How confident are you—and does it help?
Shirli Kopelman, clinical professor of management and organizations at Michigan Ross and Sanger Research Lab member, is the recipient of the 2025 NCMR Article of the Year Award for her co-authored paper, “Can Confidence Influence Persuasiveness in Disagreements by Conveying Competence versus Dominance? The Moderating Role of Competitiveness.” The article was published in the journal Negotiation and Conflict Management Research in 2024.
The study uncovers how perceived competitiveness between colleagues can neutralize the usual persuasive power of confidence. While confident people are often seen as more competent and therefore more persuasive, that link weakens—or disappears—when others feel competitive toward them.