settlement is as good as or better than one's BATNA, the agreement should be accepted. If the alternative is better, it should be pursued instead of the negotiated settlement. When one party's BATNA is good (or even if they just think it is good), they are unlikely to be willing to enter into negotiations, preferring instead to pursue their alternative option.
The "walk away" alternative to a negotiated agreement. The status quo or another options that can satisfy a party's interest without negotiating with a counterpart(s). A strong BATNA gives a party more negotiating power at the negotiating table. One measures the strength of a proposed option or solution against the attractiveness of the BATNA. A party anticipates the counterpart's BATNA and introduces objective criteria (facts) to make the counterpart's BATNA look weak.
See Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement
BATNA is a term invented by Roger Fisher and William Ury; it stands for "best alternative to a negotiated agreement". Each negotiator should determine his/her BATNA before agreeing to any negotiated settlement. If the settlement is as good as or better than the BATNA, the agreement should be accepted. If the alternative is better, it should be pursued instead of the negotiated settlement. A party with a good BATNA (or with a BATNA that it perceives as good) is unlikely to be willing to enter into negotiations, preferring instead to pursue that best alternative option (Conflict Research Consortium, 1998).
A measure developed by Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project which enables negotiating parties to evaluate their options. The BATNA is the best result that a party could hope for if it called off the negotiations.
